Analyze Your Audience
Printed Page 42
Speeches should always be given for the benefit of the audience—whether to inform, persuade, or mark a special occasion. Audience analysis is the process of learning about an audience’s interests and backgrounds in order to create a speech that meets their needs. It is important to learn about the audience members (or make educated guesses) before you select a topic and choose the ideas you will use to develop your topic.
At this early point in the course, you may not be able to conduct a detailed, formal analysis of your audience. However, you have probably spoken with classmates and learned about their interests and backgrounds. You may also have heard them share information during class; for example, perhaps your instructor had students introduce one another during the first week of class. In addition, you and the other students will likely have shared experiences in class and at your college or university. Use your knowledge of these shared experiences to anticipate your listeners’ attitudes and interests.
If you feel you need to do more to analyze your audience, here are some questions you could ask several classmates:
- Are there popular sports teams, activities, and traditions on campus? Unpopular experiences such as scarce parking or difficulty in signing up for required classes?
- Are the students in our class interested in politics? Do they share any common viewpoints on political issues?
- Are many of our classmates first-year students? Seniors? Do most of them live on campus or commute? Are most working to finance their education?
- What are the cultural backgrounds of the people taking this class?
Jot down responses to these questions, as well as your own thoughts about topics that may interest your classmates.