Chapter Six
Analyzing the
Audience
Chapter Six
Table of Contents
Adapting to Audience Psychology
Adapting to Audience Demographics
Methods of Gathering Information
Analyzing the Speech Setting*
Analyzing the Audience
Audience analysis is the process of
gathering and analyzing information
about your listeners.*
Adapting to Audience
Psychology
People tend to evaluate messages in
terms of their own attitudes, beliefs, and
values, and not the speaker’s.
Psychological factors powerfully affect
how audiences are likely to receive and
process messages.*
Adapting to Audience
Psychology
Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values
Reactions toward the Topic, Speaker, and
Occasion*
Adapting to Audience Psychology:
Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values
Attitudes
A predisposition to respond to people, ideas,
and objects in evaluative ways.
Beliefs
The ways a person perceives reality to be.
Values
People’s most enduring judgments about
what’s good and bad in life.*
Adapting to Audience Psychology:
Reactions Toward the Topic,
Speaker, and Occasion
Feelings toward the topic:
People give more interest and attention to
topics for which they have a positive attitude,
and which align with their values and beliefs.
If your audience analysis reveals differences
between your attitudes and those of the
audience, you should take your audience’s
feelings into account.*
Adapting to Audience Psychology:
Reactions Toward the Topic,
Speaker, and Occasion
A speaker who is well-liked can gain at
least an initial hearing from an audience,
even if the listeners are unsure of what to
expect in terms of the substance and
quality of the message.*
Adapting to Audience Psychology:
Reactions Toward the Topic,
Speaker, and Occasion
Feelings toward the occasion:
People bring different sets of expectations
and emotions to a speech event.
The audience’s attitudes toward the occasion
should be one of the speaker’s key
considerations in planning and delivering a
speech.*
Adapting to Audience
Demographics
Demographics are the statistical
characteristics of a given population;
for example:
Age
Gender
Ethnic or cultural background
Socioeconomic status
Religion
Political affiliation*
Adapting to Audience Demographics:
Age
Each age group has its own concerns,
psychological drives, and motivations.
Awareness to the generational identities
of your audience can help you evaluate
your topic and the examples you use to
support it.*
Adapting to Audience Demographics:
Gender
Gender stereotypes are oversimplified
and often severely distorted ideas about
the innate nature of men or women.*
Adapting to Audience Demographics:
Ethnic or Cultural Background
Co-culture
Social community whose perceptions and
beliefs differ significantly from yours*
Adapting to Audience Demographics:
Ethnic or Cultural Background
Consider Geert Hofstede’s four “value
dimensions” when analyzing an audience:
Individualism versus Collectivism
Individualistic cultures emphasize the needs of the
individual, such as individual achievement and decisions
Collectivist cultures emphasize the needs and identity of
the group
High uncertainty versus Low Uncertainty
Higher Power Distance versus Lower Power Distance
Masculine versus Feminine*
Adapting to Audience Demographics:
Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic status
includes income,
occupation and
education.
Knowing the
socioeconomic status of
your audience can be
critical in effectively
targeting your
message.*
Adapting to Audience Demographics:
Religion
Some audience members are deeply
devoted to their faiths, while others have
few religious convictions.
Do not assume all members of your
audience share a Judeo-Christian
heritage.*
Adapting to Audience Demographics:
Political Affiliation
A public speaker should never make
unwarranted assumptions about an
audience’s political values and beliefs.*
Methods of Gathering
Information
After you know the
kind of information to
look for when
analyzing an
audience, the next
step is to actually
uncover it.*
Methods of Gathering
Information
The Interview
The Survey
Published Sources*
Methods of Gathering Information:
The Interview
An interview is a face-to-face
communication for the purpose of
gathering information.*
Methods of Gathering Information:
The Survey
A survey is designed
to gather information
from a large number
of respondents.*
Methods of Gathering Information:
The Survey
Questionnaires are written surveys
designed to gather information from a large
pool of respondents.
Closed-ended questions elicit a small
range of specific answers supplied by the
interviewer.
Fixed alternative questions contain a
limited choice of answers.
Open-ended questions allow respondents
to elaborate as much as they wish.*
Methods of Gathering Information:
Published Sources
Organizations of all
kinds publish Web
sites, brochures, print
articles, annual
reports, and industry
guides which you can
use to learn about
your audiences.*
Analyzing the Speech Setting
It is just as important that you know the
logistics of the actual speech setting as it
is for you to investigate the demographic
and psychological characteristics of your
audience.*
Analyzing the Speech Setting
Size of Audience and Physical Setting
Time and Length of Speech
Seating Capacity and Arrangement
Sound and Lighting
The Speech Context*
Analyzing the Speech Setting:
Size of Audience and Physical Setting
The size and physical setting in which a speech
occurs can have a significant effect on the
speech outcome.*
Analyzing the Speech Setting:
Time and Length
Find out how long you are expected to
speak; start and end well within your
allotted time.
Analyzing the Speech Setting:
Seating Capacity and Arrangement
Investigate seating
capacity and
arrangement prior
to speech.
How will the
audience be seated?
Will you be seated
or standing?*
Analyzing the Speech Setting:
Sound and Lighting
Lighting should be bright enough for people to
easily see the speaker and take notes.
Sound should be loud but not shocking, and
clear and crisp.*
Analyzing the Speech Setting:
The Speech Context
Each speech will have its own particular context.
Find out if you will be only one of many speakers,
and whether or not the other speakers are more
experienced than you.
Be aware of and take into consideration any
current events that could distract your audience,
such as a local storm or a controversial news
event.
By being alert to any of these contingencies, you can
address them in your speech.*