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Let the audience drive your message.

In this chapter, we shared five ways to analyze your audience: assess situational characteristics, consider demographics, identify common ground, gauge prior exposure, and anticipate your audience’s disposition. We suggested ways of gathering information on these elements of audience analysis, such as surveying, interviewing, and observing your audience. Finally, we explained that exceptional speakers analyze their audience while they’re preparing a speech and while they’re delivering it, if necessary to retain their audience’s attention and support (situational audience analysis).

Given the fact that audience-driven presentations are consistently the most effective, we strongly encourage you to analyze your audience in advance of your presentation, and to use that analysis as a tool to shape your main points, supporting material, and even delivery (including time and visual aids). It is important to recognize, however, that audience analysis is an ongoing process—a process worth reexamining as you develop your topic and message and hone the final product into a speech. You may even be faced with a slightly different audience than you expected on the day of your delivery. Don’t be afraid to alter your speech if assumptions you made about the audience are no longer accurate. Being flexible and open will help you craft and deliver a message that is targeted to the specific audience you address.