How we change what others think, feel, believe and do |
Know Your Audience
Techniques > Public speaking > Preparing the Presentation > Know Your Audience Description | Example | Discussion | See also
DescriptionResearch your audience before you start preparing the speech or presentation. A core question to ask about the audience is what problem they have that you may address in your presentation. The ideal here is a big question that everyone has. In practice, you may need to show them they have a problem and then only some of the audience may be affected. Other things you may want to investigate, depending on what you want to say and the effect you seek, include:
Look for things you have in common that you can bring up to show similarity. Depending on who the audience is, you can find information about them from their managers, peers, surveys, general demographic sources, their personal web pages and more. Sometimes you can even talk with them and ask them questions such as what kinds of presentation they like. A critical question to answer using audience analysis data is one of respect. Will they naturally respect you? How can you increase that respect? Also consider how you can demonstrate your respect of them. In doing this, consider the similarities and differences between you and them. You can use similarities in particular to draw them closer to you, especially if you can show unexpected similarities. ExampleI am doing a sales presentation to business. I ask people I know there about the audience, their current work problems, their age range, etc. I also look up individuals on the internet and research the company and its history more deeply. I use this to shape my presentation, for example I notice that a number of the people play golf and decide to drop an occasional golfing reference into the talk. DiscussionThere is a world of difference between a generic speech and one that reaches out and touches the audience, making everyone think you almost know them personally. Perhaps surprisingly, it does not take a great deal of research to be able to do this. Morgan (2003) suggests five dimensions on which you can analyze any audience:
Researching your audience helps you address their needs and interests. This work also has the likely benefit of making you more comfortable. Just like in any conversation, it helps if you know who you are talking to. How much you need to customize what you say may depend on your audience, how challenging your message is for them and how important it is that you change minds. What you know about your audience may change when you are speaking. If you watch their body language they will tell you if they are enjoying themselves. When they speak, they will also let you know how impressed (or not) they are. A clever method of knowing your audience that is very occasionally used is to develop your ability for remembering names and greet everyone as they come into the room, asking for their name. Then when you ask for questions, you can say 'Yes, Susan, what is your question'. Even if you get it wrong, few will challenge and it will impress most people. See alsoSocial Research, Learning Theory
Morgan, N. (2003). Give Your Speech, Change The World, Harvard Business School Press
|
Site Menu |
| Home | Top | Quick Links | Settings | |
Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories | |
Other sections: | Blog! | Quotes | Guest articles | Analysis | Books | Help | |
More pages: | Contact | Caveat | About | Students | Webmasters | Awards | Guestbook | Feedback | Sitemap | Changes | |
Settings: | Computer layout | Mobile layout | Small font | Medium font | Large font | Translate | |
You can buy books here |
And the big |
| Home | Top | Menu | Quick Links | |
|
Site Menu |
| Home | Top | Quick Links | Settings | |
Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories | |
Other sections: | Blog! | Quotes | Guest articles | Analysis | Books | Help | |
More pages: | Contact | Caveat | About | Students | Webmasters | Awards | Guestbook | Feedback | Sitemap | Changes | |
Settings: | Computer layout | Mobile layout | Small font | Medium font | Large font | Translate | |
| Home | Top | Menu | Quick Links | |
|