Public Speaking

78 CHAPTER^6 Audience Analysis

Listeners also expect you to be calm and poised. Think of it this way: If you’re agi-

tated during a classroom presentation, your audience will wonder why you cannot con-

trol yourself. In contrast, if you appear confident, they will perceive you more favorably.

Take Terminal Credibility into Account

The overall impression you leave after your speech is over is your terminal credibility—

a balance between the reputation you brought to your speech, the expertise you dem-

onstrated as you spoke, and the overall information your audience has or might learn

about you or your topic. For instance, if your listeners eventually discover that some

of your information was incorrect or slanted or that you don’t act in ways that support

your ideas, they will lose confidence in you and your terminal credibility is damaged. A

good example is a high-profile member of the clergy or of the business community who

once had great audiences until he or she was uncovered as a fraud.

Summary

You and your audiences are involved in an interactive process in which you form impres-

sions of one another around a topic you’ve chosen for a specific time and place. You

assess your listeners’ motivations as well as their demographic characteristics; however,

you also realize that characteristics such as age, religion, or ethnicity are salient only at

specific times and in specific circumstances.

Just as focus group leaders analyze a group’s psychological profile, you can analyze

your audience’s opinions about your topic. What do they already know or believe? How

do they feel about your subject? What attitudes and underlying values influence their

interest? Developing a questionnaire with various types of questions is a direct method

of identifying listener responses to specific aspects of your subject. Indirectly, you can

observe them, looking for clues that suggest their attitudes.

Finally, situational characteristics affect your audience. The time of day, the length

of your speech, and the noise level or temperature in the room all influence an audi-

ence’s interest and attention. Do what you can to minimize environmental distractions.

In turn, your listeners actively evaluate you. Before your speech, they assess your

reputation. During your speech, they form impressions of your credibility and your

overall trustworthiness based on cultural criteria such as sound evidence, source cita-

tion, overall knowledge, and composure. After you’ve finished, your listeners continue

to assess your credibility, either positively or negatively.

This is one of the most important chapters in this text. As good speakers every-

where know, sensitivity to a specific audience is not optional. It is essential to good

speech-making.

Study and Review

Public Speaking: Concepts and Skills for a Diverse Society offers a broad range of

resources that will help you better understand the material in this chapter, complete

assignments, and succeed on tests. Your MindTap resources feature the following:

•   Speech videos with viewing questions, speech outlines, and transcripts

•   Activities to help you check your understanding and to apply what you’ve learned to

your own life

•   Stop and Check and Critical Thinking exercises

•   Outline Builder

terminal credibility final
impression listeners have of
a speaker

Reflect on what you’ve

learned.

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