Lecture - Week 2

Topic Selection | Organization | Transitions

Why do we need to analyze an audience? Speaking directly to an audience creates effective communication. How can we speak directly to any audience if we do not understand who they are? Understanding the audience will aid you in:

topic focus
delivery
language usage
organization
creation of the introduction and conclusion
selection of supporting materials
proof selection

So as you can see, you need to analyze your audience before you can do anything in the creation of your speech. The more homogeneous (same) the people in your audience, the easier it is to speak to them. The more heterogeneous (different) the people in your audience, the more difficult your job will be.

For example, I was asked to speak at the Multnomah County Library about Nonverbal Communication. I knew the audience would be rather heterogeneous; I knew there would be a wide range of ages and experiences in the audience and so I thought I was prepared. When I arrived at the library, I saw the audience consisted of some people who were in their 80's and a few toddlers running around - and everything inbetween. While I had thought I was prepared for this specific audience, I was not. I had to - on the spot - change my entire presentation in order to accommodate the major differences in ages and experiences. If you analyze your audience well enough, this should not happen to you. Remember, the object of a presentation is not to show off your knowledge, but to allow the audience to listen to your information. Never forget the #1 sin of any speaker.

While it is impossible to know everything about everyone in your audience, there are a few basic demographics that will help you speak more directly to this specific audience:

Age: the closer to each other in age, the easier it is to speak to the audience We all have had different experiences simply based on our age. I often do presentations about Issues of People with Disabilities at a local elementary school as well as at a local university. The topic is the same; the language and depth is different. When I do these presentations, I enter using a wheelchair and I bring up different issues for people with a mobility impairment. About half way through the presentation, I want to get out of the wheelchair so we can discuss our perceptional changes, but I can't just stand up. I might make the adult audience hostile for fooling them, and I don't want the kindergarteners to think everyone who uses a wheelchair can stand up. For the adults, I simply tell them I did this for them to be more aware of their own perceptions of me when they thought I was disabled. But this would not work for the five-year-olds. For them I ask if they have ever played "pretend" (and I get some wonderful answers like, "Yes!! This morning I pretended I never hit my brother!!"). Can you imagine how you, as a adult college student, would feel if I asked you if you have ever played "pretend"? We change the language based on the age of the audience.

Gender: we need to be aware of possible differences in experiences and interests based on gender. Understand the general gender makeup of your audience and speak directly to that audience. The focus of your topic, the supporting materials and language usage may be different in order to speak directly to this audience. For example, if your topic is auto repair and your audience is predominently female, you may need to shift the focus. Find examples everyone can relate to, support your ideas with things that are not foreign to any specific gender. I once had a student give a speech on how to put on make-up to an audience which was predominently male. Although she tried to include them in the introduction, there was no possible reason (except for the occasional cross-dresser or transvestite...) the men in the audience would care HOW this is done.

Social economic status: there is a difference in how people who have money think than those who have none. When I was a student raising my two sons as a single parent, my yearly income was about $7000 (and yes, we already had electricity and running water here in Portland at that time). This was the same time Johnny Carson was divorcing yet another wife. I remember reading that Joanna Carson had said she could not live on less than $30,000 a MONTH. Doing a quick math, I had difficulty understanding how I could live for a whole year on 1/3 of her monthly income needs.

The late Michael Stoops, a Portland advocate for the homeless, had the ability to understand the economic differences between the rich and the not rich. He could sucessfully give a presentation about the homeless to people belonging to the Multnomah Athletic Club as well as to the homeless themselves. Same topic; different approach. He had to first get the people at the MAC to see that they too could easily fall into a situation that might put them homeless.

Race/Ethnicity: this information will give you insight into the audience's value and belief systems. It will help you understand how you can focus on the audience's needs rather than your own. You must avoid racial or ethnic antagonism. Think of James Watt, the Secretary for Defense in the Reagan Adminstration. He was constantly telling racial jokes and when people told him they were offensive, his reply was, "They know I am joking!" Not so. The audience does not have an insight to your head. You may remember his final "joke" that caused his downfall: "On this committee we have two Jews, a Black, two women, and a cripple.....And some of them can even think!" Ha ha ha.....not.

I had a student once who gave a demonstration speech on how to play the harp. While she was not Jewish, she often played at many Jewish functions and had many friends who were Jewish. During the speech, she used a derogatory word for "Jew," which offended many of the audience members. When we brought it up after the presentation, her reply was, "But that is how my friends and I talk to each other!" I had to remind her that we were not her friends, but her audience.

Religion: this is the most difficult to determine in your audience, so it is important to realize there is a whole spectrum of religious beliefs, from Christian to Hindu to atheism. Understanding this will allow you to use a wide variety of proofs and supporting materials, not just assuming your audience believes as you believe.

