Lecture 6 Understanding Your Audience
Summary
TLDRLecture six emphasizes the importance of audience analysis in presentations, highlighting the need to consider demographics, psychographics, and audience knowledge. The speaker illustrates how understanding an audience's characteristics, attitudes, and beliefs can significantly influence the content and delivery of a presentation. Examples are provided to show the impact of audience analysis on speech topics and the challenges of engaging captive audiences, encouraging speakers to tailor their approach to effectively communicate with their listeners.
Takeaways
- đ Audience analysis is crucial for determining the content and approach of a presentation, as it helps tailor the message to the specific group of listeners.
- đ§âđ€âđ§ Demographics are a key aspect of audience analysis, encompassing factors like race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, and other identity markers that define who the audience members are.
- đ Psychographics involve understanding the audience's attitudes, beliefs, and values, which can be particularly important when dealing with sensitive or controversial topics.
- đ Knowledge level is another critical factor, requiring speakers to gauge whether the audience is familiar or unfamiliar with the topic, and adjust the depth of information accordingly.
- đ The speaker must balance addressing both the informed and the uninformed within the audience without alienating either group.
- đ Group memberships, such as being a fan of a sports team or a member of a sorority, are part of an individual's identity and can influence their perspective and interests.
- đ€ The speaker should be aware of the audience's interests and disinterests in the topic, as this can affect engagement and the effectiveness of the presentation.
- đ« In educational settings, students may be part of a 'captive audience' and may not be genuinely interested in the material, which the speaker must consider when planning their approach.
- đ The speaker's own experiences and background can influence how they connect with the audience and the topics they choose to present or avoid.
- đ Adaptability is key for speakers, as understanding the audience's characteristics and attitudes can sometimes necessitate changes in presentation style or content.
- đ The concept of 'captive' versus 'captivated' audiences highlights the difference between those who are present by requirement versus those who are genuinely interested and engaged.
Q & A
What is the main focus of Lecture Six?
-Lecture Six focuses on audience analysis, explaining why it is important and the factors to consider when preparing a presentation for an audience.
Why is audience analysis considered key in presentation preparation?
-Audience analysis is key because it helps determine the content and delivery of a presentation, ensuring that the message resonates with the audience's demographics, psychographics, and knowledge base.
What are the three key areas to consider when analyzing an audience?
-The three key areas to consider are demographics, psychographics, and knowledge. These help in understanding who the audience is and how to tailor the presentation to them.
Can you explain what is meant by 'demographics' in the context of audience analysis?
-Demographics in audience analysis refers to the characteristics that define a person, such as race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, and other identity markers.
What is 'psychographics' and why is it important for audience analysis?
-Psychographics refers to the audience's attitudes, beliefs, and values. It is important because it helps the presenter understand the audience's perspectives and potential reactions to certain topics.
How does a speaker balance addressing both informed and uninformed audience members?
-A speaker should aim for a 'happy middle,' presenting information in a way that is accessible to those who are less informed without alienating or boring those who are more informed.
What is the difference between a 'captive' and a 'captivated' audience?
-A captive audience is one that is present due to obligation or force, while a captivated audience is engaged and interested in the presentation voluntarily.
Why is it challenging to present to a captive audience?
-Presenting to a captive audience is challenging because the audience members may not be interested or invested in the topic, making it harder to engage and maintain their attention.
Can you provide an example of how a presenter might adapt their approach based on audience analysis?
-An example given in the script is the professor who removed certain topics from her lecture in Houston due to the cultural nuances and attitudes of the local community, which differed from her previous experiences in Chicago and San Diego.
Outlines
đ Importance of Audience Analysis in Presentations
The first paragraph introduces the concept of audience analysis, emphasizing its importance in determining the content and approach of a presentation. The speaker discusses how audience characteristics, including demographics such as race, gender, age, and nationality, as well as psychographics like attitudes and beliefs, should inform the selection of topics and the preparation of presentations. The paragraph also highlights the need to consider the audience's knowledge base and the potential for diverse perspectives within a given group.
đ·ïž Understanding Demographics and Group Membership
This paragraph delves into the specifics of demographics, explaining how personal attributes like race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, and religious identity contribute to an individual's identity. The speaker uses examples such as being a fan of a sports team or a member of a sorority to illustrate different forms of group membership, which can influence a person's beliefs and attitudes. The paragraph underscores
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄAudience Analysis
đĄDemographics
đĄPsychographics
đĄKnowledge Base
đĄCultural Identity
đĄGroup Membership
đĄAttitudes and Beliefs
đĄInterest Level
đĄCaptive Audience
đĄCaptivated Audience
Highlights
Lecture six focuses on audience analysis, emphasizing its importance in determining the content and approach of a presentation.
