1. Panther Prep (Public Speaking) North Central High School
Audience Analysis
Panther Prep (Public Speaking)
North Central High School

2. The Audience
The audience for a speech must be considered by the speaker because he/she must encode the message in a way that the audience will be able to decode it.
The message must be encoded to engage and inform the audience at their level, not at the speaker’s level.

3. Considerations When analyzing an audience, one should consider:
Age/education
Backgrounds
Interests
Attitudes toward the subject (feeling)
Abilities

4. Demographics
Demographics include age, education, beliefs and special interests.
Delivering a speech on the Physics to a group of first graders would be wasteful because their demographics would prevent the decoding of the speaker’s message.
The speech should be catered to the “norm” or average of the audience.
Err on the side of caution when demographic information is less than clear. (Don’t talk down.)

5. The Difference Demographic analysis should determine:
The formality of the delivery
The level of detail given in the speech
The vocabulary used by the speaker
The direction of the speech (informative, persuasive, demonstrative, etc.)
The expected outcome of the speech

6. Types of Audiences Audiences are generally grouped into 3 categories:
A Favorable Audience: The audience is already on the side of the speaker.
An Indifferent Audience: The audience is in need of stimulation to the idea and are open.
An Opposed Audience: The audience is at odds with the speaker’s views.

7. The Difference
The type of audience will determine how the speech is approached.
A democrat addressing the N.R.A. would not start out a speech by saying “We need to get every gun off the street.”
He/She has lost their audience at the beginning of the speech and will have to fight to get them back. (Breakdown=Encoding)

8. Purpose, Subject and Main Idea
The purpose, subject and main idea are often considered synonymous, but are NOT.
The purpose refers to the desired end result.
The subject refers to the content of the speech.
The main idea is the view point and focus the speaker takes in the speech.

9. For Example
A person wishes to get his/her local school board to divert more money to the performing arts program at the schools in their township.
Purpose: To actuate change or action.
Subject: Performing arts in schools.
Main Idea: Township schools should have more money for performing arts.

10. Purpose Generally speaking, the purpose of a speech is either:
To entertain (Special Occasion)
To inform (Informative, Demonstrative)
To persuade (Persuasive, Discussion, Debate)
To convince
To reinforce
To actuate

11. Selecting a Subject
When selecting a subject, the speaker should ask himself/herself:
Is the subject suited to my purpose?
Is the subject interesting to me?
Am I qualified to speak on this subject?
Will my audience find the subject interesting?
Will my audience for this subject useful?
Is my subject sufficiently narrowed?

12. Specific Purpose The purpose of a speech should be specific.
The larger the area that must be covered, the less time the speaker will have to concentrate on the importance of the issue.
Experts in a field often miss the boat as speakers because they feel that the audience must be experts after the speech.
Narrowing the scope of a speech allows the speaker to control the outcome more directly.

13. The Channel
The speaker composes and delivers the message and the audience receives and decodes the message.
The avenue by which the message is transmitted is called the channel.
There are several barriers that can block the channel of communication.
The speaker is responsible for removing or reducing these barriers.

14. Listening Road Blocks Barriers to listening (the channel) can include:
External noise
Internal noise
Bias toward the speaker (“What you are speaks so loud I can’t hear what you are saying.”)
Emotional reaction
Daydreaming
Fatigue
Improper note taking

15. Improve Listening
To improve the audiences listening ability the speaker should:
Minimize distractions (external/internal)
Identify the main idea
Identify the main points
The audience should:
Prepare to listen
Think along with the speaker
Take effective notes

16. Note Taking Notes should compliment the listener’s thought process.
To improve the effectiveness of notes:
Write only the IMPORTANT ideas
Write legibly
Keep up
Use your own words
Be brief
Don’t erase
Date your notes
Revisit and expand notes shortly after speech

17. Impromptu Speech: Peer Introduction
Be sure to include all of the following in your speech:
Name
Location (Home)
Background
Favorite Book, TV Show, Movie and Band.
Describe their Personality
Something you found memorable about the person
8 speakers will be chosen
PREPARATION: Take 10 min. to interview a fellow classmate. and prepare to introduce them to the class.
DELIVERY: You will have 2 min. to deliver the speech. (Outline only…NO SCRIPTS)

18. Peer-Introduction w/ Interview
Impromptu Speech
Peer-Introduction w/ Interview