Adapt Your Message to Audience Demographics

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Demographics are the statistical characteristics of a given population. At least six such characteristics are typically considered in the analysis of speech audiences: age, ethnic or cultural background, socioeconomic status (including income, occupation, and education), religion, political affiliation, and gender. Any number of other traits—for example, disability, group membership, sexual orientation, or place of residence—may be important to investigate as well.

Knowing where audience members fall in relation to audience demographics will help you identify your target audience—those individuals within the broader audience whom you are most likely to influence in the direction you seek. You may not be able to please everyone, but you should be able to establish a connection with your target audience.

Age

Each age group has its own concerns and, broadly speaking, psychological drives and motivations. In addition to sharing the concerns associated with a given life stage, people of the same generation often share a familiarity with significant individuals, local and world events, noteworthy popular culture, and so forth. Being aware of the audience’s age range and generational identity, such as the Millennials (those born between 1977 and 1995), allows you to develop points that are relevant to the experience and interests of the widest possible cross section of your listeners.

Ethnic or Cultural Background

An understanding of and sensitivity to the ethnic and cultural composition of your listeners are key factors in delivering a successful (and ethical) speech. Some audience members may have a great deal in common with you. Others may be fluent in a language other than yours and must struggle to understand you. Some members of the audience may belong to a distinct co-culture, or social community whose perspectives and style of communicating differ significantly from yours. All will want to feel recognized by the speaker. (See “Adapt to Cultural Differences,” p. 43.)

Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status (SES) includes income, occupation, and education. Knowing roughly where an audience falls in terms of these key variables can be critical in effectively targeting your message.

Income

Income determines people’s experiences on many levels. It directly affects how they are housed, clothed, and fed, and determines what they can afford. Beyond this, income has a ripple effect, influencing many other aspects of life. For example, depending on income, home ownership is either a taken-for-granted budget item or an out-of-reach dream. The same is true for any activity dependent on income. Given how pervasively income affects people’s life experiences, insight into this aspect of an audience’s makeup can be quite important.

Occupation

In most speech situations, the occupation of audience members is an important and easily identifiable demographic characteristic. The nature of people’s work has a lot to do with what interests them. Occupational interests are tied to several other areas of social concern, such as politics, the economy, education, and social reform. Personal attitudes, beliefs, and goals are also closely tied to occupational standing.

Education

Level of education strongly influences people’s ideas, perspectives, and range of abilities. Higher levels of education lead to increased lifetime earnings, decreased levels of crime, better health outcomes, and greater civic engagement;10 such factors may be important to consider when preparing a speech. Depending upon audience members’ level of education, you may choose to clarify your points with fewer or more examples and illustrations.

Religion

Beliefs and practices and social and political views vary by religious traditions, making religion another key demographic variable. At least a dozen major religious traditions coexist in the United States and these, in turn, are divided into hundreds of distinct religious groups.11 Not all members of the same religious tradition will agree on all issues, however. For example, Catholics disagree on birth control and divorce, Jews disagree on whether to recognize same-sex unions, and so forth.

Political Affiliation

As with religion, beware of making unwarranted assumptions about an audience’s political values and beliefs. Some people like nothing better than a lively debate about public-policy issues. Others avoid anything that smacks of politics. And many people are very touchy about their views on political issues. Unless you have prior information about the audience’s political values and beliefs, you won’t know where your listeners stand.

Gender

Gender is another important factor in audience analysis, if only as a reminder to avoid the minefield of gender stereotyping. Distinct from the fixed physical characteristics of biological sex, gender is our social and psychological sense of ourselves as males or females.12 Making assumptions about the preferences, abilities, and behaviors of your audience members based on their presumed gender can seriously undermine their receptivity to your message. Beyond ensuring that you treat issues of gender evenly, try to anticipate the audience members’ attitudes with respect to gender and plan accordingly.

Be Sensitive to Disability When Analyzing an Audience

One out of every five people in the United States has some sort of physical or mental disability;13 14 percent of those enrolled in college and graduate school are counted as disabled. Problems range from sight and hearing impairments to constraints on physical mobility and employment. Knowing this, make certain that your speech reflects language that accords dignity, respect, and fairness to persons with disabilities (PWD).