Unit 2: Audience Analysis and Effective Listening

In this unit, we will explore the importance of understanding your audience and the role of listening in the speech communication process. 

From the model in Unit 1, we know that the audience is the group of receivers with whom we will send our message. The word "audience" implies the passivity of sitting before a television, a stage, or a book, as spectators, not participants. However, in reality, audiences are far more active when listening to public presentations. 

Successful public speakers conduct research about their audiences to help them prepare a message that will be meaningful and impactful to those listeners. These messages will connect with the audience members in powerful ways.

Hand in hand with understanding the recipients of our messages is effective listening. Listening is part of the speaker's research process. By attending to information about our audience, we can craft meaningful messages for them. But we must also understand that listening is an intellectual process. It is an important part of the speech communication process, since audience members listen to our messages and respond to us with follow-up questions or silently with motivated body language. In every communication transaction, there is a speaker (sender) and a receiver (listener). Both parts of the transaction are vital to successful communication. Becoming a better listener will improve your public speaking skills and your interpersonal skills with friends, colleagues, and family members.

This unit aligns with the following Course Learning Outcomes:

• CLO 2: Apply techniques of critical listening and constructive criticism of content as a listener and speaker
• CLO 3: Apply audience analysis to improve public speaking situations, which includes purpose, topic selection, and delivery strategies

Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.