Chapter Ate

Audience Analysis

• Audience Analysis – act of gaining an understanding of your audience members and acting on that information

• 1) You speak for the audience• 2) Audience is different from you– Avoid ethnocentrism (own viewpoint is standard)

• 3) Audiences differ from one another

Benefits of Audience Analysis

• 1) Topic selection and shaping (interest and relevance)

• 2) Speak at listeners knowledge level• 3) Determines language needed to best

communicate message• 4) Decreases chance of alienating/ offending

How to analyze

• Types of data (demographic, attitudinal)• Collecting (existing research, host, expert,

surveys, listen and observe)• Make sense of data/ apply – (homogeneous

versus general audiences)

When To Analyze

• Before topic selection• Predetermined topic• Last minute analysis• During a presentation

Understand Speaking Situation

• Context analysis – meet expectations and general norms

• Types of Contexts– Physical – room size, equipment, etc…– Temporal – time, history, other speeches…– Psychological – moods and frames of mind

Chapter NINE

Speech Purpose/ Topic• Reason for speaking event– Asked, required or offering– Inform, persuade or mark a special occasion

• Where to find a topic– Personal experience– Topics you want to know more about– Others– Browse– Brainstorm

Topic cont…

• General Audience interest– Topics about themselves– Current topics– Historic and future-related– Curiosity satisfying

• Specific Audience interest– Chapter 8

Thesis Statement

• Thesis – one main idea to which everything else in your presentation connects.– True versus False thesis statements• One Synthesizing idea

– Benefits of a good thesis• Helps focus on audience• Listeners appreciate a meaningful thesis• Less is more