Gathering Information about Your Audience

Analyzing Information about Your Audience

Look for Audience Member Similarities

Look for Audience Member Differences

Establish Common Ground with Your Audience

Adapting to Your Audience

Analyzing Your Audience before You Speak

Demographic Audience Analysis Psychological Audience Analysis Situational Audience Analysis

Adapting to Your Audience as You Speak

Identifying Nonverbal Audience Cues

Responding to Nonverbal Cues Strategies for Customizing Your

Message to Your Audience

Analyzing Your Audience after You Speak

Nonverbal Responses Verbal Responses Survey Responses Behavioral ResponsesO

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4 Analyzing Your Audience

I t seemed harmless enough. Charles Williams was asked to speak to the CubScout pack about his experiences as a young cowboy in Texas. The boys werelearning to tie knots, and Williams, a retired rancher, could tell them how to make a lariat and how to tie and use other knots.

His speech started out well. He seemed to be adapting to his young audi-

ence. However, for some reason Williams thought the boys might also enjoy

learning how to exterminate the screwworm, a pesky parasite of cattle. In the

middle of his talk about roping cattle, he launched into a description of the

techniques for sterilizing male screwworms. The parents in the audience fid-

geted in their seats. The 7- and 8-year-olds didn’t have the foggiest idea what

After studying this chapter you should be able to do the following:

1. Discuss the importance of audience analysis.

2. Describe informal and formal methods of analyzing your audience.

3. Explain how to gather demographic, psychological, and situational information about your audience and the speaking occasion.

4. Identify methods of assessing and adapting to your audience’s reactions while your speech is in progress.

5. Identify methods of assessing audience reactions after you have concluded your speech.

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