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Chapter 4 Selecting an Appropriate Speech GoaL

SPEAK

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The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

The mind is

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.

~Alexander Graham Bell

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Audience Adaptation & Analysis

Your speech goal must be based on both

Audience analysis

Audience adaptation

This step in the speech-making process is rooted in what communication scholars refer to as uncertainty reduction theory. Even though effective speakers continually adjust their analysis of their audience and adapt their speech accordingly throughout the speech-planning and speech-making process, these steps begin at the point of determining your specific speech goal.

Audience Adaptation and Analysis:

Your speech goal must be based on both:

Audience analysis which is the study of the intended audience for your speech

Audience adaptation which is the process of tailoring your speech’s information to the listeners’ needs, interests, and expectations

Action Step 1: Select a Speech Goal that is Appropriate to the Rhetorical Situation

Brainstorm and concept map for topics

Analyze your audience

Analyze the rhetorical situation

Develop a speech goal statement tailored to your audience and occasion

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Exhibit 4.1 The Rhetorical Situation

You must determine your specific speech goal in light of the rhetorical situation, the reason your speech needs to be given (exigence). As Exhibit 4.1 illustrates, these circumstances include the speaker (you), the audience, and the occasion (the setting, including the purpose, audience, expectations, and location).

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Subject & Topic

A subject is a broad area of expertise

A topic is a narrow, specific aspect of a subject

Our speech topics should come from subject areas in which we already have some knowledge and interest.

A subject is a broad area of expertise (e.g., movies). A topic is a narrow, specific aspect of a subject (e.g., how the Academy Awards nomination process works; the relationships among movie producers, directors, and distributors; or how technology is changing movie production).

A topic is a narrow, specific aspect of a subject

Identifying Potential Topics

Listing subjects

Brainstorming for topic ideas

Concept mapping for topic ideas

You can identify potential subjects for your speeches by listing those areas that (1) are important to you and (2) you know something about.

Identifying Potential Topics:

Listing subjects

Brainstorming is an uncritical, non-evaluative process of generating associated ideas

Concept mapping is a visual means of exploring connections between a subject & related ideas.

Exhibit 4.2 Concept Map

The exhibit shows how concept mapping allowed the speaker to think more deeply about a general topic idea that she had brainstormed and develop several more specific topics that could be used in shorter speeches or in speeches with different audiences.

Analyzing the Audience

Demographic audience data

Because speeches are presented to a particular audience, before you can finally decide on your topic, you need to understand who will be in your prospective audience. During your audience analysis, you will want to develop a demographic profile of your audience that includes age, gender, socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, religion, geographic uniqueness, and language.

Analyzing the Audience #1:

Demographic audience data helps you…

choose a specific topic and the main ideas you will present.

discover how your audience is similar/different from one another and from you.

develop appropriate listener-relevance links

Demographic data consists of:

Age: What is the age range of your audience, and what is the average age?

Education: What percentage of your audience has a high school, college, or postgraduate education?

Sex: What percentage of your audience is male? female?

Socioeconomic background: What percentage of your audience comes from high-, middle-, or low-income families?

Occupation: Is a majority of your audience from a single occupational group or industry, or do audience members come from diverse occupational groups?

Race: Are most members of your audience of the same race, or is there a mixture of races?

Ethnicity: What ethnic groups are in the audience? Are most audience members from the same cultural background?

Religion: What religious traditions are followed by audience members?

Geographic uniqueness: Are audience members from the same state, city, or neighborhood?

Language: What languages do a significant number of members of the audience speak as a first language? What language (if any) is common to all audience members?

Knowledge of subject: What can I expect the audience already knows about my subject? How varied is the knowledge level of audience members?

Attitude toward subject: What can I expect my audience’s feelings to be about my subject?

Analyzing the Audience

Not only will you want to understand the demographic makeup of your audience, but you will also want to learn about the average knowledge level that your audience members have on your subject, their interest in the subject, their attitudes toward the subject, and their perceptions of your credibility.

Knowing this information will help you reach your goals of (1) forming reasonable generalizations about your audience and (2) adapting your speech to embrace subject-related diversity.

