Public Speaking
Lecture Notes – Chapter Five
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in public speaking, the receiver is the audience, and the audience is the
reason for a speech
public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of individuals, each with
a unique point of view
o your challenge is to find out as much as you can about these
individuals
there are three steps to becoming an audience-centered speaker:
o first, gather information about your audience
o second, analyze the information
o third, use the information to ethically adapt to your listeners
Gather Information about Your Audience
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the simplest way to gather information about your audience is to observe
them and ask questions before you speak
you can also talk to people who know something about the audience that you
are addressing
o try to get as much information before you speak
demographics are statistical information about the age, race, gender, sexual
orientation, educational level, and religious views of an audience
a survey can allow you to gather both demographic information and
information about what audience members like or dislike, believe to be true
or false, or think is good or bad about the topic or issues you are discussing
to gather information in this formal way, you need to develop a well-written
survey or questionnaire
o whenever possible, ask specific questions about audience members’
attitudes
open-ended questions allow for unrestricted answers by not limiting
answers to choices or alternatives
closed-ended questions offer alternatives from which to choose, such as
true/false, agree/disagree, or multiple-choice questions
Analyze Information about Your Audience
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audience analysis is the process of examining information about those who
are expected to listen to a speech
o this will help you adapt your message so that your listeners will
respond as you wish
things to consider when looking at the information you have gathered about
your audience:
o How are audience members similar to one another?
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o How are audience members different from one another?
o Based on their similarities and differences, how can I establish
common ground with the audience?
common ground is similarities between a speaker and audience members in
attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors
o even though each audience member is unique, you are looking for
general ways that they are alike or different
a relationship is an ongoing connection you have with another person
o use the information to establish a relationship between your listeners;
to build bridges between you and your audience
Adapt to Your Audience
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audience adaptation is the process of ethically using information about an
audience in order to adapt one’s message so that it is clear and achieves the
speaking objective
o to adapt is to modify a message to enhance the clarity of your message
and the likelihood that you will ethically achieve your goal
several key questions can help you formulate an effective approach to your
audience:
o To whom am I speaking?
o What topic would be most suitable for my audience?
o What is my objective?
o What kind of information should I share with my audience?
o How should I present the information to them?
o How can I gain and hold their attention?
o What kind of examples would work best?
o What method of organizing information will be most effective?
o What language differences and expectations do audience members
have?
o What style of delivery will audience members expect?
being audience-centered does not mean that you only tell your audience
what they want to hear, or that you should make up information to please
your audience or achieve your goal
o this would make you an unethical speaker
o the goal is to make your audience come away from the speaking
situation, if not persuaded, then at least feeling thoughtful rather than
offended or hostile
Analyze Your Audience Before you Speak
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you can gather three primary types of information:
o demographic
o psychological
o situational
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demographic audience analysis is analyzing an audience by examining
demographic information so as to develop a clear and effective message
o age – this information can be used to suggest the kinds of examples,
humor, illustrations, and other types of supporting materials
o gender
 a person’s sex is his or her biological status as male or female,
as reflected in his or her anatomy and reproductive system
 a person’s gender the culturally constructed and
psychologically based perception of one’s self as feminine or
masculine
 it is important to make your language and message as
inclusive as possible – be aware not to offend anyone by
keeping in mind gender and sex
 also, be aware that men and women will respond differently to
your message – do not make sweeping gender-based
assumptions about your audience
o sexual orientation – an audience-centered speaker is sensitive to
issues and attitudes about sexual orientation in contemporary society
o culture is a learned system of knowledge, behavior, attitudes, beliefs,
values, and norms that is shared by a group of people
o ethnicity is that portion of a persons cultural background that relates
to a national or religious heritage
o race is a person’s biological heritage (for example, Caucasian or
Hispanic)
o ethnocentrism is the assumption that one’s own cultural
perspectives and methods are superior to those of other cultures
o individualistic and collectivistic cultures
 some cultures place emphasis on individual achievement,
whereas others place more value on group or collective
achievement
 audience members from individualistic cultures (USA, Great
Britain, Canada, Belgium, Australia) value and respond
positively to appeals that encourage personal accomplishment
and single out individual achievement
 audience members from collectivistic cultures (Japan,
Thailand, Taiwan, Venezuela) are more likely to value group
or team rewards. Community is important to people from
these cultures.
