5.Analyzing the Audience Audience-CenterednessThe Psychology AudiencesFactors in Audience Analysis Size Physical SettingDemographic TraitsDisposition Toward the Topic Disposition Toward the Speaker Disposition Toward the OccasionGetting Information About the AudienceAdapting to the Audience Audience Adaptation Before the speech Audience Adaptation During the speecj Audience Adaptation After the speech推荐精选In the midst of the heated 2008 campaign for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama faced one of the biggest challenges of his political career. His former minister, Jeremiah Wright, had made controversial, racially charged comments that circulated widely in the national media. Suddenly, Obama was forced to deal with Wrights remarks, the issue of race in America, and the future of his presidential campaign. In doing so, he had to address multiple audiences, including the white community, the black community, his supporters, backers of rival Hillary Clinton, undecided voters, and the nation in general.On March 18, 2008, Obama spoke on national television from Philadelphia, the birthplace of the American republic. Well aware of the situation he faced, he crafted a speech that dealt thoughtfully with the concerns of his various audiences while stressing the fundamental unity of the American people. Only by working together, he said, can we “move beyond of our old racial wounds andcontinue on the path of a more perfect union.”The speech garnered almost universal praise across the political spectrum. Obama was hailed for his capacity to “lead public opinion” by explaining issues “so both sides can see each others point of view.”He pushed the nation “to move beyond race and gender, beyond Democrat and Republican, beyond politics and into reviving the spirit of the nation itself .” It was, by any measure, a striking achievement.推荐精选Audience-CenterednessObamas speech points up an important fact: Good public speakers are audience-centered. They know the primary of speechmaking is not to browbeat the audience or to blow off steam. Rather, it is to gain a desired response from listeners. Barack Obamas purpose in his speech was to gain a favorable response from the major groups in his audience. He did that by presenting himself and his ideas in ways that connected with the audiences goals, values, and beliefs.Being audience-centered does not involve compromising your belief to get a favorable response. Nor dose it mean using devious, unethical tactics to achieve your goal. As did Barack Obama, you can remain true to yourself and speak ethically while adapting your message to the needs of your listeners.To be audience-centered, you need to keep several questions in mind when you work on your speeches:To whom am I speaking?What do I want them to know, believe, or do as a result of my speech?What is the most effective way of composing and presenting my speech to accomplish that aim?推荐精选This chapter will introduce the basic principles of audience analysis and adaptation. Chapters 13-14 will deal with those features of audience analysis unique to informative and persuasive speaking.The Psychology of AudiencesWhat do you do when you listen to a speech? Sometimes you pay close attention; at other times you let your thoughts wander. People may be compelled to attend a speech, but no one can make them listen. The speaker must make the audience choose to pay attention.Even when people do pay attention, they dont process a speakers message exactly as the speaker intends. Auditory perception is always selective. Every speech contains two messagesthe one sent by the speaker and the one received by the listener. As we saw in Chapter 1, what a speaker says is filtered through a listeners frame of reference-the sum of his or her needs, interests, expectations, knowledge, and experience. As a result , we listen and respond to speeches not as they are, but as we are.People are egocentric. They pay closest attention to messages that affect their own values, beliefs, and well-being. Harry Emerson Fosdick, the great American preacher, once said: “There is nothing that people are so interested in as themselves, their own problems, and the way to solve them. That fact is the primary starting point of all successful public speaking.”推荐精选What do these psychological principles mean to you as a speaker? First, they mean your listeners will hear and judge what you say on the basis of what they already know and believe. Second, they mean you must relate your message to your listeners-show how it pertains to them, explain why they should care about it as much as you do. As Saul Alinksy, the noted community organizer, advises, “People only understand things in terms of their experience,” which means that to communicate with them, “you must get inside their experience.”Of course, you cant actually get inside another