Know Your Audience To
Deliver
An Effective Presentation
by
Trey Sloan
Understanding your audience is an important part of making a successful presentation. It can change the content, duration and tone of your entire speech. You intuitively know that different circumstances call for different styles of presentation. For example, you wouldn’t deliver the same sort of toast at a bachelor party as you would your grandparents’ 50 th anniversary dinner.
Part of your speech preparation should be dedicated to analyzing the composition of your audience. Experts are fond of saying that your audience is “unlikely to be monolithic” which is a way of telling you what you already know—everybody is different. This cliché is true, however you can still identify the ways in which the people you are addressing are similar.
Make sure you know the answers to questions such as: How many people are listening to you? Who are these people? Why are they listening to you? Most importantly, what do you want to tell them? The better you understand the answers to these questions, the more successful your presentation.
You will almost always have a general idea of how many people will listen to you when you make your presentation. This may be the easiest part of your audience to identify. It can also be the most important. Speaking to a small group presents different challenges and opportunities than speaking to a large group. The size of the group can determine the tone of the presentation as well as practical considerations such as whether it would be better to sit or stand as you deliver your speech. With some smaller audiences, you can be informal in order to connect with the people in the room. With larger audiences you can speak with more authority but you cannot afford to be informal (unless you are certain that doing so benefits the presentation).
Make sure you know where your audience will be when you deliver your presentation. Is everyone in the same room or are you addressing people who are listening on the phone or the Internet? Sometimes you may present when no one is in the room. For example, if you are conducting an online training course you could be speaking from an empty conference room. If your PowerPoint slides are critical to the presentation, then you should make sure the people listening remotely receive your notes and tips before the start of the presentation.
Think about why these people have made a point to find out what you have to say. Did they come voluntarily or are they required to attend? Finding out the answer to this can determine the pace of your speech. The members of the Horticultural Society are likely to enjoy it if you linger on specifics of tomato plant fertilization while a Middle School field trip would appreciate it if you just got on with the show. Knowing how interested the audience members really are can save you from having to speed up or slow down as you present your speech.
When you create the content of your presentation, make sure you know exactly what you want to tell these people. As a presenter, it is your obligation not to waste the audience’s time. They are there to specifically listen to you, so you must make sure they don’t regret it. The best way to ensure you do not waste their time is to make your audience learn something.
What they learn is largely determined by what they already know. Customize the message of your presentation to fit the knowledge level of the audience. Do not patronize your audience. For example, do not make a presentation on the basics of long division to a roomful of physics professors. You also do not want to lose your audience by assuming too much and speaking over their head. The message should be easily understandable but not part of the audience’s common knowledge.
No matter what the common characteristics of your audience people learn differently. Some people understand concepts better if they are able to read, while others would learn through hearing. Good presentations account for both types of learners by using visual aids. Programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint make it easy to learn and create effective visual aids. At the same time, your visual aids should serve a purpose.
After analyzing the basics of your audience, consider finding out more specific demographic information. Are they all the same age? Do they all have the same job? The more you find out, the more you can improve your presentation. Building a relationship with your audience is critical to the success of your presentation. Know who they are and what they expect from you. By doing so you are sure to get your point across as you speak to an audience rather than at them.
About the Author:
Trey Sloan is a writer that has worked in the computer software and telecommunications industries for 12 years.
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