What are the techniques to have effective audience analysis?
The first two articles in this audience analysis series have defined
what audience analysis is (what questions to ask) and given strategies for how to conduct audience analysis (how to get those answers).
Show
This begs the question — how do you capitalize on your audience analysis? That is, how do you reap the benefits to offset the time that you invested? In this article, we examine how to improve your presentation based on your audience analysis. 8 Ways to Use Audience Analysis to Improve Any PresentationWe start by examining eight actions you can take to improve just about any presentation:
1. Dress like your audience, or maybe one notch above.This is usually an easy way to boost your ethos as your audience will like you more if you “fit in” with them. Dressing significantly better or significantly worse than your audience makes you appear like an outsider. For other clothing tips, see How to Dress for Public Speaking. 2. Choose a presentation format appropriate to your audience and the event.Sometimes slides are necessary; sometimes not. Sometimes you need a lengthy Q&A; sometimes not. Some audiences expect a traditional lecture style; some expect the opposite. Whatever you choose, you should be guided by the needs and expectations of your audience; don’t merely choose the format you are accustomed to delivering. Note that this doesn’t mean you must always conform to audience expectations. In rare circumstances, you might deliberately shock the audience with a style that goes against what they expect. It’s risky, but in the right setting, it may pay off. 3. Select the supporting points which will have greatest impact on this audience.While preparing, you will usually have a large number of potential supporting points, but you can’t present them all within your time constraints. When choosing which to keep and which to cut, consider those which this audience will find most persuasive. Will this audience be persuaded more by a financial argument or an environmental one? Do they value simplicity more than convenience? Do they value security more than freedom? 4. Use words which match your audience’s vocabulary.This applies both to your spoken words as well as words which appear on your visuals. Don’t say “dollars” when you should be saying “euros.” Don’t use acronyms or technical jargon that your audience won’t understand. Similarly, don’t be sloppy with terms where your audience expects high precision. Do your homework! 5. Draw upon sources which your audience recognizes for statistics, quotations, examples, or other evidence.To maximize the impact of quotations, examples, and other supporting material, draw from sources that your audience knows and (hopefully) respects. For example, quote Bill Gates when speaking to entrepreneurs or CEOs. Quote Justin Bieber when talking to teen-aged girls. 6. Choose stories which will resonate with your audience.Stories offer tremendous benefits in your presentations, but you’ll lose much of the impact if your audience doesn’t identify with the hero in some way. For example, when speaking to community organizers, tell stories where a community organizer is the hero. When speaking to a school auditorium of parents, feature parenting heroes instead. 7. Design visuals that impact your audience.If you want to trigger emotions, don’t necessarily select the images that you find most impressive; select those which impact your audience most. If you are using charts or diagrams, choose those which will answer the questions your audience members have. If your slides carry a theme throughout (e.g. Star Trek), make sure it is appropriate for your audience. 8. Customize your call-to-action for this audience.To maximize the likelihood that your audience takes action, make sure your call-to-action is tailored for them given their strengths and resources. Suppose you are speaking on behalf of Habitat for Humanity, an organization that provides affordable housing. If your audience is a group of wealthy CEOs, then the call-to-action might be asking for monetary donations or to get their employees engaged. If your audience is a group of service club members, however, your call-to-action might be to invite hands-on participation on a new home. How to Handle Special AudiencesThe guidelines above apply to just about every presentation, regardless of any particular audience characteristic. Sometimes, though, your audience analysis will uncover a specific fact that will impact your choices. Consider the following special audiences:
What to do with a heterogeneous audience?We’ve assumed so far that you have a homogeneous audience, with a single audience persona (i.e. everyone attending has similar background, knowledge level, key demographic characteristics, etc.). This keeps it simple, but is rarely realistic. Often, your audience will be mixed in some critical aspect. For example:
So, what do you do when your audience is a mix of two or more distinct sub-groups? There are three basic strategies:
Depending on your situation, any of these strategies may be optimal for you. Next in this Series…In the next article, we’ll share a useful worksheet that can help you turn audience analysis into a positive, focused speaking habit. What are the different techniques that can be used analyzing the audience?4 Research Methods for Audience Analysis. Primary Research. The first step when beginning audience analysis is gathering as much information as possible. ... . Qualitative Research. ... . Interviews. ... . Focus Groups. ... . Quantitative Research. ... . Social Media Analytics. ... . Surveys and Questionnaires. ... . Secondary Research.. What is effective audience analysis?Audience analysis involves identifying the audience and adapting a speech to their interests, level of understanding, attitudes, and beliefs. Taking an audience-centered approach is important because a speaker's effectiveness will be improved if the presentation is created and delivered in an appropriate manner.
What are the five 5 Things You Need to Know When analyzing your audience?Audience analysis is the process of identifying your audience and collecting information about them. Before delivering the speech, you should know the age group, expertise level, needs, expectations, value system, attitudes, and beliefs of your audience.
What are the specific techniques for specific audience?10 Techniques to Hook an Audience3 min read. Use their imaginations. Open your audience's mind. ... . Make them laugh. Humor can be integrally persuasive and lighten the mood. ... . Interact with the audience. Ask rhetorical questions. ... . Grab them with a quote. ... . Trigger their senses. ... . Use props. ... . Give them anxiety.. |