Effective Public Speaking CHAPTER#5 ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE AND OCCASION

Analyzing Audience Demographically A demographic analysis is a study of social and physical traits people hold in common. The young and the old have often different ways of thinking to bear on topics under discussion.

Analyzing Demographic categories: Age Gender Education and experience How much will the listeners already know about the subjects? Will their education and experiential background allow them to grasp easily the essential ideas you want to convey? Group membership Will the listeners belong to groups that represent specific experiences, attitudes?

Cultural and ethnic background Will the listeners predominantly belong to a specific cultural or ethnic groups? Are those groups identifications likely to be raised by your speech?

Using Demographic Information: Demographic information will affect the listener’s ability or willingness to understand and accept what the communicator want to speak.

Strategies For Making speech Effective To The Listeners: Avoid Technical jargon: Try to use a simple language during your speech. Give Examples: Create a friendly Environment. Speech should be clear and completed with full of facts and knowledge,audience will take interest.

Analyzing Audiences Psychologically Dividing audience members in to psychologically profiles on the basis of their beliefs, attitudes, and values. Beliefs: beliefs are the convictions about what is true or false. Beliefs that can be demonstrated and held confidently are called facts.

Opinions are personal beliefs that may not be supported by strong external evidence. Fixed beliefs are those that are highly resistant to change, many beliefs such as “ things happen for a reason,” “ if you work hard, you will succeed”. Variables beliefs are those which can be change with the passage of time or with experiences.

Attitudes: Attitudes are tendencies to respond positively or negatively to people, objects, and ideas. Attitudes are emotionally weighted as well, They express individual preferences and feelings, such as, “ I like my public speaking class”

Values: values are relatively enduring conceptions of ultimate goods and evils in the human relationships and the best and worse ways of pursuing those goods and evils.

Analyzing Speech Occasion An occasion is a set of activities that occurs in a time and place set aside expressly to fulfill the collective goals of people. Components of definition: In a time and place: Regular occasions, such as religious services, usually occur at special times, (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and in special places (mosques, churches). Fulfill the goals of people.

Using Audience Analysis in Speech Preparation Audience Targeting: Your specific purpose To inform or persuade the audience Area of Audience Interest finding out the major area of audience interest Audience’s capacity to Act Limit your request to an action that lies within your listener's range of authority. Don’t ask them to accomplish the impossible.

Audience’s willingness to Act Degree of change Realistic in targeting the degree of change you can reasonably hope to obtain The information is new or already know will influence how much material you can cover in a single speech.