It
may be useful to consider the possible areas of diversity in an audience. These
characteristics include
- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity,
race, and cultural background
- Education
- Religious
and political affiliations
- Economic
status
- Sexual orientation
- Family background
- Group membership
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- To learn more about demographic information within a specific U.S. locale, consider the U.S. Census Bureau at http://www.census.gov/. The Census sets the standard for stats sought by government leaders, educators, journalists, and industry experts. This comprehensive site offers a search engine plus multiple categories (People, Business, Geography, News Room, Special Topics). Also available are specialized sections such as Population Clocks, American Community Survey, and American FactFinder (which leads to Population Finder, Area Profile, Economic Indicators, etc).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offers socioeconomic data at http://stats.bls.gov allows you to search your audience makeup by such categories as Area and Occupation, State and Local Employment and Unemployment Rates, Demographic Characteristics of the Labor Force, Industries at a Glance, etc.
- The CIA World Factbook offers information about other countries at http://cia.gov/. At this site the World Factbook allows you to select any country in the world, view its map, then click on the nation’s details such as Profiles, Rankings, People, Geography, Economics, Military, and Flag.
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Psychographic
characteristics of your audience
Psychological
profiles of your audience may be of significance as you shape your message.
These include
- Beliefs are
opinions held by many
- Values are
views of the goodness/badness or sense of right or wrong
- Attitudes
are predispositions to behavior such as inclination to vote
- Behaviors
are actions taken. These are not always consistent with beliefs, values and
attitudes.
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To learn
more about some of the opinions polls consider these organizations:
- The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press at http://people-press.org/ offers categories such as Featured Survey, Global Attitudes, and Commentary. Or click on Survey Reports, In the News, and Political Typology. You can learn “what was and wasn’t on the public’s mind” in the past year. Also click on provided surveys to view opinion results on global, political, presidential, and economic issues as well as featured “hot” topics such as the right to die, teaching evolution in schools, government assistance to hurricane-damaged areas, etc.
- See the Gallup Organization at http://www.gallup.com/. Of the eight provided main categories (including Gallup Press, Gallup Consulting, Gallup University), click on the Gallup Poll and choose from areas such as Poll Archives, International Topics, Recent Analyses, Key Topics and Trends, plus an A-Z topic search function. Or click on featured “Top Stories” to understand opinions on such diverse topics as internet use, worship behavior, minimum wage, small business owners, and more.
- Check out the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/ From its menu click on Archived Collection, Public Opinion Matters, and Academic Research. Or choose featured survey results on government, economic, political, and social issues as well as from more specialized categories such as Personal Characteristics as well as Beliefs and Lifestyles.
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Situational
characteristics of your talk
Situational factors
that affect your presentation include the time, audience size, location and
occasion of the talk.
Audience members
tend to be more alert in the late morning and in the middle of the week. Offer
to speak first or last since speakers tend to get better evaluations then.
Be aware of
environmental distractions that can negatively affect your audience including
the lighting, temperature, sitting arrangement, and general mood of the audience.
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Assess
your credibility with your audience. |
