CHAPTER 6 ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE AUDIENCECENTEREDNESS Audiencecenteredness Keeping

CHAPTER 6 ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE

AUDIENCE-CENTEREDNESS • Audience-centeredness: Keeping the audience foremost in mind at every step of speech preparation and presentation – Objective is to gain a desired response from the listeners • Do not have to compromise your beliefs • Do not have to use unethical tactics to achieve your goal

AUDIENCE-CENTEREDNESS • Keep in mind these questions to be audience centered: – 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?

YOUR CLASSMATES AS AN AUDIENCE • The best classroom speeches are those that take the audience as seriously as a lawyer, politician, or advertiser takes an audience

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AUDIENCES • The speaker must make the audience choose to pay attention • Every speech contains 2 messages: – One sent by the speaker – One received by the listener • What the speaker says is filtered through the listener’s frame of reference • Listeners want to hear about things that are meaningful to them – Egocentrism: The tendency of people to be concerned above all with their own values, beliefs, and well-being • How does this affect you as a speaker? – Listeners will hear and judge based on what they already know and believe – You must relate your message to your listeners

DEMOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE ANALYSIS • Demographic audience analysis: Audience analysis that focuses on demographic factors such as age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, group membership, and racial ethnic or cultural background • There are two steps of demographic audience analysis: – Identifying the general demographic features of your audience – Gauging the importance of those features to a particular speaking situation • When used improperly, it can lead to stereotyping – Stereotyping: Creating an oversimplified image of a particular group of people, usually by assuming that all members of a group are alike

DEMOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE ANALYSIS • Consider the following demographic factors: – Age • Speaking to an older audience vs. a younger audience – Gender • Take in current gender attitude and practices • Be aware of both gender differences and similarities • Avoid generalizations – Sexual Orientation • Be mindful of language, examples, and other elements that may exclude listeners with same-sex partners – Religion • Current events around the world show religious views are among the most emotionally charged of all human concerns • There is great diversity within different faiths • Consider the religious orientation of your listeners – Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Background • Some listeners may have perspectives that will affect how they are listening to the speech – Group Membership • Knowing the groups or memberships you audience is in may give excellent clues about your listeners interests and

SITUATIONAL AUDIENCE ANALYSIS • Situational audience analysis: Audience analysis that focuses on situational factors such as size of the audience, the physical setting of the speech, and the disposition of the audience towards the topic, the speaker, and the occasion • Consider the following demographic factors: – Size • The larger the audience, the more formal your presentation must be • Audience size may affect you language, choice of requests, and use of visual aids – Physical Setting • Know in advance of any difficulties in the physical setting • Do everything you can to control the influence of the physical setting • If the physical setting is not desirable, work hard to adapt to the aspects

SITUATIONAL AUDIENCE ANALYSIS – Disposition Toward the Topic • Interest – Assess the interest in advance and adjust your speech accordingly – If interest is not there, take special steps to involve the audience • Knowledge – Often a strong correlation between interest in a topic and knowledge on it – Audiences like learning about a subject that interests them – Your ability to talk more technically or more trivially on a topic depends on your audience’s knowledge of the subject • Attitude – Attitude: A frame of mind in favor of or opposed to a person, policy, belief, institution, etc. – If you know in advance the prevailing attitude among members of your audience, you can adjust your speech to address the concerns or answer their objections

SITUATIONAL AUDIENCE ANALYSIS • Disposition Toward the Speaker – An audience’s response to a message is colored by their perception of the speaker – The more competent, honest, and thoughtful the listeners perceive the speaker to be, the more they will respond positively to the message • Disposition Toward the Occasion – Do not exploit a situation for your own purposes with a speech – The occasion will dictate how long a speech should be

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUDIENCE • Audience Analysis Questionnaire – There are 3 major types of questions to choose from • Fixed-alternative questions • Scale questions • Open-ended questions

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUDIENCE • Fixed-alternative questions – Questions that offer a fixed choice between 2 or more alternatives – Find clear answers but ambiguous answers Do you know what the insanity plea is in the U. S Legal System? Yes______ Not sure_______

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUDIENCE • Scale questions: – Questions that require responses at fixed intervals along a scale of answers • Allow more leeway in responding • Gets you at the strength of an audience’s attitudes

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUDIENCE • Open-ended questions: – Questions that allow respondents to answer however they want – Gives maximum leeway in responding – Increases the likelihood of getting answers that do not give the information you need – How do you feel about the parking situation at GCIT? – It is common for questionnaires to utilize all 3 types of questions

GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUDIENCE – When putting one together keep the following in mind: 1. Plan the questionnaire carefully to elicit precisely the information you need 2. Use all 3 types of questions 3. Make sure the questions are clear and unambiguous 4. Keep the questionnaire relatively brief

ADAPTING TO THE AUDIENCE • There are 2 stages in the process of audience adaptation – Audience Adaptation Before the Speech • Remember who the listeners will be • Assess how you audience is likely to respond to what you say in your speech • Adjust what you say to make it as clear, appropriate, and convincing as possible • Anticipate how your audience will respond – Audience Adaptation During the Speech • If something unexpected happens do not panic. Modify based on the challenge and continue – Examples: • Projector is broken • Your time is more or less than planned • Someone else has your topic • Look for audience feedback and adjust

NOW YOU TRY! • Create a 5 Question Audience Analysis Questionnaire for your speech topic that your classmates will take following these guidelines: 1. Plan the questionnaire carefully to elicit precisely the information you need 2. Use all 3 types of questions 3. Make sure the questions are clear and unambiguous 4. Keep the questionnaire relatively brief