5.4: Conducting Audience Analysis

Learning Objectives

1. Learn several tools for gathering audience information.
2. Create effective tools for gathering audience information.
3. Apply AI tools for gathering and analyzing audience data.
4. Compare the effectiveness of AI audience analysis with traditional audience research techniques.

Now that we have described what audience analysis is and why it is important, let’s examine some ways you can learn about the people who will make up your audience.

Direct Observation

You can also ask the person or organization that invited you to speak to share their knowledge of the audience. It’s likely they can tell you a lot about the demographics of the people who will be present either as you prepare your speech, or at least prior to the presentation.

Interviews and Surveys

If time permits, the most accurate way to learn about your audience is to seek personal information through interviews or surveys. This is most achievable with a small, closed audience such as employees at a single company or members of a club.  An interview is a one-on-one exchange in which you ask questions of a respondent, whereas a survey is a set of questions  administered to several—or, preferably, many—respondents. Interviews allow more in-depth discussion than surveys, but they are also more time-consuming to conduct. Surveys are an efficient way to collect information quickly; however, in contrast to interviews, they don’t allow for follow-up questions to help you understand why your respondent gave a certain answer.

When you use interviews and surveys, there are several important things to keep in mind:

• Make sure your questions are directly related to your speech topic. Do not use interviews to delve into private areas of people’s lives.
• Create and use a standard set of questions. If you “ad lib” your questions so that they are phrased differently for different interviewees, you will be comparing “apples and oranges” when you compare the responses you’ve obtained.
• Keep interviews and surveys short, or you could alienate your audience long before your speech is even outlined. Tell them the purpose of the interview or survey and make sure they understand that their participation is voluntary

Don’t assume a few respondents accurately represent the views of your entire audience. To accurately identify trends, you will need to follow formal guidelines for statistical analysis. However, informal data gathering can still be useful as it provides insight into the opinions and perspectives that are circulating through the audience.

In addition, when you conduct interviews and surveys, keep in mind that people are sometimes less than honest in describing their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. This is known as socially desirable responding: the tendency to give responses that are considered socially acceptable. Marketing professor Ashok Lalwani divides socially desirable responding into two types: (1) impression management, or intentionally portraying oneself in a favorable light and (2) self-deceptive enhancement, or exaggerating one’s good qualities, often unconsciously (Lalwani, 2009).

Focus Groups

A focus group is a small group of people who give you feedback about their perceptions. As with interviews and surveys, in a focus group you should use a limited list of carefully prepared questions designed to get at the information you need to understand their beliefs, attitudes, and values specifically related to your topic.

If you conduct a focus group, part of your task will be striking a balance between allowing the discussion to flow freely according to what group members have to say and keeping the group focused on the questions. It’s also your job to guide the group in maintaining responsible and respectful behavior toward each other.

In evaluating focus group feedback, do your best to be receptive to what people had to say, whether or not it conforms to what you expected. Your purpose in conducting the group is to understand group members’ beliefs, attitudes, and values about your topic, not to confirm your assumptions.

Using Existing Data about Your Audience

Often, existing information will be available about your audience. If you are speaking to the general public, you can use government websites to gather relevant data on the local population such as median income and age, racial demographics, percent of residents who own versus rent their home, etc. If you have a student audience, you might be able to find out their majors, how many are in a fraternity or sorority, or whether most live on campus or commute.

Some audiences might include veterans, retired teachers, single parents, people with physical disabilities, or members of a civic organization such as the Lions Club or Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). This kind of information should help you respond to their concerns and interests.

In other cases, you may be able to use demographics collected by public and private organizations. Demographic analysis is done by the U.S. Census Bureau through the American Community Survey, which is conducted every year, and through other specialized demographic surveys (Bureau of the Census, 2011).

Demographic information about narrower segments of the United States, down to individual zip codes, is available through the U.S. Census, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Sperling’s Best Places (www.bestplaces.net), and City-Data.com. Sales and marketing professionals use this data, and you may find it useful for your audience analysis as well.

Try It: AI vs. Traditional Audience Analysis 

Activity Introduction: Audience analysis helps speakers understand who they are addressing. In this activity, you’ll compare how AI-generated audience insights differ from traditional analysis methods.

Wrap-Up: By comparing AI with traditional research, you learn how each method has strengths and weaknesses. Strong speakers use both tools responsibly.