For example, if you are making a presentation on Future Careers", knowing your audience's average age is vital. A well prepared speech that is ill-suited to the audience can have the same effect as a poorly prepared speech delivered to the correct audience. Both speeches will fail terribly.

Proper audience analysis will assure that you give the right speech to the right audience. To properly customize the speech, most professional speakers send their clients a multi-page questionnaire in order to gather information about them and their speaking event. You can call some of the members who can find out what the current trends are in their industry and ask whatpeople are looking for.

Using the word “A-U-D-I-E-N-C-E” as an acronym, you can define some general audience analysis categories that your surveys should include:

Audience—Who are the members? How many will be at the event?

Understanding—What is their knowledge about the topic you will be addressing?

Demographics—What is their age, sex, educational background, etc.?

Interest-Why will they be at this event? Who asked them to be there?

Environment-—Where will I stand when I speak? Will everyone be able to see me?

Needs-What are the listener's needs? What are your needs as a speaker? What are theneeds of the person who hired you?

Customized—How can I custom fit my message to this audience?

Expectations—What do the listeners expect to learn from me?

ASPECT No. 4—The channel

When we communicate with our audiences, we use many channels of communication. This includes non-verbal, pictorial and aural channels.

It is very important that you use as many channels as you can to communicate with your audience. The more channels of communication you can use at the same time, the better. The following is a brief list of examples for each of these types:

Nonverbal

- gestures

- facial expressions

- body movement

- posture

Pictorial

- diagrams

- charts

- graphs

- pictures

- objects

Aural

- tone of your voice

- variations in pitch and volume

- other vocal variety

ASPECT No.5—The feedback

Feedback" means the process through which the speaker receives information about how his or her message has been received by the listeners and, in turn, responds to those cues. The feedback process is not complete until the speaker has responded to the listener. This process includes the listener's reactions to the speaker's response and so forth. You can ask your audience questions and even ask them what their understanding is of the point you have just made. Watch for non-verbal clues from your audience and be prepared to respond to the reactions of your audience throughout your presentation.

It is your responsibility to provide the information your audience needs to hear. Many times, you may be asked by management to provide a specific message to their employees that they may not want to hear. Remember, it is the management that is paying your fee and you are responsible to deliver the message they hired you to deliver. At the same time, it is important that you are sensitive to the audience and try to establish a relationship with them through the use of your surveys, conversations during the social hour, and even discussions following your presentation.

ASPECT No. 6—The noise

There are two types of noise a speaker must contend with:

• External Noise

• Internal Noise

External Noise—consists of sounds, people talking, coughing, shifting patterns, poor acoustics, temperature (too warm, too cold), poor ventilation, and visual interference such as poor lighting, or an obstructed view.

Internal Noise—if a speaker is confused or unclear about what he or she wants to express, this is due to internal noise. Internal noise can also arise if the speaker does not know or misanalyzes the audience.

The role of the audience and the speaker is to simultaneously communicate with each other. It is this transactional nature of speech that makes feedback, and attempts to eliminate noise, so important. The most specific way a speaker can use to combat noise are:

- Use more than one channel of communication at the same time (verbal & non-verbal)

- Use repetition and restatement

The speaker can help combat this noise by making an extra effort to use as many channels of communications at the same time. It is important to include both verbal and non-verbal means of communication.

ASPECT No.7—The setting

The place in which you deliver your presentation may be one that enhances or interferes with the effectiveness of your presentation. Determine ahead of time what the facilities are like before you speak. This way you can properly plan your delivery or make adjustments, if necessary. If possible and practical, make a trip to the location where your speech will take place, even go so far as to ask the exact room you will be presenting in and ask the hotel conference coordinator to let you visit the room and check things out. To be truly prepared and effective as a presenter, you must pay attention to all 7 of these aspects discussed above. This will take practice. The time you spend remembering these aspects will be worth the effort.

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