Real Communication An Introduction

346 Part 4  Public Speaking

c Determine prior exposure. Audience members’ interest in your speech may

differ greatly depending on whether or not they have previously been

exposed to your ideas and arguments. Having a general sense of what they

know about the topic—and how they have reacted to it in the past—will

help you prepare. For example, if your informative speech on the Paleo diet

went over well with your classmates, then it’s reasonable to think that they

might be interested in hearing a persuasive speech on the health and finan-

cial benefits of a diet with fewer dairy products.

c Consider disposition. As noted earlier, your audience’s preexisting attitudes

toward a particular message—or even toward you as a speaker—can have

an impact on how they receive your speech. If you are a company executive

informing employees that they will not be receiving an annual pay raise, you

can assume your audience will be angry with the message (and may well dis-

like you as a speaker). You would be well advised to focus on areas of agree-

ment, seek common ground, and attempt mutual understanding rather than

sweeping changes in attitudes. (We will address how to adjust your speech to

receptive, hostile, and neutral audiences in Chapter 16).

As was the case on gathering demographic and psychographic information

on your audience members, you may wonder exactly how you go about finding

information to anticipate your audience’s reaction to your speech. Luckily, there

are a few steps you can take that may yield incredibly helpful information.

c Observe people. People-watching is a hobby for some but a must for speakers!

You can learn a lot by casually observing those around you. How do they

react to topics discussed in class—particularly if the topics are controversial?

What types of speakers do they seem to respond to?

c Get to know people. This may seem like common sense, but you’d be sur-

prised how often students complete a course without making personal con-

nections. Talk to a few people who sit next to you in class or engage with

discussion forums in your virtual course. Ask questions. Learn more about

your classmates’ hobbies, life situations, and other factors that might help

you develop an effective speech.

c Survey and interview your audience. You might also want to assess your audi-

ence on a more formal level. After receiving approval from your instructor,

you might develop and distribute a short questionnaire to determine your

classmates’ opinions on a topic you’re considering for your speech. Or you

might talk with several members of a student organization to get feedback

on your topic before you deliver your speech at the next group meeting.

c Use the Web. Do a Web search for opinion polls on your topic, especially polls

that gauge the views of college students or other key demographic groups in

your audience. Examine the kind of attention the issue has been getting on

campus or in the local media (such as the school’s newspaper or Web site).

All of the information you gain about your audience members—from

their expectations and situational constraints to their demographics and

possible reactions—sets the stage for you to move forward in developing an

effective and appropriate speech. The next step is choosing your topic.

When surveying and
interviewing your audience
to help anticipate their
response to your speech,
it’s important to develop
the most useful questions
possible. For example,
you’ll want to consider
whether to ask open,
closed, or bipolar ques-
tions to get the information
you need. And you’ll want
to avoid unethical directed,
leading, and loaded ques-
tions. See the Interviewing
Appendix for more infor-
mation.

Whensurveyingand

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