Audience Analysis

1. Audience Analysis Panther Prep (Public Speaking) North Central High School

2. The Audience • The audience for a speech must be considered by the speaker because he/she must encode the message in a way that the audience will be able to decode it. • The message must be encoded to engage and inform the audience at their level, not at the speaker’s level.

3. Considerations • When analyzing an audience, one should consider: • Age/education • Backgrounds • Interests • Attitudes toward the subject (feeling) • Abilities

4. Demographics • Demographics include age, education, beliefs and special interests. • Delivering a speech on the Physics to a group of first graders would be wasteful because their demographics would prevent the decoding of the speaker’s message. • The speech should be catered to the “norm” or average of the audience. • Err on the side of caution when demographic information is less than clear. (Don’t talk down.)

5. The Difference • Demographic analysis should determine: • The formality of the delivery • The level of detail given in the speech • The vocabulary used by the speaker • The direction of the speech (informative, persuasive, demonstrative, etc.) • The expected outcome of the speech

6. Types of Audiences • Audiences are generally grouped into 3 categories: • A Favorable Audience: The audience is already on the side of the speaker. • An Indifferent Audience: The audience is in need of stimulation to the idea and are open. • An Opposed Audience: The audience is at odds with the speaker’s views.

7. The Difference • The type of audience will determine how the speech is approached. • A democrat addressing the N.R.A. would not start out a speech by saying “We need to get every gun off the street.” • He/She has lost their audience at the beginning of the speech and will have to fight to get them back. (Breakdown=Encoding)

8. Purpose, Subject and Main Idea • The purpose, subject and main idea are often considered synonymous, but are NOT. • The purpose refers to the desired end result. • The subject refers to the content of the speech. • The main idea is the view point and focus the speaker takes in the speech.

9. For Example • A person wishes to get his/her local school board to divert more money to the performing arts program at the schools in their township. • Purpose: To actuate change or action. • Subject: Performing arts in schools. • Main Idea: Township schools should have more money for performing arts.

10. Purpose • Generally speaking, the purpose of a speech is either: • To entertain (Special Occasion) • To inform (Informative, Demonstrative) • To persuade (Persuasive, Discussion, Debate) • To convince • To reinforce • To actuate

11. Selecting a Subject • When selecting a subject, the speaker should ask himself/herself: • Is the subject suited to my purpose? • Is the subject interesting to me? • Am I qualified to speak on this subject? • Will my audience find the subject interesting? • Will my audience for this subject useful? • Is my subject sufficiently narrowed?

12. Specific Purpose • The purpose of a speech should be specific. • The larger the area that must be covered, the less time the speaker will have to concentrate on the importance of the issue. • Experts in a field often miss the boat as speakers because they feel that the audience must be experts after the speech. • Narrowing the scope of a speech allows the speaker to control the outcome more directly.

13. The Channel • The speaker composes and delivers the message and the audience receives and decodes the message. • The avenue by which the message is transmitted is called the channel. • There are several barriers that can block the channel of communication. • The speaker is responsible for removing or reducing these barriers.

14. Listening Road Blocks • Barriers to listening (the channel) can include: • External noise • Internal noise • Bias toward the speaker (“What you are speaks so loud I can’t hear what you are saying.”) • Emotional reaction • Daydreaming • Fatigue • Improper note taking

15. Improve Listening • To improve the audiences listening ability the speaker should: • Minimize distractions (external/internal) • Identify the main idea • Identify the main points • The audience should: • Prepare to listen • Think along with the speaker • Take effective notes

16. Note Taking • Notes should compliment the listener’s thought process. • To improve the effectiveness of notes: • Write only the IMPORTANT ideas • Write legibly • Keep up • Use your own words • Be brief • Don’t erase • Date your notes • Revisit and expand notes shortly after speech

17. 8 speakers will be chosen PREPARATION: Take 10 min. to interview a fellow classmate. and prepare to introduce them to the class. DELIVERY: You will have 2 min. to deliver the speech. (Outline only…NO SCRIPTS) Be sure to include all of the following in your speech: Name Location (Home) Background Favorite Book, TV Show, Movie and Band. Describe their Personality Something you found memorable about the person Impromptu Speech: Peer Introduction

18. Impromptu Speech Peer-Introduction w/ Interview