CHAPTER 5
ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE AND SELECTING A REALLY GREAT TOPIC
Chapter Objective: This chapter covers a crucial component of speech preparation. Students
may design speeches carefully, but the ability to take into account the specific nature of an
audience’s frame of reference takes time and heightened sensitivity to develop. As you discuss
prospective topics with your students, constantly prompt them to explain how they are adapting
to the audience at hand. How are they making the topic and approach relevant to their listeners’
reality?
Chapter Outline
I. The first way to begin analyzing your audience is to learn as much as you can about the
speaking situation.
II. Situational information deals with the circumstances in which a speech will be given.
A. Are audience members attending voluntarily?
1. Voluntary audiences tend to be more homogeneous, i.e., they have a lot
in common.
2. Involuntary audiences tend to be more heterogeneous, i.e., they differ
from each other in many ways.
B. How many people will be in the audience?
C. How much does the audience know or think they know about the topic?
D. What does the audience know about you and what is their opinion of you as a
speaker?
E. What type of presentation does the audience expect?
F. Who, if anyone, will be speaking before you and what will they say?
1. Prior speakers create an atmosphere for your speech.
2. When following another speaker, your introduction is crucial.
a.) If the previous speech is relevant to yours, mention that
connection.
b.) If it doesn’t, mention how your speech will differ or make a
startling statement to shock the audience into another mood.
III. Demographic information is another component of audience analysis.
A. The age of the audience influences their interests and should affect your choice
of topics and examples.
B. Ethnic and cultural backgrounds of audience member are an important
consideration.
1. Be aware of different cultural groups represented in the audience so you
can determine whether your remarks will be appropriate.
2. Be sensitive to reactions to the effects of verbal and visual delivery.
C. Gender affects audience perceptions and reactions.
1. Avoid gender stereotyping.
2. Adapt for men and women in your speech.
3. Make sure your word choices show gender sensitivity.
D. Group affiliation, including religion, affects the audience’s frames of reference.
E. Marital and family status can shape audience reactions.
1. Beware of stereotyping people according to family status.
2. Consider members of the audience who will not marry or have no
children.
F. Occupation, education, choice of major, and economic status can affect how the
audience receives your speech.
IV. The Internet makes collecting audience information easy.
A. Search engines such as Yahoo and Google can be used to search general
demographic information.
B. The organization or group that has asked you to speak may have its own website
which may contain demographic information about its members.
V. Your topic determines which demographic characteristics are relevant for a particular
speech.
VI. Psychological characteristics of the audience are a vital aspect of adaptation.
A. Values are principles that serve as guides for behavior.
1. Values support beliefs and attitudes.
2. Terminal values are ideal states of being (Rokeach).
3. Instrumental values are guides for how to fulfill terminal values
(Rokeach).
4. Values
5. Values are difficult to change, so speeches appear to be stable across
time. Therefore, they are more difficult to change than beliefs or
attitudes.
B. A belief is the acceptance that something is true even if it is unproven.
1. Beliefs are a result of listeners’ terminal and instrumental values.
2. If you discover that a belief is based on false information or that the
audience thinks they know more than they actually do, you will have a
better idea of what information and arguments to present.
C. An attitude is a feeling of approval or disapproval, toward a person, group, idea
or event.
1. Attitudes are based on beliefs.
2. Attitudes can influence behaviors.
3. The theory of reasoned action states that audience members will
calculate costs and benefits of actions.
D. A need is an unsatisfied condition.
1. You may need to show the audience that a need exists.
2. If the speech satisfies an unfulfilled need, the audience will probably
listen.
E. Fitting your message to audience needs is called framing.
1. Loss framing is especially effective in situations where risk and
uncertainty are prevalent.
F. There can be hazards when audience analysis is incomplete.
VII. The audience type determines audience receptivity.
A. The friendly audience is favorably predisposed toward you or your topic.
B. The neutral audience considers itself rational, objective, and open to new
information.
C. The uninterested or indifferent audience has a short attention span and might not
want to be present.
D. The hostile audience is predisposed against you or your topic.
VIII. Audience information must be collected carefully.
A. Information can be gathered before the speech.
4. You can arrive early and talk with audience members.
B. Information can be gathered after the speech.
1. Make yourself available after the speech so you can receive feedback
from the audience.
2. A brief questionnaire can provide useful information.
3. A videotape of the speech allows self-analysis.
IX. Using audience analysis will help with speech preparation no matter the type of speech
you will be giving.