Audience analysis considers various factors including race, gender, age, nationality, religion, and skill set to tailor the presentation effectively.
Demographic factors are crucial for understanding the audience's identity markers and cultural dimensions.
Psychographics involves understanding the audience's attitudes, beliefs, and their potential reactions to certain topics.
Knowledge level of the audience is key to balancing the depth of information provided, ensuring engagement for both novices and experts.
The concept of 'captive' versus 'captivated' audiences is introduced, highlighting the challenge of engaging audiences who are present out of obligation.
The speaker discusses the importance of adapting presentation style to the cultural nuances and attitudes of the audience's geographical location.
An anecdote about students choosing controversial figures for speeches illustrates the need to understand audience reactions to sensitive topics.
The lecture emphasizes the necessity of removing or adjusting topics based on the audience's potential contentious reactions.
The speaker shares personal experiences of culture shock and the adjustments made in teaching approaches when moving to a new location.
The importance of considering the audience's level of interest in the topic is discussed, as disinterest can affect engagement.
The lecture suggests strategies for presenting to mixed audiences with varying levels of knowledge and interest in the topic.
The speaker provides examples of group memberships and how they can influence audience identity and reactions.
The lecture touches on the challenges of discussing religion and politics due to the potential for disagreement and tension.
The speaker reflects on the importance of audience analysis in academic settings, including the need to adjust teaching methods and assignments.
The lecture concludes with a call to action for students to consider audience analysis when preparing their speeches and presentations.
Transcripts
well good morning good morning everyone
so I am back now with lecture six okay
I'm gonna run out of fingers soon but
that's okay so lecture six is about
audience analysis
and
excuse me audience analysis is important
because that sometimes can determine
what we're going to talk about for our
presentation right as I mentioned
previously sometimes the topic is going
to already be determined for us by an
assignment if you're in a class or by a
particular subject matter if you're in
an organization if it's a workplace or
um other kind of you know required
type of speaking and because sometimes
we
have to talk about subjects that someone
else has chosen for us or even if it's a
subject that we choose for ourselves we
have to consider the audience who is in
the room not only who's in the room
sometimes we think of that in terms of
race
um are there racially racial others in
the world okay
gender are there gendered others in
their own age are there age others in
the world nationality religion
belief systems
skill set knowledge base so all of these
are things that we have to consider
as we are choosing our topics and
definitely as we are preparing our
presentations so audience analysis is
key so in this case I'm going to show
you just some of the things that you
have to consider when you are analyzing
your audience I'm going to share the
screen
okay
okay so when we were thinking about
audience analysis we have to really
think about three key areas the
demographics the psychographics and the
knowledge and this is what we use to
determine to whom we are speaking okay
to whom are we speaking and how does
that inform the information that we
provide the content that we deliver
okay so demographics demographics you
guys may or may not be familiar with
that term but definitely you've
experienced this demographics deals with
um
what makes a person who they are so
their race ethnicity
excuse me their nationality Regional
identity age gender gender identity
sexual orientation marital status
religious identity social status group
ownership and ability
these are the things that make us who we
are
they are sometimes called cultural
identity sometimes they are known as 13
dimensions of identity identity markers
but this is really who we are and even
if you think you don't hold anything
here
I assure you that you do
okay so for example some of you may say
well I don't really practice a religion
I don't really have a religion as such
somebody made me saying well I don't
really believe in God
okay all of that is fair but that is
still a religious identity it could be
the identity of being a non-believer
it's the identity of being a
non-practicing religious person that is
still an identity okay
um
you may think that you don't really have
a group membership well yeah you do we
all belong to different groups
excuse me you guys I swear
um so for example if you like
the Chicago Bears membership you're a
fan of that team same can be said for
the
Texans or the Cowboys the Raiders
the Buccaneers or whomever it could be
same again of course if it's a
basketball team or a basketball softball
team or baseball team soccer team it
doesn't have to be the national team it
could be your local high school team
will give you your college team that is
one
group membership that you're in the fan
base of a certain team
um people who call themselves uh
swifties
excuse me you guys I have no idea why
this has happened
people who call themselves swifties they
are part of a group of people who are
fans of Taylor Swift The Beehive those
folks are a deep fan base of Beyonce
um fans they are in a group it's a group
and I don't mean the group is that you
have to pay dues or is it to attend
meetings or anything like that it just
means
people who have identified themselves to
to have the same belief system or
interest as other people they tend to
have a way of doing things they tend to
have a language that they use
um signals or codes that they use
amongst themselves okay
all right
group membership of course can also be
the Hoops that we find ourselves in that
require meetings or memberships dues and
things Oaths things like that so for
