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Steps of Audience Analysis

STEP 1
Determine – Who is your audience?
STEP 2
Write down the specifics.
STEP 3
Research the audience using resources such as the library, websites, statistical
indexes, and interviews.
STEP 4
Use the information you gather to complete the following checklists:
You may want to add or omit items from the checklist depending on the specifics
of your audience and speech.
Audience Analysis Checklist (from Verderber 2000)
1) The audience education level is:
_____ high school _____ college _____ post-college
2) The age is from _____ to _____. The average age is about _____.
3) The audience is approximately _____% male and _____% female.
4) My estimate of the income level of the audience is:
_____ below average _____ average _____ above average
5) The audience is basically _____ the same race _____ a mixture of races.
6) The audience is basically:
Heaton, Dan. Public Address lecture. Capital University, Columbus, OH. Fall 2003.
UNCG University Speaking Center, 256-1346, speakingcenter.uncg.edu
_____ the same religion _____ a mixture of religions
7) The audience is basically:
_____ the same nationality _____ a mixture of nationalities
8) The audience is basically from:
_____ the same state _____ the same city
_____ the same neighborhood _____ different areas
STEP 5
Use your analysis to predict the audience’s response to your topic.
1) Audience interest in this topic is likely to be:
_____ high _____ moderate _____ low
2) Audience understanding of the topic will be:
_____ great _____ moderate _____ little
3) Audience attitude about me as a speaker is likely to be:
_____ positive _____ neutral _____ negative
4) Audience attitude toward my topic will be:
_____ positive _____ neutral _____ negative

Heaton, Dan. Public Address lecture. Capital University, Columbus, OH. Fall 2003.
UNCG University Speaking Center, 256-1346, speakingcenter.uncg.edu