Audience Analysis: Understanding Speakers and Audiences for Effective Communication, Study notes of Communication

Download Audience Analysis: Understanding Speakers and Audiences for Effective Communication and more Study notes Communication in PDF only on Docsity! 1315 - Audience Analysis Speakers and audiences create meaning together The ability to communicate has less to do with creating noble language than with creating language that the people you want to reach can accept as their own. (From: Burton Kaplan, Strategic Communication) • Good speakers are audience-centered - They keep the audience foremost in mind at every step of speech preparation and presentation. • As a speaker: • You must research your audience thoroughly. • If you do not know the composition of a group, you cannot make intelligent decisions about what to include, what to emphasize, how best to arrange and present your ideas. • The audience's age, sex, attitudes, expectations are all relevant to your planning. "Working" an audience requires different combinations of analysis and adaptation techniques. It is necessary to "mix and match" for different audience compositions. Source: Sprague, Jo, and Douglas Stuart. The Speaker's Handbook. 4th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1996 Conducting an Audience Analysis I. Develop an understanding of your audience by seeking information through as many channels as possible. A. Direct observation B. Systematic Data Collection C. Selected Interviews/focus groups D. The contact person E. Intelligent inference and empathy II. Analyze the demographic characteristics of your audience as an aid to predicting their orientation Demographic Analysis (Lucas) Consists of two steps: 1. Identifying the general demographic features of your audience 2. Gauging the importance of those features to a particular speaking situation A. Main Demographics 1. Age/Generation 2. Sex/Gender 3. Racial, Ethnic, or Cultural Background B. Additional Demographics 1. Religious Orientation 2. Group Membership Questions to aid in conducting an audience analysis: • What is the average age of the audience members? • What is the age range? • What is the sexual breakdown of the audience? • What racial and ethnic groups are represented, in about what proportions? • What is the socioeconomic composition of the group? • What occupations are represented? • What religious groups are represented? • What is the political orientation of the group? • How homogeneous (similar) of heterogeneous (diverse) are the audience members for each of the above characteristics? III. Try to understand what is meaningful to your audience It is extremely important to understand how a particular group of people determines meaning. Two sources of information: A. Learn about cultural and group differences by reading, traveling, being exposed to literature and art forms that shake up your own category systems. B. You can learn by listening opening and participating in dialogue with the people you want to understand. IV. Determine the audience's attitudes toward your topic The Audience Scale Favorable Neutral Hostile Favorable - credibility is not as difficult to establish. - use emotional appeals to strengthen support - get a public commitment (show of hands, signatures, etc.) - provide several specific alternatives for action - tell them what to do/ make it easy and attractive - prepare audience to carry on the message to others Neutral - uninterested, uninformed, undecided • Uninterested audience - Stress attention factors - show how they are affected - Make sure facts and statistics are relevant to the audience - incorporate humor and human interest • Uninformed audience - emphasize material that clarifies and illuminates your position. • Undecided audience - establish credibility by presenting new arguments that blend logical and emotional appeals Hostile - can range from slightly to strongly disagree - the more they disagree with you, the more they will reject you and your message. - appearance and delivery play a major role - humor that fails is fatal - over-expression is labeled as fanatic - Audience realizes your disadvantage - use as a challenge to your skill • Guidelines for Speaking to a Hostile Audience 1. Set realistic goals 2. Stress Common ground 3. Base the message on sound logic and extensive evidence. Use phrases as "These examples suggest..." instead of "These prove..." Always cite your sources 4. Pay particular attention to establishing a credible image. - good character, good sense, good will 5. Never direct humor at the audience or their beliefs Direct it at yourself, your position, a common enemy, or the ironic aspects of the confrontation. V. Anticipate your audience's expectations by gathering details about the specific speech situation. 1. What do they know about your topic? 2. What do they think about you? 3. What is the history of your audience as a group? 4. What is the program surrounding your speech? Conducting a Situational Analysis (Lucas) Situational Analysis -defined- - An audience analysis that focuses on situational factors such as the size of the audience, the physical setting for the speech, and the disposition of the audience toward the topic, the speaker, and the occasion. I. Size: The larger the audience, the more formal your presentation must be. Audience size also influences language selections, choices of audience appeals, and the use and types of visual aids. II. Disposition toward the topic - A. Interest - What's in it for me?" - Give the audience a reason to listen • Everybody on the receiving end wants to feel that what you have to say relates to what is already on their minds. B. Knowledge - the level of audience knowledge will determine how technical and detailed the message can be. C. Attitude -defined - A frame of mind in favor of or opposed to a person, policy, belief, institution, etc. III. Disposition toward the speaker - speaker competence and credibility are main factors in the audiences disposition.