Know your audience. What do they want to get out of the presentation? Wghat are their concerns? Knowing the demographic of the audience could also help. Learning as much as possible about the audience helps in gearing the presentation to keep interest and get important items across to them.
Susan,
I think this is a great way to get a feel for your audience & really reach the learners in your classes.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I agree with this, I usually take a couple days before doing any presentations, this way I can gauge who my students are. I like to do "group" activities to see how interactive the students are. One thing I like to do in a particular class is have my students answer the top 10 interview questions they may be asked on an interview and discuss those answers aloud.
Niel,
this is a great strategy to use to gain some valuable insight into the audience.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I find the key is before the presentation starts it is important to introduce yourself to as many of the audience members as possible and ask the some questions, in the guise of "small talk" in order to better ascertain their knowledge of the subject matter. Once you have a better baseline, as long as you have a good mastery of the subject matter, you can customize the presentation to better keep everyones attention.
Elizabeth,
the important thing is that you are making these efforts to read your class & adapting.
Dr. Ryan Meers
It takes me about two days to really understand what my class' likes and dislikes are. From there I am able to see if humor will be affective, more intricate details, brainstorming, etc will help.
Marvin,
I agree that nothing can replace a good, thorough audience analysis.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Jen,
this is another good example of audience analysis.
Dr. Ryan Meers
The best thing to do is know who your audience is. Take time to really plan so that you can reach them on a personal level so that they feel they are really involved in the entire process.
For what we do we have a questionaire that we follow to get to know the person in front of us then we base our presentation on that interview.
Clifton,
this is a great example of analyzing your audience & tailoring to their needs.
Dr. Ryan Meers
As an instructor in my class, I try to evaluate my students from the very first day. I try to judge their learning and skill level, through questions and answers. After that I try to develope my lectures and presentations to fit their overall needs.
keelan,
you are so right; in my opinion nothing can replace effective audience analysis.
Dr. Ryan Meers
the best way to customize your audience is to know your audience and to know what im delivering to that specifec audience
Melissa,
yes, audience analysis is a skill that must be developed. Keep working at it!
Dr. Ryan Meers
And that analysis is an acquired skill, I'd say. One I'm still trying to acquire!
Melissa,
I completely agree with you & your strategy. A true audience analysis is best, but there are times when this isn't possible. That's when, like you said, you want to think through who the audience might be & adapt your presentation accordingly.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I absolutely agree with this. The first presentation to any group is always the hardest, since you generally don't know too much about them. I find it helps (if you can't mingle or don't know much about an audience before hand) to think about the kind of people who would attend: are they coming out of interest, mandatory meeting, because they genuinely care about the topic, etc. Any kind of generalizations you can make might help you customize a message further.
pierre,
definitely appropriate & a good idea. I think it helps the audience appreciate your unique background & also probably helps reinforce to them that if they were in France trying to speak to a crowd they would struggle just as much or more.
Dr. Ryan Meers
