72 CHAPTER^6 Audience Analysis
out differently. For example, college seniors and first-year students may have varying
interest in a topic as seemingly simple as résumé writing.Other Considerations
A variety of experiences and interests can also characterize audience members, and con-
sidering these can guide you in selecting topics and supporting materials.
• Socioeconomic Status. Socioeconomic status is related to education and occupation.
Comfortably middle-class individuals and those who struggle in minimum wage jobs
differ in many important ways, including the options available to them. Members of
professions such as medicine or education share interests, backgrounds, and jargon.^21
Even in the classroom, engineering majors may be more interested in some topics
than social work majors.
• Group Affiliation. Keep in mind that some political junkies nowadays are so commit-
ted to parties or policies that certain topics trigger passionate responses. In addition,
members of groups as varied as Wheelchair Athletes, Alcoholics Anonymous, frater-
nities or sororities, and professional business organizations coalesce around shared
interests that you should consider before you speak.
• Region. You’d expect to use different strategies for audiences in different countries, but
factors such as climate, history, and the economic base create diversity between states
or regions or from area to area within a single state. Such differences can even shape
the types of cars people prefer; for example, hybrids are top choices in the West and
full-sized pickup trucks in the South.^22 In the state of Oregon, for example, residents
along the Pacific Ocean, those who live in the middle “wine country,” and inhabitants
of the eastern semiarid ranch lands all have different interests and concerns.
In summary, demographic audience analysis provides insights into your listeners’
ethnicity, race, religion, gender concerns, and age as well as socioeconomic status, group
affiliation, and regional identity. However, instead of stereotyping your listeners, try to
use a more inclusive model that recognizes which demographic characteristics are most
significant to your topic and the situation.© iStockphoto.com/Alina555A single audience member is
influenced by demographic
factors that are interwoven
with the individual’s
characteristics. In one
situation, age is significant;
in another, religion, gender,
or other factors may be
more salient.
Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.www.ebook3000.com