Question

This is Public Speaking (but that subject was not listed, so I selected psychology. Audience demographics - Examples of why a speaker should take time to analyze their audience based each of these catergories: 1-Age, 2-Gender, Group Affliations, disability.

Ex: for Age, you would create scenario where a speaker might have a problem if they ignored Age in their audiences. Then give me the opposite side of the coin, If they did analyze what would occur then.

Thanks!

Answer 1

What happens if you don't know your audience?

• If you do not know your audience, your chances of connecting with the audience get limited
  • Difficulty in finding a common ground
  • Difficulty while connecting to the audience
  • Difficulty with outdated/ offensive references

• Age
  • The array of issues that worry a group of seniors is going to be different than a group of high school students.
    • High School - Career Counselling
    • Seniors - Aging gracefully
    • Mix crowd - Positive Relationships
• Gender
  • Choose language that is suitable and appropriate for audience without being patronizing.
  • Pay attention to the pronouns you use, the anecdotes you tell and the issues you focus on.
  • No matter what, always avoid sexist, derogatory remarks

• Group Affiliations
  • Your word choice, level of formality, use of humour, and presentation style including the use of visuals and handouts
    • Political Affiliations - Jokes
    • Geographical Specialties

• Disability
  • The use of visuals and handouts
  • The kind of words and jokes
  • References and relevant topics