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Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Lecture Notes
Chapter 5: Analyzing and Adapting to the Audience
Learning Objectives
1-1 Analyze your audience using formal and informal tools
1-2 Use the makeup of the audience as your guide
1-3 Plan your speech to reflect audience demographics
1-4 Plan your speech to reflect audience psychographics
1-5 Plan your speech to reflect the nature of the situation
Outline
I. Audience analysis is the process of gathering and interpreting information about receivers so
that the message can be adapted to meet and reflect the needs and interests of the audience.
A. Consider the audience’s make up in order to decide how best to reach, influence,
motivate or entertain the audience.
1. What do the speaker and listener have in common?
B. A key component in becoming an effective speaker is to become audience centered.
1. If you center attention on the audience members, they will make you the
center of their attention.
2. The audience-centered speaker is motivated by an understanding of
receivers.
II. Audience members pay closest attention to messages that they can relate to.
A. It is important to answer preliminary questions to relate your ideas to the values,
beliefs, needs and wants of the audience.
1. To whom am I speaking?
2. How do they feel about my topic?
3. What would they like me to share with them?
4. What kind of presentation do they expect me to deliver?
5. What do I hope to accomplish?
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
6. How important is my presentation to them?
7. What do they know, want to know, and need to know about my subject?
8. How do they feel about me?
9. What problems or goals do the members of the audience have?
10. What should I do to gain and maintain their interest and attention?
III. Developing an understanding of the audience starts with drawing their demographic profile.
A. Demographic profile is a composite of characteristics including age, gender,
educational level, racial, ethnic or cultural ties, group affiliations and socioeconomic
background.
1. Homogeneous audience is one whose members are similar in age, have
similar characteristics, attitudes, values and knowledge.
2. Heterogeneous audience is one composed of persons of diverse ages with
different characteristics, attitudes, values, and knowledge.
a. Most common
3. Generational differences influence receivers.
4. Another key variable to consider is the ratio of males to females in the
audience.
5. Knowing the average level of education of receivers will help the speaker
make choices regarding vocabulary, language style and supporting materials.
a. Deliver a two-sided presentation, a presentation that considers
alternative perspectives, versus a more simplistic one-sided presentation.
6. Potential misunderstandings can occur from differences in racial, ethnic,
religious and cultural differences.
7. Memberships in occupational, political, civic and social groups also provides
speakers with an accurate prediction of the way audience members will react to a
topic.
8. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds look at situations,
events and issues differently based on their own perspectives.
IV. Learning about audience members’ psychographics, how they feel about themselves, their
attitudes toward various issues, their motives for being there and how they feel about the
speaker’s topic, the speaker and the occasion or event, provides additional clues to the likely
reactions of the audience.
A. In order to ensure a speech is successful, a psychographic snapshot of the audience
is necessary.
1. Values are principles important to us and judge what we see as good or bad;
right or wrong.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
2. Beliefs are what we hold to be true or false.
3. Attitudes are favorable or unfavorable predispositions we carry
4. Understand how the audience perceives your topic.
a. Make small talk with audience before or after speech
5. Understand how the audience perceives you.
b. Credible or not credible
V. As a speaker, it is important to consider the speaking situation.
A. An important component of your audience analysis is considering the reason for
their attendance, as well as the occasion, location, and time at which your speech will take
place.
1. Analyze the occasion.
a. What is the nature of the group you are to address?
b. What is your reason for speaking?
c. What is the length of time allotted for your presentation?
2. Consider the time.
a. Early in the morning and you will have to wake them up
3. Ask the invitee about the group he or she represents.
4. Use personal knowledge and observations to your advantage.
5. Research audience attitudes.
a. A questionnaire should contain closed-ended questions, which
allow for very minimal responses.
b. Scaled questions allow responses along a continuum.
c. Open-ended questions invite participants to answer in their
own words.