A. Ask if, at this point in the course, will your classmates’ current opinions of me
add to my credibility or take away from it.
X. Once you have analyzed your audience, you are ready topic a specific topic.
A. Select a topic that fits the requirements of the assignment and fits the allotted
time.
B. Select a topic that showcases your experiences and knowledge. You may want
to use a spontaneous listing of ideas (brainstorming).
C. Select a topic that is of interest to you.
D. Select a topic that you can make interesting and valuable to your audience.
XI. An exact purpose is a clear, simple sentence that specifies exactly what you want your
audience to gain from the speech. It begins with “After hearing my speech, the
audience will be able to…”
XII. It is time to focus on your main points.
A. Beginning speakers tend to include too many main points.
B. You will likely need to do some initial research to discover what main points
will work best.
Classroom Exercises
Online Activity
Online students need the same benefits as our “in person” students; therefore this week is a
good time to let them analyze their audiences. Post this form on the discussion board and ask
them to fill out their answers in a reply post. Each student should comment on at least one
posting by a fellow classmate.
o Age: Between 17-25; 26-35; 36-45; over 45
o Are you: Married or Single?
o Do you have children?
o Are you from the city or were you raised in the country?
o If you were asked to identify yourself with a particular political party, which
one would it be?
o What is your occupation? Or what occupation do you hope to have when you
finish college?
o When you have free time, what do you enjoy doing?
o Ask a question that you’re interested in knowing about your audience.
This activity allows students to get a general feel for the demographics of their audience. It
also gives them an opportunity to find out how the audience feels on a particular topic they’re
considering.
Online Activity
Your students should email you their topic with an exact purpose statement as well as three
sources. If any of their sources come from the Internet, they should write justifications for why
they chose this particular site, some information about the author or the source, the date the site
was last updated and reasons why they feel the source is objective.
Speech Builder Express Activity
Use Speech Builder Express to help develop main points. Select “Main Points” from the left
hand menu. The “tutor” button will provide key information from CHAPTER 5.
Active Critical Thinking Activity
To think further about situational information, ask students to complete the following:
To think further about demographic information, ask students to complete the following:
To think further about psychological information, ask students to complete the following:
1. Using the speech topic you gathered demographical information for, list any
major values, beliefs, and attitudes your audience members seem to have that
will impact their interest and attention toward your speech.
2. What unsatisfied need exists in some of your audience members that you can
use as a motivator in your speech? Will it work best as an attention-getter or as
an element in the body of your speech? Why?
1. Using your speech topic, determine how receptive your audience is likely to be
toward your speech by deciding their audience type – friendly, neutral,
uninterested, or hostile.
2. Which strategies does the text suggest you use when dealing with this type of
audience? Which one do you think will be the most successful? Why?
To think further about collecting audience information, ask students to complete the following:
1. To finalize your audience analysis for your next speech, compare the answers
given by Kara (sample speech beginning on page 87), make any needed
changes, and have the final analysis ready to give your instructor if asked.
2. What specific things do you plan to do to collect information after your next
speech?
5.1 Multiple-Choice Audience Analysis
Before your class session about audience analysis, generate a list of 15-20 multiple choice
questions, giving students four answer options to choose from about themselves (though some
questions may require only two answers). Most of these questions will be demographic in
nature, but you can also include questions about attitudes, beliefs, and needs. Some example
questions are:
1. What are your plans after graduating? A) get a job/get a promotion; B)
Transfer/go to graduate school; C) get married/have children; D) travel/move
2. How old are you? A) 16-17; B) 18-20; C) 21-24; D) 25+
3. What is the highest degree you plan to earn? A) Associate’s degree; B)
Bachelor’s degree; C) Master’s degree; D) Doctorate degree
4. Are you: A) Christian; B) Muslim; C) Jewish; D) Atheist?
5. Do you believe marijuana should be legalized? B) Yes; D) No
6. Are you: B) Republican; D) Democrat?
If you’d also like this activity to be a get–to-know-you activity, you can add other questions,
such as:
1. What is your favorite type of movie? A) Horror; B) Action; C) Drama; D)
Comedy
2. What continent would you most like to visit? A) Australia; B) South America;
C) Africa; D) Europe
3. What’s your favorite holiday? A) Valentine’s Day; B) 4th of July; C)
Halloween; D) Christmas
Print large letters A, B, C, and D and hang them in the corners of your classroom at the
beginning of your class session. Let students know that they’ll be taking a quiz and give them
the following directions: When you ask each question, they are to get up and move to the
corner that best represents the answer to the question in their opinion. Once in their corner,
they should talk to their classmates about why they chose that answer. If one of the options you
give does not represent their answer, they should move to the center of the room. Then ask
your questions. You may choose whether or not to move around the room answering the
questions for yourself. After the activity, ask students what this activity was intended to
demonstrate. Most will understand it is an activity about audience analysis and you can then
discuss what they should have observed about their classmates during this activity and how this
can help them in their upcoming speeches.
