5.4 Conducting Audience Analysis

Now that we have described what audience analysis is and why it is important, let’s examine some details of how to conduct it. Exactly how can you learn about the people who will make up your audience?

Direct Observation

One way to learn about people is by watching how they act. You can pick up a lot just by paying attention to body language and behavior—but be careful not to jump to conclusions. For example, do people greet each other with handshakes, hugs, smiles, or just a nod? Do men and women interact physically, or do they keep more distance? Does the environment feel formal or casual?

You can also learn by listening to conversations. If you’re in a campus center and hear people talking about things like political issues or financial aid, that tells you what’s on their minds. But it’s important to think about the ethics of listening in. Are you overhearing a public conversation, or are you invading someone’s privacy by listening to something personal?

Interviews and Surveys

Because your demographic analysis will be limited to your most likely audience, your most accurate way to learn about them is to seek personal information through interviews and surveys. An interview is a one-on-one exchange in which you ask questions of a respondent, whereas a survey is a set of questions administered to several—or, preferably, many—respondents. Interviews may be conducted face-to-face, by phone, or by written means, such as texting. Interviews let you dive deeper into a topic than surveys do, but they take more time to conduct. Surveys, on the other hand, are quicker and easier to distribute. While some surveys are done in person or over the phone, online surveys are becoming more popular. You can create one using free or paid tools like SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang.

One big advantage of online surveys is that people can respond anonymously. That can make them more willing to participate and answer personal questions honestly. Surveys are great for collecting information fast, but unlike interviews, you can’t ask follow-up questions to understand why someone gave a certain answer.

When you use interviews and surveys, there are several important things to keep in mind:

• Make sure your interview and survey questions are directly related to your speech topic. Do not use interviews to delve into private areas of people’s lives. For instance, if your speech is about the debate between creationism and evolution, limit your questions to their opinions about that topic; do not meander into their beliefs about sexual behavior or their personal religious practices.
• Create and use a standard set of questions. If you “ad lib” your questions so that they are phrased differently for different interviewees, you will be comparing “apples and oranges” when you compare the responses you’ve obtained.
• Keep interviews and surveys short, or you could alienate your audience long before your speech is even outlined. Tell them the purpose of the interview or survey and make sure they understand that their participation is voluntary.
• Don’t rely on just a few respondents to inform you about your entire audience. In all likelihood, you have a cognitively diverse audience. In order to accurately identify trends, you will likely need to interview or survey at least ten to twenty people.

In addition, when you conduct interviews and surveys, keep in mind that people are sometimes less than honest in describing their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. This widely recognized weakness of interviews and survey research is known as socially desirable responding: the tendency to give responses that are considered socially acceptable. Marketing professor Ashok Lalwani divides socially desirable responding into two types: (1) impression management, or intentionally portraying oneself in a favorable light, and (2) self-deceptive enhancement, or exaggerating one’s good qualities, often unconsciously (Lalwani, 2009).

You can reduce the effects of socially desirable responding by choosing your questions carefully. As marketing consultant Terry Vavra advises, “one should never ask what one can’t logically expect respondents to honestly reveal” (Vavra, 2009). For example, if you want to know audience members’ attitudes about body piercing, you are likely to get more honest answers by asking “Do you think body piercing is attractive?” rather than “How many piercings do you have, and where on your body are they located?”

Focus Groups

A focus group is a small group of people who give you feedback about their perceptions. As with interviews and surveys, in a focus group, you should use a limited list of carefully prepared questions designed to get at the information you need to understand their beliefs, attitudes, and values specifically related to your topic.

If you conduct a focus group, part of your task will be striking a balance between allowing the discussion to flow freely according to what group members have to say and keeping the group focused on the questions. It’s also your job to guide the group in maintaining responsible and respectful behavior toward each other.

In evaluating focus group feedback, do your best to be receptive to what people had to say, whether or not it conforms to what you expected. Your purpose in conducting the group was to understand group members’ beliefs, attitudes, and values about your topic, not to confirm your assumptions.

Existing Data about Your Audience

Sometimes you can find useful info about your audience ahead of time. For example, if you’re speaking to students, you might know their majors or what year they’re in. Seniors have likely worked hard and care about their education, while sophomores are still figuring things out. Knowing this can help you choose a topic and tone that connects with your audience.

In other cases, you may be able to use demographics collected by public and private organizations. Demographic analysis is done by the U.S. Census Bureau through the American Community Survey, which is conducted every year, and through other specialized demographic surveys (Bureau of the Census, 2011; Bureau of the Census, 2011). The Census Bureau analysis generally captures information about people in all the regions of the United States, but you can drill down in census data to see results by state, by age group, by gender, by race, and by other factors.

Demographic information about narrower segments of the United States, down to the level of individual ZIP codes, is available through private organizations such as the Nielsen Company and Sperling’s Best Places. Sales and marketing professionals use this data, and you may find it useful for your audience analysis as well.