example
if you've ever been a Girl Scout a
brownie a Boy Scout or any of that eagle
scout that's group membership even if
you're not in it now and you were once a
part of it like if I were to do this I
think that's how it goes you guys I
don't remember I haven't been a brownie
or a girl scout in 40 40 years so I
don't remember but I think it was
something like this right and this is
how I would stand and give my oats or
what have you
um
again whatever that is I may not be part
of that group now but I was a part of
that grouping so even now it still makes
me part of the group having served in
that capacity if you are a member of a
sobriety or fraternity
again group membership I am a part of a
sorority and whether I'm active or
inactive that doesn't change the fact
that I'm still a part of a membership of
a part of a membership of a particular
sorority
Zeta Phi Beta sorority Incorporated and
then also I'm a part of a larger group
that is known as the divine nine so
um and that's where
non-historically black sororities and
fraternities came together to form this
larger uh Union Again part of the
membership if you played an instrument I
heard someone I don't remember who it
was
I think it was Erica but don't quote me
but somebody uh said they played with
flute when I was growing up I played
clarinet so we were we are part of the
membership of band
students perhaps um if that's how she
you know got introduced and learned to
play flute through band if you are on
the chess club chess team or anything
like that this is part of group
membership and all of these things
together I won't go over them all
although this is my area of expertise
this particular area
um
we're all a part of this and all of this
matters when we are addressing audiences
we have to know who's in the audience so
that we can know the proper things to
say
and things to avoid as it relates to
Identity okay next we have
psychographics
encyclographics deals with your
audience's attitudes and beliefs
this one is a really interesting one
especially in the day and times that we
find ourselves in now where we have
gotten to the point where people
it's it's it's difficult for people to
disagree with people who think
differently than they do it has become
increasingly difficult for people to
agree to disagree it has become
increasingly difficult for people to
um disagree and behave with a sense of
Civility and
um respect for difference and respect
for difference of opinions and different
experiences and different lived
experiences it has become increasingly
difficult increasingly uh challenging
for
people who reside in the U.S to do so
but it is important that as a speaker
you know your audience you know their
attitudes and beliefs around certain
topics
excuse me especially those that are
considered hot button topics right the
topics of the day
the topics that are subject to start an
argument at the dinner table or you know
having cocktails with colleagues so we
have to be really careful
in the U.S it's regarded that we don't
talk about religion and politics at the
dinner table or really even just amongst
our peers we don't talk about
religion and politics and then it's
because oftentimes we may find ourselves
in community in the workplace and
organization at church Etc with people
who don't hold the same attitudes and
beliefs that we do and this can be very
contentious it could be a very
contentious environments when we are not
aware of how people think and believe I
know that sometimes we also experience
culture shock when I moved to Houston
again I told you guys I'm from Chicago
born and raised and in addition to
Chicago as a young you know growing up
there as an adult I lived in Minneapolis
I lived in
went back to Chicago and then I moved to
San Diego for five and a half years I
went back to Chicago for 10 years and
now I'm getting used to almost 14 years
and
there were certain topics that I had to
remove
from my topic list for speech class when
I moved to Houston
excuse me
foreign
there were certain topics I shouldn't
say that I had to remove them because
there wasn't anyone who told me that I
had to do it but I removed them because
I started to check the climate and the
cultural nuances of the place where I
had just moved and I realized that some
of these topics
might create more uh
contention in the classroom then they
would be helpful and because of the
different attitudes and beliefs that are
prevailing in some of the communities in
Houston I just thought it best to remove
I'll give you I'll give you an example
okay
okay
but one of the assignments of it I had I
had it was a list of people who you had
to present an informative speech on the
or someone from the list now the list
was really extensive and there were
anywhere from 90 to 100 people on this
list
so there were a lot of names to choose
from a lot of names to choose from
excuse me when I got to Houston
I had some students who um
one one semester one particular class in
particular they chose from the list
everybody was required to choose from
the list and I had two students in
particular both the three students one
second please just give me one second
you guys
okay thank you I'm back so
okay so I had three students in
particular in this one class and and
they seemed two of the students
definitely came into the class knowing
each other they were dating and then the
third student they I don't know if they
knew the third student or if they just
became fast friends in class
but when I got to this assignment again
there were almost a hundred people that
they could have chosen
and these three people they chose
to present their speeches on
Barack Obama
Mao Zedong
and
um
Fidel Castro
and so
prior to this time in Chicago
students had access to that same
assignment with those three names were
also on the assignment
and either they did the speech I mean
either they chose those people and they
didn't choose those people
but everyone prior to this particular
experience in Houston shows their topic
because they were legitimately
interested in learning more about their
topic and they wanted to share that
information with the audience in this
