AUDIENCE ANALYSIS – ADAPTING YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUR AUDIENCE
Once you have selected your speech topic it is imperative that you analyze your audience. One easy way to do this in our
class is to ask your audience specific questions about your topic so that you can get a better idea of your audience's
interests of, knowledge on, and attitudes toward your topic. To do this you will put together an Audience Analysis
Questionnaire for your speech. Include all three types of the following questions.
1. Fixed Alternative Questions - include the alternatives. The yes and no are the alternatives and could be anything.
Have you ever studied weather in high school or college? YES NO
2. Scale Questions - include the scale.
How often do you watch the weather report on the nightly news?
Once 3times 5 or more
a week a week times a week
3. Open Ended Questions - provide the space needed for responses.
Briefly describe the most memorable weather event that you have ever experienced.
Please include a few demographic questions that pertain to your topic (Examples -- Gender, Age, House Hold Income,
Major, Employment, Cultural Background/Ethnicity, etc....), and at least six topic specific questions. You will also
include an opening and closing (very brief) on your questionnaire. For Example:
Opening: “My informative speech topic is ___________ . Please respond to the following questions so that I can
better adapt my speech to you and our class. Please turn this questionnaire back to [your name].”
Closing:“Thank you for your time. Your responses will be very helpful in the preparation of my speech.”
You can find more information on analyzing your audience, and an example of an Audience Analysis Questionnaire on the
Analyzing Your Audience web page on The Public Speakers’ web site:
http://mauicc.hawaii.edu/staff/stjohn/publicspeakers/analyzeaud.html
Please take the time to use space and justification effectively and allow room for response to the questions. You can
reduce the overall size and put the questionnaire two up on a landscape page to conserve paper and copying. You will
include demographic questions and an opening & closing. Bring with you a questionnaire for each person in class.
ADAPTING TOPICS AND MESSAGES TO AUDIENCES: A PROCESS OF IDENTIFICATION:
Once your audience analysis questionnaires have been returned to you can begin to adapt your message to your
audience. One of the most useful strategies for adapting your topic and message to your audience is to use the process
of identification. What do you and your audience have in common? And conversely, how are you different? What ideas
or examples in your speech can your audience identify with. It is essential to select a topic that you know well, that you
feel comfortable with, or that you have a strong interest in. Once that step is completed, you need to consider the
audience as you develop and shape your topic. It is essential to present your message (speech) from the audience's
point of view. For example, a nursing major in a public speaking class wanted to give a demonstration speech on the
proper way to insert an IV (intravenous needle). Since her audience was a more general audience (a mixture of majors)
rather than a specialized audience (nursing students), they had little potential use for the information presented from the
point of view of the "nurse." So the student used her expertise and knowledge to shift the point of view to the audience.
She changed her message from how to insert an IV to how to relax while receiving an IV; therefore, she made the same
message more useful to her audience. Her intention was to help them feel less fearful or apprehensive about an IV.
Consider the following questions while adapting your topics and messages to a particular audience:
What do you and your audience have in common?
How are you different from your audience?
What ideas or examples in your speech might your audience identify with?
What does your audience know about your topic?
What might they want or need to know more about?
How can your audience use the information you are presenting?
What is your audience's interest in or attitude toward your topic?
How specifically will you adapt your topic/message to your audience?
What strategies or examples will you use to adapt your topic/message to your audience?
How will you address or compensate for your audience’s interest and/or attitude toward your topic?