UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

Chapter 6

Audience Analysis

Used to mean making generalizations about an audience based on demographic characteristics. Demo characteristics include traits such as age, sex,

gender, race, and socio-cultural background. Effective audience analysis today also means

examining the environmental characteristics of an audience.

Psychological characteristics are those factors that motivate people to listen to and retain ideas.

Environmental characteristics influence why listeners attend and what they expect from a particular speech.

Demographic Characteristics

Can be used to make inferences about your audience.

Try to discover connections that you have with your audience and play those up.

Age Impacts listeners attitudes, beliefs, values, interests,

and knowledge. Age effects a listeners goals.

Demographic Characteristics

Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation Some topics are more relevant to one of the sexes. Gender is the socialized tendencies to be masculine,

feminine, or androgynous. Effective public speakers respect the diversity of

sexual orientations of their audience members and avoid offensive remarks that could marginalize people.

Demographic Characteristics

Group Affiliation Thanks to the diversity of the United States, there are

many different group affiliations that can be represented in your audience.

From religious affiliation to political affiliation, your speeches should be respectful of all possible group affiliations, even if your chosen topic challenges the views of these groups.

Demographic Characteristics

Socio-economic factors The amount of money your audience earns can

influence their beliefs and attitudes. If your listeners work in the same field, they are more

likely to share experiences, skills, and perspectives. The more educated your audience, the more likely

they will be familiar with a large group of topics.

Socio-cultural Background Determined by family and group affiliation while

growing up. Influences values, beliefs, and attitudes.

Analysis of Psychological Characteristics

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Five levels:

Physiological Needs- related to self-preservation: air, water, food, rest, avoidance of pain.

Safety Needs- relate to a need for order, stability, and security.

Love and belongingness needs- reflect our desire to share our lives with others.

Esteem needs- our desire for recognition and and self-respect.

Self-actualization needs- desire to reach our personal potential.

We are motivated by our most basic unmet need.

Analysis of Psychological Characteristics

Rhetorical Appeals Ethos: appeals to the speaker’s credibility or

competence and character. Pathos: appeal’s to emotion. Logos: appeals to logic. Try to appeal to all three to be an effective speaker.

Analysis of Psychological Characteristics

Learning Styles Watching Mode: use visual aides to appeal to this

style. Doing Mode: make the audience engage in an activity

to get your point across. Feeling Mode: use examples that place your points in

a real-life context. Thinking Mode: offer facts and statistics to support

your points.

Methods for Audience Analysis

Direct Methods Most common methods are interviews, focus groups,

and surveys. Interviews: you ask a single person open and closed

ended questions to determine their feelings about your subject.

Focus groups: like an interview with a small group of people.

Survey: a focus group on a much larger scale.

Methods for Audience Analysis

Indirect Methods Observe Ask others who have spoken to the group. Research.