Understanding an Audience

Some time ago I spent two years in Argentina. I've always loved to tell jokes, especially those that involve puns. I found that my Argentine friends often wouldn't laugh at my jokes but would instead try to correct my Spanish. I had to explain that I knew what I was saying and that what I said was a pun. By that time, of course, the moment was lost. The problem wasn't that my Spanish was bad or that I was saying anything wrong. It was that I didn't understand that the listeners didn't expect me, a newcomer, to have the ability to play with words the way I could.

As a presenter, you also have to determine who it is you're speaking to and what kind of "filters" they have as they listen to you. How do you determine who your audience really is? The following are some considerations:

  • Age Are you presenting to children, teens, young professionals, or seasoned veterans? Speaking down to young adults can be as disastrous as speaking over the heads of children.

  • Experience What experience do members of the audience have with what you'll be talking about? If it's a technical presentation, how much background do you have to cover before the audience can understand? How much "shorthand" (terminology that assumes prior knowledge) can you use?

  • Interest Why are the audience members there? Are they eager students or lumps of unmotivated humanity? Are they team members interested in success or skeptical outsiders looking to be convinced?

  • Motivation What's in it for the audience members? Do their grades depend on what you say? Does their financial future rest on the quality of the information you give them? Will chances for their success be enhanced by your presentation?

  • Technology background Are they from the old school, expecting verbal presentations more than snazzy charts and pictures? Or have they experienced lots of visual programs and therefore expect the quality of your presentation to match their experience? Are they, as some have called them, the "MTV Generation"?

  • Familiarity Are these people you know, and might they cut you some slack as a result? Or are they total strangers, who may or may not be willing to give up their time unless what you have to say is really worth it? Conversely, are they so familiar with you that they don't afford you the courtesy you deserve, feeling free to interrupt or divert the presentation?

  • Your background Are you the kind of expert or authority who commands respect even before you start? Or are you an unknown who has to establish your credibility before the audience will put stock in what you say?

As you can see, this partial list underscores the complex nature of determining who your audience is. One type of presentation definitely won't work for all audiences. Understanding your audience determines what and how you prepare and is a key factor in your success or failure.

Audiences usually have mixed backgrounds. You might find young and old, experienced and inexperienced, motivated and disinterested all in the same group. Finding a way to reach all of them is a seemingly impossible task. Nevertheless, you have to try if you want to communicate with them. Here are a few ideas that might work:

  • Ask the person who invites you to speak to tell you something about the audience. Ask what the audience expects, what audience members' backgrounds and expertise are. You, too, have filters, and when you're asked to speak on a certain subject, you tend to assume that you know what the audience wants to hear. Take time to clarify what's expected first, and you'll be much more likely to make a successful presentation.

  • Spend a few moments getting to know the audience. Ask survey-type questions, such as "How many of you have been to an off-shore drilling site?" or "How many of you have degrees in chemical engineering?" Nonthreatening, general questions like this can do two things: They can help you find out about the audience, and they can let the audience know that you care who they are and what they know.

  • Take a moment to tell the audience about yourself. An anecdote or a bit about your background can help audience members adjust their preconceived notions about you before you begin, making it easier for them to accept you for who you are. Before I begin a workshop on computer software, I tell them I'm highly qualified because I have a Ph.D. in Latin American literature, and that if I can do it, anyone can.

  • Do a little research on your own before you begin. Find out something about the company where you're speaking or the organization to which you're presenting. Recently my professional organization invited a NASA astronaut to speak to us. Although we were meeting in Houston, near the Space Center, the astronaut wisely determined that we were much more interested in how astronauts learned and used foreign languages in pressure situations than we were in the mechanics of a space mission.

  • Make midcourse corrections if necessary. Ask questions that help you determine if you're headed in the right direction. Observe people's faces. Are they giving you blank stares or are they asleep? Be careful, however, not to let one or two people overly influence your assessment of the entire audience. A vocal complainer or a sleepyhead, for example, may not be speaking for everyone.

The bottom line is that you have to find ways to know who you're presenting to. If you don't, all the other elements in preparing and presenting will be of little value.



Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
Absolute Beginners Guide to Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
ISBN: 0789729695
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 154
Authors: Read Gilgen

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