particular case however
these three students chose
this topic or the topic that they chose
the person that they chose they chose it
to
make a political statement
and that was not the purpose of the
assignment in fact they spent so much
time trying to make political statements
that they did not actually address the
questions
that they had to cover in the research
they did not actually fulfill the
assignment and so then they you know got
these and outs on the assignment and
then they wanted to challenge the brain
because they said I was biased
um because of the topic and racially
they they just said a lot of different
things
but what it taught me
is that you have to know your audience
and even as the professor I happen to
know the audience of my class of my
students I have to know who's sitting in
these seats what are the attitudes and
the beliefs the uh perspectives the
World Views the biases the lived
experiences of students in my in my
seats and that sometimes has to even
inform and sometimes change well it has
to always inform and sometimes change
alter slightly the way I present
information or the assignments that I
present or the ways in which I present
this on okay all right next we have
knowledge
knowledge deals with the broad and
specialized interested and uninterested
information that your audience members
hold so for example
is your audience already knowledgeable
about this topic
or is this the first time ever they've
ever heard the information chances are
you could be presenting to a group of
people
who fit both uh models yes your audience
could be people who on this side have
never heard of this topic or maybe on
this side of the room they know quite a
bit about it how do you as the speaker
get in that happy middle
so that you can speak to the people who
are less informed without losing the
people who are more informed vice versa
how do you speak to the people who are
more informed without losing the people
who are less informed right
this is something that you have to
consider as a speaker
also the topic that you're presenting is
your audience interested or uninterested
in this topic now in a classroom this
can be tricky because sometimes you have
to just present certain topics based on
the parameters and the guidelines that
I've given
at other times you get to choose the
topic and so in this case
it's likely that you're going to have
people who are definitely not interested
in your topic
but when you go out into the working
you're presenting in your
courses your major related courses when
you're presenting in the workplace when
you're presenting in your organizations
Etc you may have less of the
disinterested or uninterested group of
people because presumably you're all
therefore common or similar gold or at
least similar interest but you have to
still consider that there may be
audience members who are just simply not
interested in the topic that you're
presenting
quite honestly and quite frankly it
happens to me as a speech teacher right
there are people in the room who are
here simply because they have to be not
because they find interest or value in
this course in the material not because
they're intrigued about oral
communication and culture and how to
connect not because they're interested
in becoming better speakers not because
they want to know the tenants are the
foundations of communication but simply
they are present because it was a
required course in their degree
appointment or sometimes it was the
lesser of two evils of required forces
in a degree plan right so again I have
to always know who is my audit to you
as a speaker I have to always know
who is your audience to whom are you
speaking to whom are you addressing and
if you keep these three pieces of
information in mind dpk demographics
psychographics of knowledge then you
will do well to present to your audience
based on their needs one other thing
that you need to know about audience
analysis
is your audience captive or are they
captivated
captive audiences are hard to win over
because they are there because they have
to be yes it's when you're it's when
you're in class you have to come to
class you have to sit in a lecture you
have to sit in the student speeches you
have to watch them Etc
that's captive you're there through
Force sometimes at work we have to go to
certain meetings we may have to
participate in certain
committees we may have to attend certain
lectures certain
talks
when um before I was at HCC I was at
another College in the area and every
February I think it was we had a faculty
day it was every it was on a Friday
every second Friday or something
and nobody ever I shouldn't say nobody
many people didn't want to attend
because we loved our Fridays off and
many people said that they didn't find
anything value there they didn't learn
any new information
I wasn't one of those people I did not
like giving up my Friday but it was just
one Friday it wasn't the end of the
world so I would start to find there
were certain meanings that everyone had
to attend
period Point Blank but there were other
meetings you had to choose meetings
throughout the day
and I think you had to do the four
sessions the mandatory two mandatory
meetings plus four sessions two in the
morning and two in the afternoon so I
would always be careful to choose the
things that I thought were really of
interest to me I attended the two that I
had to attend I was captive I was
required but for the other four things
that I had a I had a menu of things in
which I could select I always chose the
things that were of interest to me and
that way I became a captivated audience
member
okay all right so this has been electric
six and we've now talked about audience
analysis ask yourselves how will you
apply this information when you are
preparing your next speech for an
audience think about that
right think about how you're going to do
that as it relates to presentations in
the workplace or in your major or any
other place how are you going to
consider who's sitting in those chairs
as you prepare your information okay
this is lecture six audience and now
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)