5.2 Considering Audience Receptivity
Ask your class to generate five or six speech topics and craft them into informative or
persuasive specific purpose statements. For each of these topics, assign a student ONE item
from EACH column below. For each combination, the student should explain at least one
specific adaptation that should be made in that category for that audience.
Type of Audience Category of Adaptation
1. Friendly 1. Physical delivery
5.3 Researching and Adapting to Audience Dynamics
One danger of audience analysis is that it invites stereotypes based on little more than
unsupported generalities. To avoid this tendency and to encourage research skills, have
students conduct a detailed analysis of the class as their audience. Divide the class into teams
5.4 Practicing with Problem Audiences
We generally concentrate on audience adaptation as a preparatory phase of public speaking.
The adaptations speakers make during the speech, however, are important as well. Prepare
several impromptu speech topics and bring them to class. TWO students will deliver speeches
The mission for the speaker is to pick up on audience feedback quickly and take explicit
measures to adjust to it. Speakers should not make comments about the audience (e.g., “Why
are you looking at me that way?”), because such behavior never would be acceptable in an
actual presentation. In discussing the exercise in class, evaluate how effectively each speaker
adapted to the problem audience. What indications did speakers give that they were flustered?
How could these manifestations of frustration or nervousness be reduced?
5.5 Obtaining Demographic Information
Although courses such as this one emphasize the importance of analyzing the audience, more
and more presentations occur under circumstances that prevent us from gathering the very
information we need. As mass-mediated presentations become more frequent, our audiences
become more anonymous. This audience anonymity requires speakers to gather information in
ways similar to pollsters and political campaign consultants. To prepare for this exercise, ask
students to write a list of assumptions they have about audience demographics for the
following groups:
As an exercise in getting audience demographics when the actual membership of the audience
is unknown, try this procedure. Using the Internet, navigate to the United States Census Bureau
home page. Print or download demographic information from the most recent national census.
(Another good source is the Statistical Abstract of the United States, found online, or at the
reference desk of most libraries.) Next, find information about your state’s population (usually
obtained by directing your search engine to search for the state name, which will yield results
that include a state government page). Compare the state’s demographic information to the
same categories of information in the U.S. Census. What adjustments will speakers need to
make to account for these differences? Students should compare their actual findings to their
list of assumptions. How accurately did they predict the demographics of the audience? Which
predictions were inaccurate and why? Root out generalizations based on misinformation or
faulty categorizations. Your class should be prepared to discuss how their findings confirmed
or contradicted their assumptions.
5.6 Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an important tool for constructing motive appeals that will
move audiences. Unfortunately, many students find Maslow’s system highly abstract and avoid
it. To demonstrate the usefulness of Maslow’s hierarchy, try this exercise. Assign or have
students pick one of the following bizarre products:
2. Milk of Magnesia milkshake
4. Toothbrush for cats
6. Books of blank pages
8. Wine-flavored chewing tobacco
10. Methane-fueled automobiles
Of course, you should feel free to add your own weird items. Keep the items strange so that no
one has the advantage of already knowing about the topic. Odd topics like this also reduce the
inevitable tension of impromptu speeches.
5.7 Think, Pair, Share: Adapting to the Audience
Develop a list of heterogeneous audience members and a list of speech topics. Cut the list and
put it into an envelope or something else that the students can draw from. Divide the class into
dyads. Have each dyad come up and draw a topic from one envelope and an audience from the
other envelope. When they return to their seats, they should each take a few minutes to reflect
alone on how the topic could be adapted to the particular audience that they have been given.
The dyads should then work together to develop a very short speech (which will be delivered
by both members of the dyad) that shows how they have adapted their topic to fit their
audience. When the groups speak, they should tell who their target audience is. Some
possibilities include:
Possible audiences: Possible topics:
Senior Citizens The NRA
5.8 Topic Mania
Have each student find five interesting informative or persuasive topics and bring them to class.
The topics must be intriguing, relevant to the classroom audience, and newsworthy. (No stale
