1. any rental, lease, or lending of the program.
Chapter 5
Audience Analysis
Chapter Overview:
Enhancing Your Credibility
Using Logic and Evidence to Persuade
Using Emotion to Persuade
Strategies for Adapting Ideas to People and People to Ideas
Strategies for Organizing Persuasive Messages
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:
any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;
preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images;
any rental, lease, or lending of the program.
Copyright © 2013, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2. Types of Audience Analysis
Demographic audience analysis (pay attention to cultural values)
Situational audience analysis (meet expectations for the occasion)
Psychological audience analysis (note nonverbal cues to get a sense of attitudes)
NOTES:
Copyright © 2013, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3. Key Strategy for Adapting Ideas to People and People to Ideas
FOCUS ON ATTITUDES OR BEHAVIOR, BUT NOT BOTH!!
NOTES:
Credibility, reasoning, and emotional appeals are the chief ways to persuade an audience. Your use of these persuasive strategies depends on the composition of your audience. As we have observed several times before, an early task in the public-speaking process is to analyze your audience. Audience members may hold differing views of you and your subject. Your task is to find out whether there is a prevailing viewpoint held by a majority of your listeners.
Persuading the Receptive Audience
Identify with your audience: The introductory portion of your speech is a good place to mention your common interests and background.
Clearly state your speaking objective: We have stressed several times how important it is to provide an overview of your major point or purpose. This is particularly true when speaking to a group who will support your point of view.
Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do: Besides telling your listeners what your speaking objective is, you can also tell them how you expect them to respond to your message. Be explicit in directing your listeners’ behavior.
Ask listeners for an immediate show of support: Asking for an immediate show of support helps to cement the positive response you have developed during your speech.
Use emotional appeals effectively: When the audience already supports your position, you need not spend a great deal of time on long, detailed explanations or factual information. You can usually assume that your listeners already know much of that material. You are more likely to move a receptive audience to action by issuing a strong emotional appeal while simply reminding them of the evidence that supports your conclusion.
Make it easy for your listeners to act: It is a good idea not only to tell your listeners precisely what you want them to do and ask for an immediate response, but also to make sure that what you’re asking them to do is clear and easy.
Copyright © 2013, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

4. Persuading a Receptive Audience
Identify with your audience
Clearly state your speaking objective
Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do
Ask listeners for an immediate show of support
Use emotional appeals effectively
Make it easy for your listeners to act
NOTES:
Credibility, reasoning, and emotional appeals are the chief ways to persuade an audience. Your use of these persuasive strategies depends on the composition of your audience. As we have observed several times before, an early task in the public-speaking process is to analyze your audience. Audience members may hold differing views of you and your subject. Your task is to find out whether there is a prevailing viewpoint held by a majority of your listeners.
Persuading the Receptive Audience
Identify with your audience: The introductory portion of your speech is a good place to mention your common interests and background.
Clearly state your speaking objective: We have stressed several times how important it is to provide an overview of your major point or purpose. This is particularly true when speaking to a group who will support your point of view.
Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do: Besides telling your listeners what your speaking objective is, you can also tell them how you expect them to respond to your message. Be explicit in directing your listeners’ behavior.
Ask listeners for an immediate show of support: Asking for an immediate show of support helps to cement the positive response you have developed during your speech.
Use emotional appeals effectively: When the audience already supports your position, you need not spend a great deal of time on long, detailed explanations or factual information. You can usually assume that your listeners already know much of that material. You are more likely to move a receptive audience to action by issuing a strong emotional appeal while simply reminding them of the evidence that supports your conclusion.
Make it easy for your listeners to act: It is a good idea not only to tell your listeners precisely what you want them to do and ask for an immediate response, but also to make sure that what you’re asking them to do is clear and easy.
Copyright © 2013, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4

5. Persuading a Neutral Audience
Capture your listeners’ attention early in your speech
Refer to beliefs that many listeners share
Relate your topic not only to your listeners, but also to their families, friends, and loved ones
Be realistic about what you can accomplish
NOTES:
Regardless of the reason for your listeners’ indifference, your challenge is to make them interested in your message. The following approaches will help to gain their attention and keeping their interest:
Capture your listeners’ attention early in your speech
Refer to beliefs that many listeners share
Relate your topic not only to your listeners, but also to their families, friends, and loved ones. People are generally interested in matters that may affect their friends, neighbors, and others with whom they identify, such as members of their own religion or economic or social class.
Be realistic about what you can accomplish. Don’t overestimate the response you may receive from a neutral audience. People who start with an attitude of indifference are probably not going to become as enthusiastic as you are after hearing just one speech. Persuasion does not occur all at once or on a first hearing of arguments.
Copyright © 2013, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

6. Persuading the Unreceptive Audience
Begin your speech by noting areas of agreement before you discuss areas of disagreement
Don’t expect a major shift in attitude from a hostile audience
Acknowledge the opposing points of view that members of your audience may hold
Establish your credibility
Consider making understanding rather than advocacy your goal
NOTES:
One of the biggest challenges in public speaking is to persuade audience members who are against you or your message. If they are hostile toward you personally, your job is to seek ways to enhance your credibility and persuade them to listen to you. If they are unreceptive to your point of view, there are several approaches that you can use to encourage them to listen to you:
Don’t immediately announce that you plan to change their minds. Immediately and bluntly telling your listeners that you plan
to change their opinions can make them defensive. It is usually better to take a more subtle approach when announcing your persuasive intent.
2. Begin your speech by noting areas of agreement before you discuss areas of disagreement. Once you help your audience understand that there are issues on which you agree (even if only that the topic you will discuss is
controversial), your listeners may be more attentive when you explain your position.
3. Don’t expect a major shift in attitude from a hostile audience. Set a realistic limit on what you can achieve. A realistic goal might be to have your listeners hear you out & at least consider some of your points.
Acknowledge the opposing points of view that members of your audience may hold. Summarize the reasons why individual may oppose your point of view. Doing this communicates that you at least understand the issues. Your audience members will be more likely to listen to you if they know that you understand their viewpoint.
Establish your credibility. Being thought credible is always an important goal of a public speaker & it is especially important in talking to an unreceptive audience. Let your audience know about the experience, interest, knowledge, and skill that give you special insight into the issues at hand.
Consider making understanding rather than advocacy your goal. Sometimes your audience disagrees with you because its members just don’t understand your point. Or they may harbor a misconception about you and your message. To change misconceptions and enhance accurate understanding, experienced speakers use the four-part strategy described in the How To Box (next slide).
Copyright © 2013, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

7. PowerPoint™ Presentation Prepared by Diana M. Cooley, Ph.D.
Lone Star College – North Harris
Houston, Texas
Copyright © 2013, 2010, 2007, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7