Audience Analysis Worksheet

You are called on to present quarterly sales information at an in-person meeting to a group of stakeholders, including managers, salespeople, and customers. Knowing communication must always be designed with the audience in mind, answer the following questions in 75-100 words each. 1. What characteristics of the audience must you consider? There are many characteristics to consider such as the audience’s knowledge on the presentation subject, their age, and the audience genders (all males, all females, or a mixture of both). Knowing the audiences educational background is also helpful. If all are managers they will have more knowledge than salespersons, etc. Other considerations would be are there members present from outside the company? If so you may need to be sure not to divulge company secrets. Last you might want to consider specifically what the audience needs to learn or get out of your presentation. 2. What communication channels are appropriate? Explain. I think for a presentation there are only three acceptable channels. One is face-to-face, another would be by way of video conference and last teleconference. Of the three Face-to-face would be the best channel because the presenter can interact with the audience based on the expression of the audience. Face-to-face presentations, allows the presenter to adapt to the audience. Video conference is also an effective channel but limits the presenter based on the size and view of the camera. Last teleconference would be my last resort. This channel limits the presenter by not knowing who is asking questions, who is attending the presentation and unavailability of two people to talk at the same time in the case a question arises. 3. What are some considerations to keep in mind given the diversity of the audience? When briefing diverse Audience’s there are many things to consider. You must realize that most people come from different backgrounds and have different lifestyles. Some of the things to consider would be; the audience beliefs, values, attitudes, genders, race, etc. Another major thing to consider is the importance of audience members. Company presidents, managers, stockholders, floor workers etc. If it is a presentation for all you must keep it general while making sure to cover main points that apply to all audience members. 4. How do you ensure your message is effective? When giving an oral presentation you should keep your message simple. Keep it simpler than if you were to write it. Also ensure that your opening and closing statements are strong, this places emphasis on the main points of the presentation. Get the audience involved in the presentation by asking questions. This also helps to ensure audience members retain the information upon conclusion of the presentation. Multimedia can be used such as video, still images, clipart, and text in your presentation, this helps to engage the audience. Last you can use humor to put the audience at ease, just be sure to joke about yourself and not others you do not want to offend anyone in the audience.