Page 239 - Essentials of Human Communication

218 CHAPTER 11 Public Speaking Preparation (Steps 1–6)

● Show the audience why they should listen to your speech by con-
necting your purpose to their purposes.
● Involve the audience directly in your speech by showing them that
you understand their perspective, asking rhetorical questions, and
referring to their experiences and interests.

how knowledgeable is Your audience? If your audience
knows little about your topic, consider these suggestions:

● Don’t talk down to audience members.
● Don’t confuse a lack of knowledge with a lack of intelligence.

If your audience knows a great deal about your topic, consider
these suggestions:
● Let the audience know that you are aware of their knowledge and
expertise and that your speech will not simply repeat what they al-
VieWpoints ready know but will go beyond it.
analyzing an audience ● Emphasize your competence in this general subject area.
Ted wants to give his speech on the values of atheism. If this
speech were to be given to your class, what are some of the how favorable is Your audience? If you face an audience
things Ted would need to know about his audience? that has unfavorable attitudes toward your topic or your purpose, or
even toward you, consider these suggestions:
● Build on commonalities; emphasize not the differences but the similarities between you
and the audience.
Explore the Concept ● Build your speech from areas of agreement, through areas of slight disagreement, up to
“Audience Analysis” at the major differences.
MyCommunicationLab
● Strive for small gains.
● Ask for a fair hearing.

Explore the Exercise analYsis and adaPtatiOn during the sPeech
“Analyzing an Unknown
Audience” at In your classroom speeches, you’ll face a known audience, an audience you’ve already ana-
MyCommunicationLab lyzed and for which you’ve made appropriate adaptations. At other times, however, you may
face an audience that you’ve not been able to analyze beforehand or that differs greatly from
what you expected. In these cases you’ll have to analyze and adapt as you speak. Here are a
few suggestions.

focus on listeners as Message senders As you’re speak-
ing, look at your listeners and make adjustments as necessary. For
example, if your audience shows signs of boredom, increase your
volume, move closer to them, or tell them how what you’re going
to say will be of value to them. If your audience shows signs of dis-
agreement or hostility, stress a similarity you have with them. If
your audience looks puzzled or confused, pause a moment and re-
phrase your ideas, provide necessary definitions, or insert an in-
ternal summary. If your audience seems impatient, say, for exam-
ple, “my last argument” instead of your originally planned “my
third argument.”

use answers to Your “What if” Questions The more
preparation you put into your speech, the better prepared you’ll be
to make on-the-spot adjustments and adaptations. For example,
let’s say that you’re to explain the opportunities available to the