some research suggests that women are socialized to be more emotional and empathic than men, other evidence suggests that men can be equally sensitive.7 It is clear there are learned sex differences in language usage and nonver- bal behavior, but we caution against making sweeping gender-based assumptions about your audience.

Sexual Orientation An audience-centered speaker is sensitive to issues and atti- tudes about sexual orientation in contemporary society. The audience-centered speaker’s goal is to enhance understanding rather than create noise that may distract an audience from listening, regardless of the attitudes or beliefs audience members may hold about sexual orientation. Stories, illustrations, and humor whose point or punch line rely on ridiculing a person because of his or her sexual orientation may lower perceptions of your credibility not only among gay and lesbian members of your audience, but also among audience members who disdain bias against gays and lesbians.

People evaluate credibility by behavior, not by intentions. Sometimes we uninten- tionally offend someone by our subtle misuse of language. For example, gay men and les- bian women typically prefer to be referred to as “gay” or “lesbian” rather than as “homosexual.” Further, it is not appropriate to single out gays and lesbians as separate categories of people who are assumed to hold political, ideological, or religious views consistently different from those of straight people. Monitor your language choice and use of illustrations and humor so you don’t alienate members of your audience.8

Culture, Ethnicity, and Race Culture is a learned system of knowledge, behav- ior, attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms shared by a group of people. Ethnicity is that

sex A person’s biological status as male or female, as reflected in his or her anatomy and reproductive system

ethnicity The portion of a person’s cultural background that includes such factors as nationality, religion, language, and ancestral heritage, which are shared by a group of people who also share a common geographic origin

culture A learned system of knowledge, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms that is shared by a group of people

gender The culturally constructed and psychologically based perception of one’s self as feminine or masculine