There was once a Baptist minister, who's church had burned down. The local Rabbi offered his synagogue for the minister to use on Sundays until a new church was built. The minister thanked the Rabbi profusely, saying, "That is very Christian of you!"

Other aspects: such things as location, room size, political views, expectations are also important, but less easy to see and while you may not know this information, you need to keep it in mind as you prepare your speech. Each one will change the language usage, the supporting materials and the use of proofs. Size of audience for example will determine how you deliver the message. The smaller the audience, the less formal you need to be in order to talk directly to the audience. The larger the audience, and the more technology you use to present the speech (i.e., sound system, overhead projector, computer generated graphics), the more formal the speech tends to be delivered.

Okay....you have analyzed your audience and now you are ready to go.......nope. You have to select your topic and the specific purpose of that topic.

Audience Analysis | Organization | Transitions

Topic Selection:

How do you select a topic? There are two methods that seem to work well:

select what interests you and that which you know a great deal about
select that which interests you and you would like to know more about

These methods of selection have one important thing in common: "that which interests you." Enthusiasm for a subject can overcome a great many errors in delivery! Think of it this way: if YOU don't care about the topic, what makes you think the audience will???

A type of brainstorming can be a useful means of selecting a topic. Start with a general list of things which interest you. Then start narrowing each general topic down into different areas. For example, maybe you are interested in basketball. Possible topics under "basketball" could be the game rules, the major players, how to dribble a ball, funds for a new auditorium, the differences between college and professional ball, the history of the Blazers, what the future holds for the University of Kentucky with its coach snapped up by the Celtics....and on and on. And each of these topics can be narrowed down as well.

After you have selected your topic, ask yourself some questions:

What do I already know about this topic?
What do I need to know that the audience will want to know? This means research.

Once you have gathered your information, now you are ready to organize your speech!

Audience Analysis | Topic Selection | Transitions

Organization:

Remember we organize our speeches in order for the audience to logically follow our thoughts and points. There is a basic pattern that every speech must have: an introduction, a body and a conclusion. It is the same basic pattern that all papers must have...in fact it is the same basic pattern that every conversation has ("Hi! How are you doing?" Introduction "Things are going well blaa blaa blaa." Body "Well I'd better go now." Conclusion)

Introduction: the purpose of the introduction of a speech is many-fold.

It is used to gain the audience's attention.
It is used to create a desire for the audience to listen to you speak.
It is to inform the audience of the general, then specific topic of the speech.
It is to start the perception of credibility in you as a speaker.
It is a place where you can define things the audience may need defining.

Remember that the audience listens to the first things they hear, so it is important to use vivid language, strong images, creative language in the introduction.

"Today I want to talk to you about taxes." This brief introduction serves only one of the necessary purposes of an introduction: the general topic of taxes.

Compare this introduction to the next one:

[speaker tosses a nickle on the floor] "I just threw away a nickle. Big deal, a nickel. What does a nickel buy us today, anyway? A piece of bubble gum? But five of them can make 25 cents. Now we're talking bigger rewards. A quarter can buy you a few minutes on a video game, a game of pool, or a phone call. No one would want to throw away a quarter. Well, I believe if we pass this proposal for a state sales tax at 5%, each one of us will be throwing away much more than a nickel. We will be throwing away hundreds of dollars weekly." (the speaker may go on to give an even more specific topic focus and tell the audience her general reasons for not wanting a sales tax)

This introduction captures the audience's attention immediately, creates a desire for the audience to want to continue listening, tells them specifically what she will be discussing, and sets them up for her credibilty.

Body: the purpose of the body is to support the thesis of the speech as it was introduced, to prove the thesis. It is also to help create more credibility throughout the speech. The bulk of the speech is centered in the body of the speech, which is why we tend to believe it is the most important part of the speech. The organization of this part is of utmost importance for the audience to follow your thoughts and ideas. I will go into more detail later on methods of organization.

Conclusion: just as in the introduction, the purpose of the conclusion is many-fold.

It is to summarize the body of information.
It is to clarify and emphasize the ideas.
It is to review main points (the shorter the speaking time, the less necessary is a review).
It is to give the speech a sense of finality.
It is to tie the speech together, often referring back to something said in the introduction to psychologically bind the speech.
It is to give the audience a final shot at a perception of your credibility.

Remember that the audience listens to the first things they hear, and the last things they hear - so it is important to use vivid language, strong images, creative language in the conclusion as well as the introduction.

