It was graduation day at Valencia High School. The mood was festive as the valedictorian spoke eloquently about the special memories of the graduating class. There was laughter when the principal recounted a well-known prank from the class picnic.
Then, Russell Merritt, the mayor, rose to say a few words. “What a pleasure it is to be here,” he said. “I’m so proud of you, the graduates, and you, the parents who raised such a terrific group of kids.” He continued in this vein for a couple minutes, interrupted by applause as he heaped praise on the students, their par- ents, their teachers, and their community.
The listeners’ enthusiasm faded as Merritt began talking about building a new library to replace the town’s old one. This was a controversial issue, and it was going to be voted on in an upcoming referendum. The more the mayor talked about it, the more irritated his audience became. When he concluded, he was met with grudging applause and quite a few hostile glares.
On other occasions, Merritt’s remarks would not have touched off such a negative response. But graduation day was understood by the audience to be a celebratory occasion that focused on the students and their achieve- ments. The last thing anyone expected to hear was a political speech. What angered the audience was not what the mayor said, but that he exploited the occasion for his own purposes.
Situational audience analysis provides crucial information that a speaker can use when preparing the speech and when adapting to developments during the speech.
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110 CHAPTER 6 Analyzing the Audience
No matter what the situation, listeners have fairly definite ideas about the speeches they consider appropriate. Speakers who seriously violate those expectations can almost always count on infuriating the audience.
Perhaps most important, the occasion will dictate how long a speech should be. When you are invited to speak, the chairperson will usually say how much time you have for your talk. If not, be sure to ask.
Once you know, pare down your speech so it fits easily within the allot- ted time. Do not exceed that time under any circumstances, for you are likely to see your audience dwindle as you drone on. (This is one reason why most teachers insist that classroom speeches be kept within the desig- nated time limit. It provides crucial training for speeches you will give out- side the classroom.)
There are other audience expectations that apply to your classroom situ- ation. One is that speeches will conform to the assignment. Another is that speakers will observe appropriate standards of taste and decorum. Failure to adhere to these expectations may disturb your classmates and will almost certainly damage your grade.
Getting Information About the Audience
Now that you know what to learn about an audience, the next question is, how do you learn it? A person running for political office can rely on hired professional pollsters. If, as is more likely, you are invited sometime to address a particular group—say a meeting of the local Rotary club—the person who invites you can usually provide a good sketch of the audience. Ask your con- tact where you can find out more about the group’s history and mission. If you know someone who has spoken to the same group, be sure to sound out that person.
As an economics professor, your research on the Social Security system has attracted media atten- tion. Aware of your expertise, the local
Rotary club has invited you to speak on the subject at the club’s weekly meeting.
Having taken a public speaking class in college, you know how impor- tant it is to analyze the audience you will be addressing. To prepare for
your speech, you have arranged a telephone inter- view with the club’s president to find out more about your audience. List (1) the two most impor- tant questions you want to ask the president about
the demographics of your audience, and (2) the two most important questions you want to ask about the situational traits of your au-
dience. Be specific in your questions and be prepared, if necessary, to explain your
choice of questions.
Using public speaking in your CAREER
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Getting Information About the Audience 111
What about your classmates as an audience? You can learn a lot about them just by observation and conversation, but you may want to know more about their knowledge and attitudes on specific speech topics. Some teachers require students to do a formal audience-analysis questionnaire for at least one of their speeches. In addition to providing information about your class- room audience, such a questionnaire gives you practice in developing the skills of audience analysis you will need for speeches after your class is over.
There are three major types of questions to choose from when developing an audience-analysis questionnaire: fixed-alternative questions, scale ques- tions, and open-ended questions.
Fixed-alternative questions, as their name implies, offer a fixed choice between two or more responses. For example:
Do you know what the insanity plea is in the U.S. legal system?
Yes No Not sure
By limiting the possible responses, such questions produce clear, unambigu- ous answers. They also tend to yield superficial answers. Other techniques are needed to get beneath the surface.
Scale questions resemble fixed-alternative questions, but they allow more leeway in responding. For example:
How often do you believe the insanity plea is used in U.S. court cases?
Very seldom Very often
Questions like these are especially useful for getting at the strength of a respondent’s attitudes.
Open-ended questions give maximum leeway in responding. For example:
What is your opinion about the insanity plea in U.S. court cases?