Analyzing the Audience #2:

Subject-related audience data helps you…

determine your audience’s knowledge.

establish your audience’s interest in your topic.

determine your audience’s attitudes toward your subject.

understand listeners’ attitudes toward you as a speaker.

Methods for Gathering Audience Data

Surveys (two-sided items, multiple-response items, scaled items, open-ended items)

Informal observation

Asking questions

Making educated guesses

Although it is not always possible, the most direct way to collect audience data is to survey the audience. A survey is a questionnaire designed to gather information directly from people. Different types of surveys gather specific types of data.

1. If you are familiar with members of your audience, you can get much of the important data about them simply by observing them.

2. If you are invited to speak to a group you are unfamiliar with, ask your contact person to answer the demographic questions given in Exhibit 4.5.

3. If you can’t get information about the audience in any other way, you will have to make educated guesses based on indirect information such as the general makeup of the members of a community or organization.

Using Audience Data Ethically

As a speaker, you must steer clear of inappropriate & inaccurate assumptions about your audience.

Avoid marginalizing and stereotyping

Recognize & acknowledge the demographic diversity in your audience.

To demonstrate respect for everyone in your audience, you will want to avoid making inappropriate or inaccurate assumptions based on demographic or subject-related information you have collected.

Marginalizing is the practice of ignoring the values, needs, and interests of certain audience members, leaving them feeling excluded from the speaking situation. Stereotyping is assuming all members of a group have similar knowledge levels, behaviors, or beliefs simply because they belong to the group.

You can minimize your chances of marginalizing or stereotyping by recognizing and acknowledging the demographic diversity your audience analysis reveals. Demographic diversity is the range of demographic characteristics represented in an audience. For example, the average age of your audience may be 65, but some listeners may be significantly younger or older.

Analyzing the Occasion

What are the special expectations for the speech?

What is the appropriate length for the speech?

How large will the audience be?

Where will the speech be given?

When will the speech be given?

Where in he program does the speech occur?

What equipment is necessary to give the speech?

The occasion of the speech is its setting, which includes the purpose, audience expectations, and location. The answers to these questions about the occasion should guide your topic selection and other parts of your speech planning.

Selecting a Topic &Writing a Speech Goal

Review your list of topics to select one, using audience adaptation & analysis.

Once you have chosen a topic, you can write a general & a specific speech goal.

As you review your list of topics, compare each to your audience profile. Are some topics too simple for this audience’s knowledge base? Too difficult? Are some topics likely to be more interesting to the audience? These types of questions will help you identify topics that are appropriate for the audience.

Then consider the occasion. Are some topics too broad for the time allotted? Do some topics fail to meet the special expectations? These types of questions will help you identify the topics that are appropriate to your setting.

Once you have chosen your topic, you are ready to identify and write the general speech goal you hope to achieve in the speech and then the specific goal that is tailored to the public speaking situation.

The general goal of a speech is its overall intent. Most speeches intend to entertain, to inform, or to persuade. By contrast, the specific goal, or specific purpose of a speech, is a single statement that identifies the exact response the speaker wants from the audience.

The occasion usually dictates the nature of your general speech goal. A specific speech goal, however, must be carefully crafted because it lays the foundation for organizing the speech. These guidelines can help you craft a well-worded specific goal.

Phrasing a Specific Speech Goal: Guidelines to Help You Develop a Well-Worded Specific Goal

Write a draft of your general goal using a complete sentence that specifies the type of response you want from your audience.

Revise the statement (and infinitive phrase) until it indicates the specific audience reaction desired.

Make sure the goal statement contains only one idea.

Revise the statement until it describes the precise focus of your speech.

Exhibit 4.5 General & Specific Speech Goals

A good specific goal statement is important because it will guide your research as you prepare the speech. Once you have completed your research, you will expand your specific goal statement into a thesis statement, which will be the foundation on which you will organize the speech.

The exhibit gives several examples of general and specific informative and persuasive goals.

Exhibit 4.5 General & Specific Speech Goals

The exhibit gives several examples of general and specific informative and persuasive goals.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

~ Benjamin Franklin