[after summarizing the main ideas of the speech] "So next week as you enter that voting booth, remember this sound [tossing another nickle to the floor] and the idea that we will be throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars, a nickel at a time. Vote no on a state sales tax."

Another thing to think about: you should never have to say, "thank you" at the end of your speech. While we can rationalize saying "thank you" as being polite, the majority of people who use it are telling the audience "this speech is over; applaud now." If you have given the speech that note of finality, "thank you" will not be necessary for the audience to know you are finished.

Balance: it has been said that balance is everything.....and a speech is no different. You need to create a sense of balance in your speech. The introduction and the conclusion should be in balance of weight and time with each other and together in balance in time with the body of the speech. While there is no real percentage for each area, I have found that if a speaker uses the 5-10%, 80-90%, 5-10% ratio it is fairly balanced. This means time-wise, the introduction should be between 5-10% of the total speech time, the body between 80-90% of the total time, and the conclusion about 5-10%. Less time in the introduction, and the audience is not engaged well; more time in the introduction and the audience is starting to get antsy for you to "get to your point." The same with the conclusion. It needs enough time to summarize and leave the audience on a note of finality without being too redundant.

Organization of the body:

There are many types of organizational patterns and your textbook discusses many of them in detail. The important thing to remember is that you are creating this speech; use an organizational pattern which makes sense for the audience and the speech. I will briefly go over a few of the most used patterns:

Topical: this is the most used pattern of organization because it is appropriate for any type of speech. To use a topical organizational pattern, you are gathering your points of discussion in related areas:

General topic: Pets

I. Cats
II. Dogs
III. Fish

General topic: Job Interview Tips

I. Researching the company
II. Generating possible questions you will be asked
III. Appropriate clothing

General topic: Transportation

I. Trains
II. Automobiles
III. Airplanes

Each of these general topics are grouped together in a topical pattern. They are directly related to the general topic. This next example is NOT a logical topical pattern:

General topic: Transportation

I. Trains
II. Automobiles
III. Types of transportation in China

This does not work because the focus has changed in this example. If you want to talk about types of transportation in China, you will also have to talk about the types of transportation in Iran and in Sweden. NOTE: if you find it difficult to create a strong transition between points, then the points may not be as related as you originally thought.

Chronological: this pattern of organization is moving ideas and things through time. A chronological pattern is a sequence pattern. Your narrative speech should be in a chronological organization. Your demonstrative speech will be in a chronological order. First this happens, then this happens, then this happens, then this. Such speeches as recipes, tax preparation, travels are chronologically patterned.

Spatial: this pattern of organization moves your audience through space. It is moving your audience from north to south, from east to west, from the center to the outside. Such speeches as flood control or football strategy would use a spatial pattern.

Here's how these three patterns could be used for the same general topic of a vacation spent in Las Vegas:

Topical: You discuss three different aspects of the vacation: the sun, the gambling, the buffets dinners at the casinos

Chronological: You discuss where you went first and what you did, where you went second and what you did, and third and what you did

Spatial: You discuss three different geographical regions of the vacation: the desert area, the mountain area, the strip

While topical organization can be used for any type of speech, chronological and spatial patterns are used most often for informative speeches. The next two patterns are used exclusively for persuasion:

Cause and Effect: this pattern introduces the cause of a problem and the effect of it. It is most often used in persuasion speeches on a question of fact. The pattern may be reversed and you could introduce the effect and then the cause.

Problem/Solution: this pattern introduces the problem and then the proposed solution. The pattern of problem/solution can NOT be reversed with the solution first. The audience needs to know what the solution is solving before they will be convinced.

Once you have selected an organizational pattern, you must stick with it throughout the entire speech. It is not appropriate to start in a topical pattern and then switch to a chronological pattern. This would cause confusion in the minds of your audiences. But you can have patterns within patterns. For example:

General topic: Transportation

I. Trains

A. 1880-1900
B. 1900-1920
C. 1920-1940

II. Automobiles

A. 1900-1920
B. 1920-1940
C. 1940-1960

As you see, the overall pattern is topical with an internal pattern of chronological. Again, if you have an internal pattern, it also must follow throughout the speech.

Audience Analysis | Topic Selection | Organization

Transitions:

A transition is a statement which links two points together so your audience can follow your thoughts easily. Weak transitions can create confusion for the audience. Never forget the #1 sin......

An effective transition does not smack the listener upside the head; it is not a 2x4 but a gentle connection between the points. Find the bridge, the connection between your ideas, conclude the first point and introduce the second.

The 2x4 approach: "Now that we've looked at dogs, let's look at cats."

The gentle approach: "As you can see, dogs make great companions, but they can get rowdy. If you would rather have a more gentle companion, you might like a cat."

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