Analyzing Your Audience

Analyzing Your Audience

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Ethics and You

Have you ever attended a speaking event where the speaker did not behave appropriately for the occasion? How did it make you feel as a listener? Have you ever seen a speaker whose behavior qualified as unethical? How so?

As you will quickly discover, audience analysis—a highly systematic process of getting to know your listeners relative to the topic and the speech occasion—is a critical step in the speech preparation process (O’Hair, Stewart, & Rubenstein, 2010; Yook, 2004). Because you are asking audience members to accept your message—to learn new information; to change their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors; or to recommit themselves to a cause or an organization—it is important for you to know where they are starting from. You must consider not only their expectations but also the unique situational factors affecting them, as well as their demographic backgrounds, while anticipating their reaction to your speech. Gaining this understanding will be crucial to choosing a topic that will resonate with them.