Desirae,
you are right that your audience's opinion definitely matters. They are the ones who really determine whether you were effective or not.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Getting to know your audiences inteerests, dislikes, and needs is the best way to customize your presentation. I understand fully that Engagin the audience keeps the "awake" and interested. This makes them feel as though their opinions matter. Ultimately, your audience's opinion should matter.
I believe it is a combination of several things. The first being what is the nature of the material you are presenting? What is the size of the audience? What is your time frame? Then when those have been evaluated, then the skill or say intelligence or compenciecy level of your audience gets factored in. Without a doubt, any presentation should have some sort of customization to be taylored to any/all audiences. I think that if you are not making an attempt to customizing to your audience, you do not care whether or not your presentation gets through to your audience.
That's why i like to hand out a set of questions no more than five to each student in each class. Simple question such as what is their interest in the class, what are some of the things they wish to gain by taking the class just to state a few. By asking them a few simple questions i then can get a feel of how to pattern my lectures and presentations to better fit each class.
Kimberly,
this is a great approach & can be done through surveys, pre-tests, or asking those who have requested you come & speak.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Make sure you conduct research on your audience. I am an instructor for a Vet Tech program and the students (audience) may have varying degrees of knowledge on the technical concepts I typically present.
Asking them questions, to gauge their understanding of the concept or providing them with a pre-test; are approaches I generally utilize to gain an understanding of my audience.
The best way to customize a presentation to your audience is to know your audience. It is important to research the audience to which you will be speaking in order to understand the type of group, the work environment, and the overall moral of the company.
Jessica,
yes, a good strong audience analysis is the key to a highly effective presentation.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Do your research and know your audience. Conduct audience demographic research whenever possible. If this information is not readily available, call someone at the organization to get information that may help you to customize your speech. While demographics are important, it's also important to pay attention to cultural differences and emotional responses. These influence how your message will be received and whether you get the response that you want or not.
Karen,
yes, nothing can replace a good, strong audience analysis.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Knowing who your audience and hopefully knowing what you are going to be talking about and preparing accordingly.
John,
this is a great point. I would add it's just as easy to assume a group is at the basic level, when they may be a little more advanced than the last group. Meeting them where they are is key.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Andrew ,
this is a great point. I always encourage my speech students to look at all of the demographic factors for their audiences.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I will also try to find out what my students have been doing in the field of study before we get started so I can better gauge how advanced the level of discussion and lecture can be. It is very easy to forget that we may be "masters" in our field but many times our students have very little or no experience in the subject.
Research the audience and often times the age group is over looked. This is a key factor that sometimes is not forseen and your material will not relate to your target audience.
Dee,
yes, adapting our content or the presentation of it to each class is an important step in adaptation.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I agree with these comments. Each class or group is so unique. I may know the material from so many years of doing it on the job but the students don't. Like the presentation has mentioned, the giving and receiving of messages can get so skewed. Have to always be careful that I see and hear understanding....before a test comes along that they do poorly in. The problem may not just lie with them alone. It may but I want to help them feel successful, at least the ones who study, so I frequently ask for feedback. It may be before or after class or my presentation if they're shy but that feedback is important. I can adjust my style on the fly and keep them engaged best if I'm watching to see whether they're involved, falling asleep or looking confused.
Lisandra,
I like your idea about the new ideas; these are always great to help them remember other concepts.
Dr. Ryan Meers
First I analize my audience, then I make sure my presentation is simple yet direct & not boring, I always try to find new things about the subject that people are unawere of, so even if your familiar with the subject at least you learned something and didn't get bored in the process!
Andrea ,
yes, a good audience analysis is one of the best ways to be ready to present.
Dr. Ryan Meers
