Speaking: Know your audience
16 Apr
Before writing a speech it is useful to take a moment to think about who the speech is for, to do some research on your audience. It is like going on a trip somewhere and researching your destination so you can get the most out of your visit. When preparing your speech you want to be sure that it is tailored to fit your audience and their unique characteristics.
If you are speaking to an audience of scientists you want to make sure that your speech isn’t too simple and trivial, that it reflects their level of knowledge about the subject. If on the other hand, you are speaking to an audience of high-school kids about the same topic, you may want to use less scientific words and explain the topic in contexts they are familiar with.
Thus it is important to learn about who your audience so you can write a speech that fits their needs and meets their expectations. It will help you choose the right words, the best stories, the best structure, the most appropriate message. It will help to keep your audience engaged.
Some questions to ask are:
- Who is in the audience?
- What is their background?
- What are their values?
- Are they part of an organization? What organization?
- What do the audience have in common?
- How big is the audience?
- What message for the audience?
So before you write your speech, take some time to analyze your audience and customize your message.
