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What makes you like a speaker?
Is it the topic? or the ambiance? or the props?
For me - NONE of the Above!
Because I like to sit through a speech that resonates with me.
What about you…Don’t you like to be inspired and motivated to take action?
But even more, wouldn’t you like to be a great public presenter who inspires the audience to take action?
Yes? Then be a great listener.Listen to your audience before you ever step foot on stage.
How? By doing your research.Find out what they care about.
The “public” always comes first in public speaking.
When you know your audience, then it is easy to deliver a killer speech.
Because when you take the time to understand them, you can connect with your audience on an emotional level.
In this blog, you will discover 5 key benefits of audience analysis.
You will also learn how it helps you in public speaking and start delivering effective presentations.
👥 What is Audience Analysis?
💡 5 reasons why Audience Analysis will benefit your communication 🎙️?
📊 6 Types of Audience Analysis
Audience analysis is putting effort into understanding your audience.
What are they looking forward to from your presentation?
To conduct this analysis - you need to gather information about your audience - such as their age, gender, occupation, education level, cultural background, and interests.
Using this information, you can tailor your presentation.
And a well-tailored speech just fits and makes it more effective.
Audience research will increase your chances of persuading people to buy your products.
💡 Read our detailed guide on audience analysis and how to nail it.
Don’t you have a specific goal in mind before every presentation? Whether it’s to
But, if you don’t know anything about your audience, won’t it make it difficult for you to achieve your goal?
Audience analysis gives you insights into what your listeners need to learn from your speech.
During audience research, you should aim to identify the following:
When you have this information, you can craft your message to align with your goals.
Let’s take an example.
Assume your goal is to convince your audience to donate to a charity that supports children's education.
After your audience analysis, you may discover that your majority audience consists of software engineers with young children.This audience values education and has a higher income.
With this knowledge, you can create a speech that appeals to their parenthood and the joy of raising a child.Then you can ask them to empathize with children whose parents can’t afford the same means.You can motivate them to take action with questions such as
”Do you think children who don’t get access to quality can be successful and become productive members of the society?”
Furthermore, you can share stories and statistics about the positive impact of education on children's lives and how this charity has used past donations to make a difference.
You can evoke altruistic emotions in these parents by using quotes such as:
When you understand your audience's perspective and tailor your message to their beliefs, you are more likely to achieve your goal by making a lasting impression on your audience.
The “public” always comes first in public speaking!
Being audience-centered ensures that your message sticks and then stays with your audience.
Understand your audience’s beliefs and botherations. And you will create relevant and relatable content.
Remember, one speech won’t work on a second type of audience.
You will need different speeches focusing on two types of target audiences.
Based on your audience research, you decide YOUR:
A presentation that might work with professionals will fail with students.
An audience-centric speech makes sure that your message is memorable and meaningful.
For example, if you are speaking to a group of college students, you should appeal to their interests.
You can incorporate pop culture references or use a more casual tone.
But, if you are speaking to a group of executives, you may want to use business-related examples.
Steve Jobs is famous for his keynote presentations at Apple’s events. His usual style was to paint a picture of the future and where the world will go next.
But during his famous 2005 commencement speech at Stanford, he adapted.
His speech focussed on young graduates - about 22-24 years old.
And they were going to face a period of uncertainty and transition in their lives.
So Jobs talked about his past personal experiences as a student.
He emphasized the importance of following your passion and intuition as a student.
By sharing his story of failures and eventual success, he delivered the message of hope.
He left a valuable lesson - Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. Something that these young students can use to come back from their lowest moments.
💡 Check our blog on presentation lessons from Steve Jobs.
Your relationship with your audience matters.
Without a relationship, they won’t care what you have to say.
Why?
Because when you have a relationship with your audience, they get a feeling that you “Care” about them.
This feeling is super-important.Because without it, they will doubt if your self-interest is more important to you than their concerns.
Your audience needs to see you as a friend, a guru, or a leader they can look up to.
Trust is the winning criterion here.
When you take the time to get to know your audience and their needs, your build trust with them. This trust is the foundation of your relationship.
Without trust, you have no audience. Just a room full of people waiting for you to get out of the stage while they scroll their phones.
When you connect with your audience on a personal level, they engage more with your message.
They trust your authority on the topic and remember you long after the presentation is over.
When you have a relationship with your audience, it helps you persuade them to take action.
How do you know you have Charisma on stage?
Your audience pays attention to you - and responds to what you say.
Knowing your audience's interests, attitudes, and values helps you create a speech that your audience feels invested in.
When your audience relates with you, they will engage more - ask questions and provide feedback.
They lean in. They nod their heads.
They laugh at your jokes.
They become invested in your message because they feel like you're speaking directly to them.
This interaction creates a dynamic and engaging environment. It increases the effectiveness of your message.
Pixar’s writer-director Andrew Stanton says in his TED talk that the greatest trick to engage your audience is to make them care.
And that’s what audience analysis helps with.
For example, let's say you're giving a speech about fitness to a group of middle-aged mothers.
You could give a generic speech about exercise and nutrition, but that's not going to engage your audience.
Instead, you need to understand what these women are dealing with.
Maybe they're busy and stressed, and they don't have a lot of time to work out.Maybe they're worried about their health and want to avoid diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
Once you understand their concerns, you can tailor your speech to address those issues.
You can talk about quick workouts that can be done at home or strategies for managing stress.
You can share success stories of other middle age mothers who have overcome health challenges.
💡 To engage an audience, how you say your message is as important as what you say. Your vocal variety plays a huge role in making your speech memorable.Check out our video on mastering vocal variety:
Can you remember a time when you unintentionally said something that offended someone in your audience?
And why did that happen?
Simply because you didn't know researched about your audience beforehand.
Imagine giving a funny speech on mental health to an audience with a history of mental health struggles.
When you use insensitive language, you could offend your audience. And that undermines your message.
But, if you conducted an audience analysis beforehand, you would know better.
You should avoid using misleading or hurtful language. Instead, you should use more empathetic language to connect with your audience.
And get your message across in the most effective way possible.
In summary, audience analysis ensures you deliver a message that is both impactful and appropriate for your audience.
I have talked about how audience analysis is beneficial.
But how to analyze your audience?
There are several types of audience analysis based on various factors to understand your audience better.
💡 Read more about different types of audience analysis in our detailed guide on audience analysis and how to nail it.
Here are 6 types of audience analysis:
Types of Audience Analysis
💡 Read more about different types of audience analysis in our detailed guide on audience analysis and how to nail it.
In conclusion, effective audience analysis makes you a successful public speaker.
Today you can find yourself talking to people from many countries on a single Zoom call.
To handle this diversity, you need an understanding of their beliefs and botherations.
By researching your audience, you can craft a speech that speaks directly to their hearts. You do this by using language, examples, and references that connect with them.
But audience analysis is just not for individuals. Your business can identify challenges in communication with your brand-loyal audience.
These challenges can be language differences, cultural norms, or economic factors.
Invest in audience analysis. It will make a difference in the lives of your audience with your message
Are you confused about how to conduct an audience analysis - Here is how you do Audience Analysis and nail it!
