Transcript A Speaker’s guidebook 4th ed

A SPEAKER’S GUIDEBOOK
4TH EDITION
CHAPTER 6
Audience Analysis
Audience Analysis
The process of gathering
and analyzing information
about audience members
with the explicit aim of
adapting your message to
the information you
uncover about them.
An audience-centered approach


You are more likely to engage and maintain your
listeners’ attention if you let their interests and
background guide you in the writing of your speech.
Do not abandon your own convictions on your topic
in your attempt to reach your audience; pandering
to your audience’s whims undermines your
credibility.
Identify listener disposition
Uncover audience feelings or expectations
towards:
the
topic of the speech
you as the speaker
the speech occasion
Using demographic data
Refer back to the demographic
data you recorded about your
classmates in Step Four of the
Chapter Two lecture.
Think about your topic ideas and the values,
attitudes, and beliefs your classmates may have
about them.
Demographic characteristics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Age
Socioeconomic status
Religious/Political affiliation
Gender
Disability
Ethnic/Cultural Background
Target Audience
>The individuals who are more likely to be influenced
by your message.
>Product marketers use demographic data in
determining how to design commercials and ads.
>Generational identity
impacts what examples,
TV shows, or songs will
connect with your
listeners.
Gender stereotyping
Gender is more than being male or female; it
includes our psychological understanding of what it
means to be male or female.
 Sexist language casts
males or females into
stereotyped roles.

Cultural differences
Communication theorists, such as Hofstede and
Lewis, have studied how culture has influenced
behavior patterns and attitudes in different cultural
groups.
A speaker must also consider how the audience
member cultural backgrounds influence how each
may respond to the message.
Hofstede’s Value-Dimensions Model
Individualism vs. Collectivism
 High uncertainty vs. Low uncertainty avoidance
 High power vs. Low power distance
 Masculine vs. Feminine
 Long-term vs. Short-term time orientation

Lewis’ Cultural Types Model
1.
2.
3.
People from linear active cultures are systematic
planners.
People from multi-active cultures tend to be
people-oriented, talkative, and do many things at
once.
In contrast, people from reactive cultures rarely
initiate discussions, are accommodating, and are
slow to take action.
Group Activity: Recognizing Dominant Culture
Traits
With your group members, identify by
country name, the cultures according
to Lewis’ Cultural types. See which
group can name the most countries
accurately.
Linear-active
Multi-active
Reactive
Techniques for Analyzing your Audience
Interviews
 Surveys or questionnaires
 Observation of audience members on basic
demographic characteristics
 Published sources that have already analyzed
large sample populations based on the six
demographic characteristics.

Analyze the Speech Setting
Size of audience
 Location/physical setting
 Time of day
 Length of speech
 Rhetorical situation/context

What Is Your Speech Setting?
1. Where will you give your speech?
2. How many people will be in the audience?
3. How long should the speech be?
4. What technical equipment will you be using?
5. Where will you stand/sit in the room while giving the
speech?
6. Will other students be speaking? Is this an individual or
group speech?
7. How can you engage or interact with the audience?
8. Are there any special events or circumstances of
concern which you should acknowledge?
Chapter 6 Key Terms for Review
audience analysis
audience-centered approach
pandering
attitudes
beliefs
values
perspective taking
identification
captive audience
demographics
target audience
generational identity
socioeconomic status (SES)
gender
sexist language
gender stereotypes
persons with disabilities (PWD)
co-culture
individualistic cultures
collectivist cultures
uncertainty avoidance
high-uncertainty avoidance cultures
low-uncertainty avoidance cultures
power distance
linear-active cultures
multi-active cultures
reactive cultures
interview
questionnaire
closed-ended question
fixed alternative question
scale question
open-ended question