ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE CHAPTER 5
Dec 14, 2015
A N A LY Z I N G YO U R A U D I E N C E
CHAPTER 5
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
EXCERPTS
• “To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants who are gathered here, the people of Tucson and the people of Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow.”
• “But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized -– at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do -– it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.”
• “I want to live up to her expectations. (Applause.) I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. (Applause.) All of us -– we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations. (Applause.)”
AUDIENCE-CENTEREDNESS
• Speeches seek to gain responses from audiences• Shouldn’t imply compromise
• Questions to ask yourself• To whom am I speaking?• What do I want them to know, believe, or do as a result of
my speech?• What is the most effective way of composing and
presenting my speech to accomplish that aim?
THE CHALLENGER ADDRESS
IDENTIFICATION
• Emphasizing common values
• Characteristic of ceremonial speaking• Present in deliberative speaking?
CASE STUDY
YOUR CLASSMATES AS AUDIENCE
• Instructors are not the only audience members
• “The best classroom speeches are those that take the classroom audience as seriously as a lawyer, a politician, a minister, or an advertiser takes an audience.”
• Most speeches will nothave immediateimpact, but they docount.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AUDIENCES
• Auditory perception is always selective
• Egocentrism – We hear what we want to hear
• What should you know as a speaker?
DEMOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
• Useful tool, but exercise caution
• Common Demographic Factors• Age• Gender• Religion• Sexual Orientation• Racial, ethnic, and cultural background• Group membership
RESPECTING AUDIENCE CULTURES
• Heterogeneity and Diversity• What about homogeneity?
• Assessing audience culture assumes audiences are more than the some of their parts
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
• How do we operationalize diversity?• More than one type?
• Your own cultural dispositions - egocentrism• Gender roles• Who can speak• Appropriate language• Regional differences• Negative Stereotypes
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
• Self-interests• Based on results of action of policy
• Personal interests• Beliefs and values• Prior understanding• Common knowledge and experience
STRATEGIES FOR ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE
• Formal methods• Informal methods• Observation, chatting, etc.
• Simplifying devices• Focus on the general public• Focus on audience roles or topic fields
SITUATIONAL AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
• Builds on demographic analysis• Unique to the speaking situation at hand
• Common Situational Factors• Size• Physical setting• Disposition toward topic• Disposition toward speaker• Disposition toward occasion
ADAPTING TO AUDIENCE
• Before the speech
• During the speech