i Speak 2010 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 4 Analyzing the Audience

Slide 2 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analyzing the Audience  Audience Analysis  Methods of Audience Analysis  Analysis of the Situation  The Uniqueness of the Classroom Audience  Adapting to Your Audience  Listening and Public Speaking  Ethics and the Audience  Next Steps in Audience Analysis

Slide 3 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Audience Analysis  Audience analysis – discovering as much as possible about an audience to improve communication –Conventional wisdom – popular opinions of the time about issues, styles, topics, trends, and social mores, the customary set of understandings of what is true or right Reflect broad pattern of thinking that may affect behavior Can also be gross oversimplification of opinions

Slide 4 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Audience Analysis  Demographics – includes gender composition, age, ethnicity, economic status, occupation, and education levels of an audience –Gender composition important for some topics –Maturity changes people’s preferences

Slide 5 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Audience Analysis  Demographics –Ethnicity – people who are united through “language, historical origins, nation-state, or cultural system” Co-cultures – groups that are similar to the larger culture but are distinguished by background, beliefs, and behaviors –Economic status Wealthy may be less open to new ideas –Occupation Language is affected by audience’s occupations

Slide 6 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Audience Analysis  Demographics –Education People with more education tend to read and write more, are usually better acquainted with the news, are more likely to have traveled, and are more likely to have higher incomes –Worldview – common concept of reality shared by particular group of people –Physical characteristics Adjust language to perceived physical characteristics, but avoid stereotyping

Slide 7 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Methods of Audience Analysis  Observation – watching and listening –Reveals most about the audience before and during a presentation –Can reveal audience age, ethnic origin, and gender  Informants –Informant can help analyze your audience –Can tell which topics are appropriate, how many people will be there, and how long you should speak

Slide 8 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Methods of Audience Analysis  Interviews – inquiries about the audience directed at an audience member –Occur in advance of the speech –They take time, but they can aid greatly in learning more about your audience

Slide 9 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Methods of Audience Analysis  Questionnaires – surveys of audience opinions –Take more time to plan than to execute –Three types of questions: Open-ended questions – invite an explanation Yes or no questions – force a decision Degree questions – ask to what extent a respondent agrees or disagrees with a question

Slide 10 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analysis of the Situation  Five factors: –Size of the audience –Environmental factors –Speaking occasion –Time –Importance of the occasion

Slide 11 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analysis of the Situation  Size of audience –Larger audiences usually call for formality in tone and language –Determines the amount of interaction you have with the audience –Determines need for special visual aids, microphones, or podiums

Slide 12 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analysis of the Situation  Environment –Factors to consider include: An unfortunate sound system Poor lighting Too warm or too cold Absence of a podium or lectern A stationary microphone Lack of audiovisual equipment

Slide 13 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analysis of the Situation  Occasion –Audience expects speaker to follow unstated assumptions about the occasion Upbeat and funny at an after-dinner speech Serious at a ribbon cutting Energetic and enthusiastic at a pep rally Prudent and factual in a court of law

Slide 14 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analysis of the Situation  Time –Time of day Early morning audiences are fresh but not ready for serious topics Speeches after lunch/dinner must be particularly stimulating –Length of time that you speak People relieved when a presentation is shorter The block of time allotted Audiences insulted by a 5-minute speech if they expected a 30-minute presentation

Slide 15 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Analysis of the Situation  Importance –Significance of situation dictates speaker’s seriousness, content, and approach –An occasion of lesser importance treated differently than one of great importance –Occasions of greater importance should not be treated lightly

Slide 16 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 4.1: Sample Questionnaire

Slide 17 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Uniqueness of the Classroom Audience  Captive audience  Relatively small and constant  Speeches tend to be short  Includes the professor, who is responsible for grading and evaluating each presentation  Provides opportunity to listen to every member of the audience

Slide 18 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 4.1: Uniqueness of the Classroom Audience

Slide 19 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapting to Your Audience  Audience adaptation – using analysis to make the message appropriate for the audience –In an informative speech, means translating ideas –In a persuasive speech this means adjusting message to the knowledge level of listeners and their position on the issue

Slide 20 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening and Public Speaking  The importance of listening –Develops citizenship and civility –Learn more by listening than by talking –You should spend most of your time listening

Slide 21 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening and Public Speaking  Becoming a better listener –Suspend judgment about the speaker –Focus on speaker as a source of information –Concentrate attention on the speaker –Listen to the entire message –Focus on shared values and experiences

Slide 22 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening and Public Speaking  Becoming a better listener –Focus on main ideas –Recall that words are arbitrary –Focus on both intent and content –Be aware of your listening intensity –Remove or ignore physical distractions

Slide 23 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening and Public Speaking  Evaluate your listening skills –Did you: Find something to arouse interest? Find the subject interesting? Listen to the message rather than to how it was delivered? Listen with a purpose? Listen for major ideas and relationships among various points?

Slide 24 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening and Public Speaking  Evaluate your listening skills (continued) –Did you: Sit in a place where you could hear the speaker and listen to the speech? Avoid or ignore distractions? Subordinate specific words to the total meaning of the content? Pay close attention Listen to all the speaker had to say before criticizing?

Slide 25 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 4.2: Guidelines for Becoming a Better Listener

Slide 26 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethics and the Audience  Audiences expect different levels of truthfulness in different situations –A comedian is expected to exaggerate –A priest, judge, and professor are expected to tell the truth –The classroom speaker is expected to inform with honesty and persuade with reason –You should have the audience’s best interests in mind

Slide 27 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Next Steps in Audience Analysis  Audience analysis and adaptation continues as you prepare your presentation  Audience analysis and adaptation makes you ready to make ethical and informed decisions on using your own experience, the Internet, and the library for research