Chapter FiveAdapting to Your Audience and Situation“Orators have to learn the differences of human souls.”—PlatoWhy Audience Analysis is ImportantUnderstand your audienceInterest and knowledge the audience has on my topicReaching the listenersDemographic analysisAge, education, occupation, group memberships provide information, political affiliation,religious preferences, genderAudience dynamicsMotivation, attitudes, values of listenersAudience demographicsobservable characteristics of listeners, including age, gender,educational level, group affiliations and sociocultural backgroundGroup AffiliationsOccupational, Religious, SocialGathering Information about Attitudes (the survey)Use simple sentences with a single ideaClear concrete languageKeep questions shortAvoid words such as all, always, none and neverKeep your biases out of the questionsKeep the questionnaire shortProvide room for commentsMotivationan energizing psychological dynamic that explains why people behave as they doMotivational Appeals for Use in SpeechesComfort
