A key rule to make a good speech is to keep in mind that audiences care most about things that directly affect them. An effective speaker understands the nature of audiences and adapts speeches to audiences. In order to do this, you must learn everything you can about your particular audience. Then make sure to keep the audience in mind in every decision you make in the speech development process. When you plan your speech this way, you engage in an “audience-Centered” approach, which is vital for success.

When centering on the audience, you start by finding common traits that enable you to identify with them. Since audiences are concerned with things that they believe will directly affect them, it’s your job to find as many different ways that your topic relates to your particular audience. The more ways you can find to connect with the audience, the more reasons they have to listen to you. Whenever possible, you will want to obtain the following information about the audience and the location where you will be speaking.

Using the word “A-U-D-I-E-N-C-E” as an acronym, you can get the survey done for the audience analysis.

• A-udience: Who are the members? How many will be there at the event? Size of the meeting? Formal or informal meeting? A larger audience also means that you may have to work with a microphone and that you may need some way of making your visual aids large enough to be seen.
• U-understanding: What is their (audience) knowledge about the topic? How much does the audience know about the topic? If they know nothing, you have to worry about getting over their heads. If they know a lot, you will have to worry about not boring them.
• D-demographic Factors:
  • Age: An audience in their 20’s will have different interests and motivations than one in their 70’s.
  • Education levels: Is your audience filled with people holding advanced degrees, or are they mainly high school graduates?
  • Occupation: What does your audience do for a living? Do they all share similar jobs or work for the same company? Can you somehow connect your topic to their jobs?
  • Gender: While gender differences may be diminishing, it is important to know the gender balance of the audience. For example, it would be a good bet that a speech that uses only examples from sports would be less effective for an all-female audience.
  • Marital status: Is your audience mainly married or single? These groups will have different values and motivations. How about children? Some issues, like safety, become more important to audience members who are parents than an audience composed of single people.
  • Religion: Does a majority of the audience share certain types of religious beliefs? Knowing this ahead of time can avoid offending people based on their faith. For example, using quotations from the Bible might not be very effective for an audience composed of mainly Muslims. In addition, don’t make the mistake of assuming that just because your audience is American that it will be a Christian audience.
  • Racial/cultural/ethnic background: Stereotyping can lead to problems such as patronizing the audience, but it is helpful to know if the audience shares any racial, cultural, or ethnic similarities. For example, is your audience rural or urban? You always want to be sensitive and respectful.
  • Group membership: Are there any specific groups that your audience might belong to? For example, if a majority of the audience belongs to an Engineering Association, then you will want to take special care discussing a controversial issue concerning the organization.
  • Hobbies/Interests: Does your audience share any hobbies or interests? If so this gives you a way to find common ground. For example, if the audience is composed of people who all share a passion for computers, then using examples from the computer industry will strike a common chord in the audience.
• I-nterest: Who asked the audience to be there? Why will they be at the event? Why is the audience attending the particular occasion? Will the audience be coming voluntarily or will they be required to attend? An audience whose attendance is mandatory would require you to convince them that your speech is worth their attention. Is the audience naturally interested in your topic? Or will you have to find ways to make it interesting to them? If they normally would not find the topic interesting, then you will have to put some work into adjusting the topic to their interest.
• E-nvironment: Where will you stand when you speak? Will everyone be able to see you?
  • Formal or informal setting: Are you going to speak in a formal lecture hall or a banquet hall? Will you be standing up at a meeting? The formality of the setting will have a definite effect on the expectations of the audience and also how you should approach your speech.
  • Seating and Visibility: How physically close are you to the audience will affect how close you can get to them psychologically. How will the audience be seated? Will you be speaking from an elevated level? Are there any obstructions that will keep the audience from seeing you or your visual aids?
  • Temperature: The temperature of the room will have a major effect on the audience. If the room is too warm, then the audience will have an increased tendency to be lethargic and sleepy. If the room is too cold, they will be constantly shivering and shifting in their seats. In either case you should not plan on a long speech or add a lot of attention getting devices to keep the audience tuned in.
  • Distraction: Noises cause distraction. A large window, where people will be passing by, could be another reason of audience’s distraction. An interesting wall decoration in the meeting hall could be another.
• N-eeds: What are the listeners’ needs? What are your needs? What are the needs of the person or the organization that hired you?
• C-ustomized: How can I custom fit my message to the audience?
• E-xpectations: What do the listeners expect to learn from me? What does the audience expect of you on the occasion?