Chapter 5 Post 2

 Discuss the importance of audience analysis and audience adaptation in the speech development process.  Also discuss how you plan on using audience analysis in your speech.

       Audience analysis and audience adaptation in the speech development process is very important. We understand that analyzing the audience won't guarantee a successful speech, but it's critical step  toward creating a favorable speech. Audience analysis is a task that is often performed by technical writers in a project's early stages. It consists of assessing the audience to make sure the information provided to them is at the appropriate level. The audience is often referred to as the end-user, and all communications need to be targeted towards the defined audience. Defining an audience requires the consideration of many factors, such as age, culture and knowledge of the subject (Wikipedia).Audience analysis involves gathering and interpreting information about the recipients of oral, written, or visual communication.

Almost unconsciously we make decisions about audience daily. We might, for example, notice that we talk to very young children differently than to adults. Or, we might talk to our coworkers in very different ways than to our managers. Despite, or perhaps because of, the unconscious manner of these audience adaptation strategies, we rarely consider either how or why we make such decisions.

       But, we do make them.  All aspects of that process, from dress to speech to text to supporting information (visuals, models, etc.) change as we confront different audiences. Similarly, we know that marketers and politicians tailor their messages for specific segments of their "audience."

Analyzing your audience means anticipating their needs and interests and designing a strategy to respond to them. Adapting to your audience requires thorough analysis. The audience members represent many different backgrounds, knowledge levels, and interests. Being considerate of everyone in the audience is a key qualityof successful public public speaker.

In the speech development process we have to Ask yourself some key questions:•      Is your audience captive or voluntary?
•      Demographically speaking, who is your audience?•      How interested is your audience likely to be in your topic?•      How much do they already know about your topic?•      What are your audience’s attitudes, beliefs, and values?
Good Audience Analysis consists of three general issues:
•     audience-centered
•     egocentricity
•     adaptation
 
Audience-centered:
•      The primary purpose of public speaking is to gain a desired response from your listeners. 
•      Try to determine who your listeners are.
•      Try to determine how they might react toward your topic.
People are “egocentric”
•      They pay closest attention to messages that affect their own values, beliefs, and well-being. 
•      No one can FORCE an audience to pay attention to a speech. 
•      But, they will generally pay closer attention to a speech that seems to relate to them or may possibly solve their own problems.
 
 Audience Adaptation
•      The process of customizing your message to fit a specific audience. 
•      Audience adaptation is not merely saying what you think your listeners want to hear; rather, it is saying what your listeners need to hear in order to pay attention to you.
 Audience Demographics
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Educational Level
4. Racial, ethnic, or cultural background
5. Religion
6. Group Affiliations
 
Situational Audience Analysis
•      1. Size
•      2. Physical Setting
•      3. Disposition (toward the topic, the speaker, and toward the occasion)
Trying to determine the motivations, attitudes, beliefs, and values that influence the behavior of the listeners.
Motivation
•      “the force that impels us to action” and makes us want to achieve our goals.
•      Making people aware of a need and then how to satisfy it
Attitudes = “our feelings about 
•      beliefs and values.
Beliefs = things we know or that we think we know to be true at a particular point in time a speaker can alter a listener’s beliefs.
Values = how we think we should behave or what we regard as an ideal state of being--rarely can a speaker alter a listener’s value structure