Analyzing the Audience

Good speakers are audience-centered. They know that the aim of speechmaking is to gain a desired response from listeners. When working on your speeches, keep three questions in mind: To whom am I speaking? What do I want them to know, believe, or do as a result of my speech? What is the most effective way of composing and presenting my speech to accomplish that aim?

To be an effective speaker, you should know something about the psychology of audiences. People are egocentric. They typically approach speeches with one question uppermost in mind: "Why is this important to me?" Therefore, you need to study your audience and adapt your speech to their beliefs and interests.

The first stage in learning about your audience is to identify demo­graphic traits such as age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, group mem­bership, and racial, ethnic, or cultural background. The second stage is identifying traits of the audience unique to the speaking situation. These traits include the size of the audience, attitudes influenced by the physical setting, and your listeners' disposition toward the topic, toward you as a speaker, and toward the occasion.

For speeches outside the classroom, you can best get information about the audience by asking the person who invites you to speak. For classroom speeches, you can learn about your audience by observation and conversation. You also can circulate an audience-analysis questionnaire.

Once you complete the audience analysis, you must adapt your speech so it will be clear and convincing to your listeners. Put yourself in their place. Try to hear the speech as they will. Anticipate questions and objections, and try to answer them in advance. When you deliver your speech, keep an eye out for audience feedback and adjust your remarks in response.

Review Questions

After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions:

Why must a public speaker be audience-centered?

What does it mean to say that people are egocentric?

What implications does the egocentrism of audiences hold for you as a public speaker?

What are the six demographic traits of audiences discussed in this chapter?

Why is each important to audience analysis?

What is situational audience analysis? What factors do you need to consider in situational audience analysis?

How can you get information about an audience?

What are the three kinds of questions used in questionnaires?

Why is it a good idea to use all three in audience analysis?

What methods can you use to adapt your speech to your audience before the speech? During the speech?