Knowing Your

Audience Essentials of Public

Speaking

Cheryl Hamilton

5th Edition

Chapter
Cheryl Hamilton, Ph.D.
4
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.1
 Key Ideas
 Define Audience Analysis
 Explain why audience Analysis should be the
first step in a speech
 Discuss the four ways to analyze an audience
 Identify strategies for collecting information

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.2

 Flasback
In his Rhetoric, Aristotle suggests that
speakers may be more effective when
they relate their proposals to things that
“create or enhance” listener happiness—a
type of audience analysis. His list of
things that made Greeks happy included
prominent birth, many children, good
friends, health, beauty, athletic a bility,
wealth, honor, power, and virtue.

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.3

 Situational Information
 Voluntary or required attendance.
 The number of people expected to attend.
Audience knowledge of the topic.
 Audience knowledge of you (the speaker).
 The type of presentation the audience is
expecting.
 Other speakers and their topics
 Feeling nervous in a new speaking situation

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.4

 Demographic Information
 Age.
 Ethnic and cultural background.
 Gender.
 Group affiliations.
 Marital status, children, and elderly parents.
 Occupation, education, college major, and
economic status.

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.5

 Psychological Information
 Audience values-Deep-seated principles that
serve as personal guidelines for behavior are
values (Rokeach, 2000). They are usually
learned from social institutions, such as
family, church, and school. Values provide
the underlying support for beliefs and
attitudes.

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.6

 The Relationship between attitudes, values , beliefs
and needs.

Needs
(safety
and social)

Attitudes
(anti-divorce

Beliefs
(“Children are better
off with two parents”)

Values
(family
security)

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.7

 Psychological Information
 Belief - The mental acceptance that something is true even if we can’t
prove that it is. For example, even though they may not be able to cite
any definitive sources, some people believe that college is important,
that women are discriminated against, that lateness shows disrespect,
and that big government is bad.
 Attitudes-An attitude is a feeling of approval or disapproval of a
person, group, idea, or event. For example, you might approve of gay
rights, disapprove of women in the military, or approve of recycling
programs
 Need-A need is a state in which an unsatisfied condition exists. Needs
are a result of values, beliefs, and attitudes.

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 2– Building Speaker Confidence 1.8

 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.9

 Applying Needs of Analysis

Each audience will have different frames

of reference
Lower levels of Maslow’s hierarch must
me justified before listeners focus on
higher levels
Met needs no longer motivate
Fitting message to audience needs is
called framing.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.10
 Audience Types

 Friendly
-Heard you speak before
-Positive to what you are saying
-Sold on your topic
 Neutral
-Consider themselves objective
-Open to new information
-Looking for logic and facts

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4: Knowing your Audience 1.11

  Uninterested or indifferent
-Short attention span
-Wish they were somewhere else
-Will be polite but probably will take a
“mental holiday”
 Hostile
-Predisposed to dislike you or your topic
-This audience is the greatest challenge

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4 1.12

 Speaking Strategies

 Friendly audience
-Any pattern of organization
-Audience participation
-Warm, enthusiastic delivery
-Verbal and visual supports
 Neutral Audience
- Problem-solution organization
-Controlled, authoritative delivery
-Expert, non-flashy verbal and visual supports

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4 1.13

 Speaking Strategies
 Uninterested audience
-Three-point or brief organization
-Dynamic, entertaining delivery
-Humorous, colourful, & powerful verbal and
visual supports
 Hostile audience
-Topical, time, or spatial organization
-Calm, controlled delivery
-Objective , expert supports; avoid narratives & humour.

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4 1.14

 Using Audience Information

 Determine needs of the audience

 Determine relevant attitudes, beliefs and values
 Determine evidence & emotional appeals
 Select visual aids & attention-getters
 Determine how to best motivate and persuade

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4 1.15

 Knowing your
Audience Essentials of Public
Speaking

Cheryl Hamilton

5th Edition

Chapter
Cheryl Hamilton, Ph.D.
4
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4 1.16