Public Speaking Help — Knowing Your Audience

Anyone who is invited to speak in public will be told who they are expected to speak to and what they are expected to talk about, if only in a very general context. So if somebody wants you to make a speech, make sure that you know these very basic facts before you accept the challenge.

If you don’t know what to expect in terms of the audience or your topic, you are shooting in the dark. You might need some additional public speaking help in terms of a more detailed analysis of your audience, so that you can connect more successfully with them and give them something meaningful to take home.

One of the most important aspects of public speaking is to realize that your audience defines your degree of success. If you don’t connect with your audience, all will be lost. If your audience likes you, you’ll be on your way. And if they love you, you’ll probably be invited back to do it again!

But it isn’t necessarily that easy. Talk to any actor and you will discover that audiences are fickle. They are also unpredictable. So before you get stage fright just from reading about the negative possibilities that relate to audiences and public speaking, make it your business to find out how to prepare for an audience of any kind.

Audience profiles are vast and varied, but they usually relate directly to the event or function where they are gathered. For this reason, as individuals, they will usually have at least one thing in common. Here are some reasonably diverse examples:

  • In a work environment, the audience will usually be drawn either from the workforce, and/or from clients or others who are involved in the business. The business, or a particular aspect of the business, is what they will have in common.
  • At a wedding, the audience will be drawn from the friends and family of the two people getting married. The common factor here is obviously the couple.
  • At the launch of a new product, the audience will include those who were involved in either producing, distributing or marketing the product, as well as prospective buyers and probably also interested media people who may help publicize the new product.

You don’t need to know who exactly the people in your audience are, but rather what are their interests, because that is what you must appeal to. But — and this is a big but — try not to be predictable. Don’t just tell your audience what they already know; if you do, give it a different slant, or bring something new and original to it. If you can focus on what your audience wants to learn about — the business, the newly-wed couple or the new product — then you will be well on your way to succeeding.

All in all, be yourself, speak from the heart, and just don’t ever forget your audience!