Chapter 5: Audience Analysis
Learning Objectives
- Recognize the importance of audience-centered speech.
- Know how to adapt your speech to your audience.
- Learn how to gather and use demographic, psychographic, and situational information.
- Learn to use effective tools for gathering audience information.
- Use your audience analysis to prepare a speech and to alter your speech while speaking.
Key Terms
prejudice or discrimination against a particular age-group and especially the elderly
the process of gathering information about the people in your audience so that you can understand their needs, expectations, beliefs, values, attitudes, and likely opinions
audiences that are required to be present or feel obligated to do so
the assumption that people today are superior to people who lived in earlier eras (Russell, 1991)
the perception the audience holds of you regarding your competence and character
compiling information, such as the gender, age range, marital status, race, and ethnicity of the people in your audience
information such as the gender, age range, marital status, race, and ethnicity of the people in your audience
a key dimension of audience membership and, therefore, of audience analysis; while the term “diversity” is often used to refer to racial and ethnic minorities, it is important to realize that audiences can be diverse in many other ways as well
consciousness of being or belonging to an elite
the attitude that one's own group, ethnicity, or nationality is superior to others
the term Aristotle used to refer to what we now call credibility: the perception that the speaker is honest, knowledgeable, and rightly motivated
a small group of people who give you feedback about their perceptions
the unique set of perspectives, experience, knowledge, and values belonging to every individual
a word or phrase where the meaning cannot be predicted from normal, dictionary definitions
a one-on-one exchange in which you ask questions of a respondent
compiling information on the beliefs, attitudes, and values that your audience members embrace
involves the beliefs, attitudes, and values that your audience members embrace
a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
prejudice or discrimination based on sex
compiling information on characteristics related to the specific speaking situation
refers to a combination of characteristics including income, wealth, level of education, and occupational prestige
taking for granted that people with a certain characteristic in common have the same likes, dislikes, values, and beliefs
a set of questions administered to several—or, preferably, many—respondents
gathers because they want to hear the speech, attend the event, or participate in an event