o high-context and low-context cultures
 the terms high-context and low-context refer to the
importance of unspoken or nonverbal messages
 in high-context cultures, people place considerable
importance on factors such as tone of voice, gestures,
facial expression, movement, and other nonverbal
aspects of communication
o they will pay particular attention to your
delivery
 people from low-context traditions are just the
opposite – they place greater emphasis on the words
themselves; the surrounding context has a relatively
low impact on the meaning of the message
o they will expect more detailed and explicit
information from a speaker
o tolerance of uncertainty and need for certainty
 some cultures are more comfortable with uncertainty than
others
 people from these cultures do not need to have the
explicit purpose of the message spelled out for them
and are less likely to need specific prescriptions for
problems
 the cultures in which people need to have specific details
“nailed down” tend to develop very specific regulations and
rules
 people from these cultures need concrete details when
you present your message
 they also want and expect to know what actions or
steps they can take
o high-power and low-power cultures
 power is the ability to influence or control others
 people from low-power cultures are more comfortable with
blurred lines of authority and favor more shared approaches
to leadership and governance
 people from high-power cultures prefer clearly defined lines
of authority and perceive people in leadership roles more
credibly
o long-term and short-term orientation to time
 some cultures take the view that it simply may take a long
time to accomplish certain goals
 these groups (particularly Asian and South American
cultures) often value patience, persistence, and
deferred gratification
o when speaking to these groups, it is important
to stress how issues and problems affect not
only the present, but also the future, especially
future generations
 short-term cultures value quick responses to problems and
will want to know what immediate steps can be taken to solve
a problem
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they are also result-oriented and expect that individual
and group efforts should result in some specific
positive outcomes
group membership
 people are social creatures and congregate in groups to gain
an identity, help accomplish projects we support, and to have
fun
 religious groups
o when discussing religious beliefs or an
audience’s values, use great care in what you say
and how you’ll say it
o know that some audience members will not
share your beliefs
o few beliefs are held as intensely as religious
ones
 political groups
 work groups
o professional organizations or associations often
take formal stands that may influence members’
views on certain issues
 social groups
o book clubs, film clubs, cooking groups, sports,
teams
 service groups
socioeconomic status is a person’s perceived importance and
influence based on income, occupation, and education level
 income – have a general idea of the income level of your
listeners
 occupation – know what people do for a living or their future
career plans can help you adapt your message
 education – knowing the educational background of your
audience can help you make decisions about your choice of
vocabulary, language style, and use of examples and
illustrations
focus on a target audience – a specific segment of an audience that
you most want to influence
use diverse strategies for a diverse audience
 use a variety of different types of supporting materials
 remember the power of stories
 if you’re uncertain about cultural preferences, use a balance of
both logical and emotional support
 consider showing the audience an outline of your key ideas
identify common values
 people in all cultures:
 have beliefs about death
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have a childhood fear of strangers
have a division of labor by sex
experience certain emotions and feelings, like envy,
pain, shame, and pride
 use facial expressions to express emotions
 have rules for etiquette
 experience empathy (the ability to understand and
share the feelings of others)
 value some degree of collaboration or cooperation
 experience conflict and seek to manage or mediate
conflict
o rely on visual materials that transcend language differences
 pictures and images can communicate universal messages
Psychological Audience Analysis
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psychological audience analysis explores an audience’s attitudes, beliefs,
values, and other psychological information about an audience in order to
develop a clear and effective message
o an attitude is an individual’s likes or dislikes
o a belief is an individual’s perception of what is true or false
o a value is an enduring concept of good or bad, right and wrong
 values are more resistant to change
o when analyzing an audience, it may help to categorize the group along
three dimensions:
 interested-uninterested
 favorable-unfavorable
 captive-voluntary
o your speech class is a captive audience, not a voluntary one
 they have to be there
 your speeches should connect with them so that they
forget they are required to be there
o it is important to establish your credibility before you begin to discuss
your topic so that your listeners are more likely to believe what you
say and to think that you are knowledgeable, interesting, and dynamic
 if you audience believes you to be credible, they will be much
more likely to be interested in, and supportive of, what you
have to say
o situational audience analysis is an examination of the time and
place of a speech, the audience size, and the speaking occasion, in
order to develop a clear and effective message
 these items can have a major effect on how your listeners
respond to you
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time – consider the time of day and the expectations of
speech length
 size of audience – this directly affects speaking style and
audience expectations about delivery
o as a rule, the larger the audience, the more
formal they will expect the speaker to be
 location – if possible, visit the place where you will give
your speech to examine the physical setting
o physical settings, such as lighting and
temperature can also affect your performance as
a speaker
 occasion – consider why the audience is there
in preparing for a speech assignment, consider the following:
 how many people are expected to attend the speech?
 how will the seating be arranged?
 how close will I be to the audience?
 will I speak from a lectern?
 will I be expected to use a microphone?
 what time of day will I be speaking?
 what is the room lighting like?
 will I have adequate equipment for my visual aids?
 where will I appear on the program?
 will there be noise or distractions outside the room?
Adapting to Your Audience as You Speak
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identify nonverbal audience clues
o eye contact
o facial expressions
o movement
o nonverbal responsiveness (for example, when you ask for a show of
hands, etc.)
o verbal responsiveness (shout out responses, express agreement or
disagreement)
responding to nonverbal cues
o things you can do:
 if audience seems inattentive or bored
 tell a story
 use an example
 use a personal example
 remind why your message should be of interest to them
 eliminate some abstract facts or statistics
 use appropriate humor
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make direct references to the audience – using names or
mentioning something about them
 ask them to participate
 pick up the pace of delivery
 pause for dramatic effect
 if audience seems confused or not understanding
 be redundant
 try phrasing information in another way
 use a visual aid
 if you have been speaking rapidly, slow down
 ask for feedback
 ask someone in the audience to summarize
 if your audience seems to be disagreeing with your message
 provide additional data and evidence
 remind your listeners of your credibility
 rely more on facts
 write facts or data visually for audience to see
 offer to provide more information to them after the
speech (and provide / gather contact information)
Strategies for Customizing Your Message to Your Audience
o appropriately use audience members’ names
o refer to the city, town, or community
o refer to a significant event that happened on the date of your speech
o refer to a recent news event
o refer to a group or organization
o relate information directly to your listeners
Analyzing Your Audience After you Speak
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After you speak, you’re not finished analyzing your audience. It is important
to evaluate your audience’s positive or negative response to your message.
This can help you prepare for your next speech.
o nonverbal responses
o verbal responses
o survey responses
o behavioral responses