the audience (in public speaking)

spotlight effect

a phenomenon that leads us to believe that other people observe us much more carefully than they do.

audience research questionnaires

a questionnaire used by speakers to access the knowledge and opinions of audience members ; can take the form of an email, web-based, or in-class survey

primacy effect

an audience is more likely to remember and recall what speaker's present at the beginning of the speech, as opposed to the body of the speech.

positive audience (also called a sypathetic audience)

an audience that is informed about the speaker's topic and has a favorable view of the speaker's position

negative (hostile) audience

an audience that is informed about the speaker's topic and holds an UNfavorable view of the speaker's postition

UNinformed Audience

an audience that is unfamiliar with a speaker's topic and has no opinion about it

divided audience

an audience who is informed about a speaker's topic, but is EQUALLY divided between those who favor the speaker's position and those who oppose it.

apathetic audience

an audience who is informed about a speaker's topic, but is not interested.

trustworthiness

an audience's perception of a speaker as honest, ethical, sincere, reliable, sensitive and empathetic

credibility

an audience's perception of a speaker's competence, trustworthiness, dynamism, and sociability.

feedback

an audience's response to a speech

interpretations

an individual's internal process of assigning meaning to words

listening anxiety

anxiety produced by the fear of misunderstanding, not fully comprehending, or not being mentally prepared for the information one might hear.

recency affect

audience is more likely to remember the end of a speech then the body.

direct quote

comments written in response to an open-ended question , in an Audience Research Questionnaire

voluntary audience

individuals who can choose to attend -or not to attend- a speaking event..

captive audience

individuals who feel that they MUST attend an event

listening

involves hearing, interpreting, responding to, and recalling verbal and non-verbal messages.

gatewatching

monitoring news sources to analyze and assess the information they process.

audience analysis

obtaining and evaluating information about an audience, in order to anticipate their needs and interests: and design a strategy to respond to them. (BEFORE the speech.)

information overload

occurs when individuals receive too much information and are then unable to interpret it in a meaningful way.

dynamism

the audience's perception of a speaker's activity level during a presentation.

sociability

the degree to which the audience feels connected to the speaker.

technophobia

the fear that others will react negatively if one appears inept at using technological aids

audience

the intended recipients of a speaker's message.

target audience

the particular group or subgroup that a speaker most wants to inform, persuade, or entertain

psychographics

the psychological data about an audience, such as standpoints values beliefs and attitudes

forum

the question and answer session, following a group's formal presentation