Under what circumstances do you think the insanity plea is legitimate in a criminal trial?
Although open-ended questions invite more detailed responses than the other two types of questions, they also increase the likelihood of getting answers that do not give the kind of information you need.
Because each type of question has its advantages and disadvantages, many questionnaires contain all three types. Figure 6.1 (page 112) shows a question- naire that was distributed before a classroom speech on volunteering. By using all three types of questions, the speaker did two things—elicited specific infor- mation about the audience and probed more deeply into their attitudes toward the speech topic. The results broke down as follows:
1. Roughly half of the class had not participated as a volunteer. Therefore, the speaker knew she would have to explain clearly what was involved in this kind of work.
2. Five students knew someone close to them who had benefited from vol- unteer work by a community, religious, or charitable organization; most
fixed-alternative questions
Questions that offer a fixed choice between two or more alternatives.
scale questions
Questions that require responses at fixed intervals along a scale of answers.
open-ended questions
Questions that allow respondents to answer however they want.
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112 CHAPTER 6 Analyzing the Audience
said they were not sure. Thus the speaker could not depend on a high degree of personal involvement among the audience.
3. All but one of the students who had engaged in volunteer work rated it
“very rewarding” or “somewhat rewarding.” Not only would this portion of the audience be inclined to support the speaker’s position, but the speaker could point to their attitude as proof that working as a volunteer is a rewarding experience.
4. Nearly 75 percent of the respondents either “strongly agreed” or “mildly agreed” that people have an obligation to help those in less fortunate circumstances. The speaker could therefore depend on an audience favor- ably inclined to the basic premise underlying volunteer work.
FIGURE 6.1 Sample Questionnaire
2. Have you or anyone close to you ever benefited from the volunteer work of a community, religious, or charitable organization?
Yes No Not sure
3. If you have engaged in volunteer work, how would you rate the experience?
4. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? To the extent possible, people have an obligation to help those in less fortunate circumstances.
5. If you have worked as a volunteer, do you plan to do so again? Why or why not?
6. If you have not worked as a volunteer, what is your major reason for not doing so? Please explain.
Very rewarding
1. Have you ever engaged in volunteer work for a community, religious, or charitable organization?
Yes No
Somewhat rewarding Neutral
Somewhat unrewarding Very unrewarding
Strongly agree Mildly agree Undecided Mildly disagree Strongly disagree
Two fixed-alternative questions establish the listeners’ level of knowledge about and degree of involvement with the topic.
Two open-ended questions help gauge the listeners’
disposition toward volunteer work.
The last question is especially important.
It probes the specific issues the speaker needs to address for listeners who have not engaged in volunteer work.
Another scale question gauges the listeners’
sense of social obligation.
This scale question is designed to show the attitudes of listeners who have participated in volunteer work.
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Adapting to the Audience 113
5. Answers to the fifth question—“If you have worked as a volunteer, do you plan to do so again? Why or why not?”—were interesting. All the respondents indicated that they planned to engage in volunteer work again, but most said they were not likely to do so while in college because they were too busy with other activities.
6. Nearly 90 percent of the students who had not engaged in volunteer work stated that their major reason for not doing so was a lack of time. In combination with the answers to question 5, these responses showed that the speaker would have to deal persuasively with the time issue if she were to be successful in convincing people to volunteer while they were enrolled in school.
This questionnaire revealed a great deal about the listeners’ knowledge, attitudes, and concerns. In putting together your own questionnaire, keep the following principles in mind:
1. Plan the questionnaire carefully to elicit precisely the information you need.
2. Use all three types of questions—fixed-alternative, scale, and open-ended.
3. Make sure the questions are clear and unambiguous.
4. Keep the questionnaire relatively brief.
Adapting to the Audience
Once you have completed the audience analysis, you should have a pretty clear picture of your listeners. But this does not guarantee a successful speech.
The key is how well you use what you know in preparing and presenting the speech.
This point deserves special attention because it poses one of the hardest tasks facing novice speakers. Most people can identify the major characteris- tics of their audience, but many have trouble adapting their ideas to the audi- ence. There are two major stages in the process of audience adaptation. The first occurs before the speech, as part of your preparation and rehearsal. The second occurs during the presentation of the speech itself.