Your credibility—others’ perception of you as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and interesting—is one of the main factors that will shape your audience’s attitude to- ward you. If you establish your credibility before you begin to discuss your topic, your listeners will be more likely to believe what you say and to think that you are knowl- edgeable, interesting, and dynamic.

For example, when a high-school health teacher asks a former drug addict to speak to a class about the dangers of cocaine addiction, the teacher recognizes that the speaker’s experiences make him credible and that his message will be far more convincing than a teacher’s lecture on the perils of cocaine use.

An audience’s positive attitude toward a speaker can overcome negative or apa- thetic attitudes they may have toward the speaker’s topic or purpose. If your analysis reveals that your audience does not recognize you as an authority on your subject, you will need to build your credibility into the speech. If you have had personal ex- perience with your topic, be sure to let the audience know. You will gain credibility instantly. We will provide additional strategies for enhancing your credibility in Chapters 8 and 15.

Situational Audience Analysis So far we have concentrated on the people who will be your listeners, as the primary focus of being an audience-centered speaker. You should also consider your speaking situation. Situational audience analysis includes an examination of the time and place of your speech, the size of your audience, and the speaking occasion. Although these elements are not technically characteristics of the audience, they can have a major effect on how your listeners respond to you.

Time You may have no control over when you will be speaking, but when designing and delivering a talk, a skilled public speaker considers the time of day as well as au- dience expectations about the speech length. If you are speaking to a group of ex- hausted parents during a midweek evening meeting of the band-boosters club, you can bet they will appreciate a direct, to-the-point presentation more than a long ora- tion. If you are on a program with other speakers, speaking first or last on the pro- gram carries a slight edge because people tend to remember what comes first or last. Speaking early in the morning when people may not be quite awake, after lunch when they may feel a bit drowsy, or late in the afternoon when they are tired may mean

situational audience analysis Examining of the time and place of a speech, the audience size, and the speaking occasion in order to develop a clear and effective message

CONSIDER THE

AUDIENCE

Analyzing Your Audience before You Speak 97

you’ll have to strive consciously for a more energetic delivery to keep your listeners’ attention.

Another aspect of time: Be mindful of your time limits. If your audience ex- pects you to speak for 20 minutes, it is usually better to end either right at 20 min- utes or a little earlier; most North Americans don’t appreciate being kept overtime for a speech. In your public-speaking class you will be given time limits, and you may wonder whether such strict time-limit expectations occur outside public- speaking class. The answer is a most definite yes. Whether it’s a business presenta- tion or a speech to the city council or school board, time limits are often strictly enforced.

Size of Audience The size of your audience directly affects speaking style and au- dience expectations about delivery. As a general rule, the larger the audience, the more likely they are to expect a more formal style. With an audience of ten or fewer, you can punctuate a very conversational style by taking questions from your listen- ers. If you and your listeners are so few that you can be seated around a table, they may expect you to stay seated for your presentation. Many business “speeches” are given around a conference table.