Know Your Audience

Whether you are presenting to a small group of 20 or a large group of 200, there are many things
you can to do in advance to ensure that your presentation achieves the desired response. The
most important is to know and understand your audience as well as the venue logistics.

To connect with your audience, you need to understand why your topic is important to them.
What do they expect to learn from the presentation? Don't assume the audience is like you. They
may have cultural or geographic biases and the more you understand them, the better you can
express yourself to them and avoid speaking gaffes. It is also important to know the level of
knowledge they have about your topic, so you can present the information with the correct tone
to keep people interested and engaged. There is nothing more insulting than to present basic
information to a highly knowledgeable audience, and conversely, speak at too high a level for a
novice audience.

If you are presenting in a foreign country, it is important to understand the cultural differences of
the audience. How do they dress? How is their sense of humor? How do they typically
communicate? What gestures are appropriate or inappropriate? Are there religious factors that
should be considered?

There are several things you can do to prepare and research your audience before and at the
beginning of the talk that will help you adjust your speech to better engage the audience.

The role of the audience

Bitzer states that a rhetorical audience must be "mediators of change". Along with this, RCM
401 audiences must have other qualities so as to allow and encourage their fellow peers to learn.

These qualities include:

 Ability to critically listen, while being able to interpret the message from more angles than just
yours.
 Willingness to become outspoken during both the question and feedback periods.
 Keep mind open to all topics so as to see the internal structure of the message i.e. Exigence,
action, audience relations.
 Ability to create notes on all aspects of the speech while still listening and watching for delivery
quirks that can be worked out.

Audience Influence on the Speaker

Although audiences are not vocally communicating with the speaker, all rhetorical speaking
requires active participation by the audience. Body language of the audience can have a large
impact on how the speaker delivers their message. Body language can show a speaker how you
are feeling about their message, delivery, and audience consideration. Although it is important
that the speaker sees these emotions and cues, but remember in excess they can become
distracting.

The article "Listening: The 'Lost' Communication Skill" outlines sets of behaviours to avoid and
sets of behaviours to engages in. These are listed below.

Avoid:

1. Stare
2. Yawn
3. Looking away
4. Nervous habits, fidgeting
5. Shaking head negatively
6. Maving away from speaker
7. Negative facial expression, such as frowning or pouting
8. Crossed arms

Engage In:

1. Direct eye contact

2. Smiling
3. Nodding
4. Eyes wide open
5. Forward lean
6. Positive facial expression
Not only can your body language change the way the speech is delivered but can affect
how all your feedback is received. Mark Bowden speaks in his Ted Talk about how
important body language is in establishing a relationship and therefore the effective
reception of a message.

Presentations skills

Presentations skills and public speaking skills are very useful in many aspects of work and life.
Effective presentations and public speaking skills are important in business, sales and selling,
training, teaching, lecturing, and generally feeling comfortable speaking to a group of people.

Developing the confidence and capability to give good presentations, and to stand up in front of
an audience and speak well, are also extremely helpful competencies for self-development and
social situations.
Presentation skills and public speaking abilities are not limited to certain special people - anyone
can give a good presentation, or perform public speaking to a professional and impressive
standard. Like most specialisms, this requires preparation and practise.

The formats and purposes of presentations can be very different, for example: oral (spoken),
multimedia (using various media - visuals, audio, etc), powerpoint presentations, short
impromptu presentations, long planned presentations, educational or training sessions, lectures,
and simply giving a talk on a subject to a group on a voluntary basis for pleasure. Even speeches
at weddings and eulogies at funerals are types of presentations.

Know your audience when presenting. It’s a vital presentation skill. Because it doesn’t matter
whether it’s a trade show or a corporate presentation, you must know your audience. But vital as
it is, it’s also a skill that you can work on very easily.

If you thought that in planning your next presentation your last consideration might be your
audience…that would be a mistake.

Skills to meet the need of the audience

When you're preparing a presentation, what do you need to know about your audience?

The short answer: as much relevant information as possible. But just where do you begin?

As part of your planning, keep these pointers in mind:

Know the size of your audience.

Will you be speaking to just a few people or to dozens or even hundreds of people? Clearly, the
audience size determines the physical setting and, in turn, guides the type of visuals you should
use. What's more, for a large audience, you may need to use a lectern and a microphone. If so,
that will enter into your planning and preparation as well.

Know the attitudes and biases of your audience.

This may be easy to do if you're presenting to a small number of colleagues, in contrast to an
audience you haven't met before. Easy or not, it's important nonetheless. What does your
audience think about your topic? What do they think about you? Are they likely to be skeptical -
even hostile? Or are they likely to respond favorably? If your goal is to persuade or motivate
your audience, what biases, concerns or fears must you first overcome to achieve your goal? You
may decide in the end that you cannot completely satisfy everyone's concerns. But at least you
can present your position strategically, while taking those concerns into account and through
that, showing your own awareness and sensitivity.

As much as possible, know what motivates your audience.

Your audience may have strongly held views about your topic. They may also have certain
expectations. What are these, and what can you do to help meet them? There may be issues that
trigger strong emotions in your audience. Find out what these are, and prepare to deal with them.

How much does your audience already know?

Good communicators never talk down to their audience. If your audience already knows a good
deal about your topic, your presentation should build on what your audience knows, and not
simply repeat what is already known. Good communicators also don't talk over the head of
others. If your audience knows little about your topic, tell them what they need to know to
respond as you want them to.

Talk to their interests, not yours.

You should talk to the specific interests of your audience. Again, those interests are easy enough
to know if you're presenting to an intimate group of colleagues. With other audiences, however,
it may take some digging. Don't assume or guess what those interests are: ask, instead. An
audience of senior-level managers, for example, may well have different interests than an
audience of entry-level professionals. Factors such as educational and job background,
professional interest, even recent work or personal experiences your listeners might have had, are
also important. You may also want to know the relationship of your audience members to one
another. Do they have common interests, or do their interests conflict with one another? Again,
the more you know about these, the more likely you are to connect with your listeners from their
point of view.

The "What's- in-it-for me?" rule.

This is also known as the "Why- should-I-listen-to-you?" rule. It applies especially to business
audiences. When preparing your presentation, embed the answers to these questions early in your
remarks, so that your listeners know what they're going to get out of your presentation.

One more time: Your audience is where it all starts.

It follows that this part of your preparation - the phase known as audience analysis - is essential
in determining how you will build your presentation. The more you know about your audience,
the better you can target your remarks to reflect their specific interests and concerns. And the
more likely you are to succeed as a presenter.