Christianity / - Speech or Presentation Example

Audience Analysis Checklist Determine Audience Size and Composition Estimate how many people will attend. The presentation I am giving will be attended by approximately 20 co-workers. It will consist of 12 peers, 3 supervisory members, and 5 technical support representatives. Consider whether they have some political, religious, professional, or other affiliation in common. Religion is seldom discussed at work, though when it is, it is almost exclusively some form of Christianity. We all work in the same department, and there are notable differences in job description, skills, and education level. Almost everyone in the department has a college degree or is attending college. Nearly all the people that have degrees are members of the International Reading Association (IRA), and three of the technical supervisors have a Masters Degree. Though they technically out-rank me, I do not report to them. My only superior attending is my immediate supervisor. Needless to say, I am one of the least educated in the group, and the junior staff member. Analyze the mix of men and women, ages, socioeconomic and ethnic groups, occupations, and geographic regions represented. The department is predominantly female with a ratio of 16 to 4, and 2 of the females are African-American. The group ranges in age from approimately 23 to 60 years old. Everyone lives in the local area and many of them have lived here all their lives. Many have known each other for several years and there are at least 3 that are related as family. I only know of one lady who moved here from another area several years ago. I am a newcomer to this area and only met this group 6 months ago. There are big differences in pay scales, but no one is at either extreme of the economic class. Everyone acts rather middle class and prefers blue jeans to dress slacks. The females in the department are the highest paid and have most of the senior positions. The minority women are in the middle of the group as far as pay goes and both earn more than me. Predict the Audience's Probable Reaction Analyze what audience members are attending the presentation. There are a group of 20 co-workers, all of whom I'm on a first name basis with. I am of a similar background to almost all of them, though I am slightly less educated than most of the group. We speak the same language and share a common culture. Everyone in the group tends to be somewhat conservative in regards to fashion, music, and general temperament. I am on very friendly terms with all of the members though I don't meet them socially. Determine the audience's general attitude toward the topic: interested, moderately interested, open-minded, unconcerned, or hostile. I will be making a presentation on using our databases and technology to search for the titles of children's books, an area in which I have considerable expertise. I anticipate the group to be open to learning something that can help them in their job. The members I've talked to, about half, have been quite interested. This is one area where our department is greatly under-informed and education level does not alter or impact that. I demonstrated some of what I plan to cover to my supervisor and he was quite impressed with the process and the ease of use. I anticipate the audience to be very receptive and more importantly attentive. Analyze the mood that people will be in when you speak to them. The atmosphere in the department is always cheerful and casual and that mood will carry over into the conference room. Since I'm giving the presentation in the morning, the company will provide doughnuts, which should enhance the already pleasant mood. Find out what kind of back up information will most impress the audience: technical data, historical information, financial data, demonstrations, samples and so on. I will need to describe the legacy systems we will be accessing and give a brief history of their evolution and upgrades so that they can understand the big picture of the structure of our database. This is an area that they are unfamiliar with and a simple explanation should establish some credibility with them. They will be especially impressed by the PowerPoint slides I have prepared to show workflow and data storage. No one in the group will be impressed by jargon, technical gibberish, or razzle-dazzle. The quality of the information, and its value to their job, will be paramount. Consider whether the audience has any biases that might work against you. Because I am a relative newcomer to the department, one of the lesser educated, and the employee with the least seniority, I may not be taken seriously. There may also be some resentment, especially from the technical staff, that I will be addressing an issue that is basically technical. Because the staff is dominated by women, both in numbers and seniority, I anticipate some good-natured sexism. Anticipate possible objections or questions. If I get some information incorrect, it is almost certain that some member of the audience will correct me or challenge the information. I have prepared for this eventuality by talking at length with co-workers who had been here since the project began and I'm well prepared. There may also be a question about whether written material covering the topic will be provided. I have made it available online at our web site. Guage the Audience's Level of Understanding Analyze whether everybody has the same background and experience. . This group has worked together for quite some time and their relevant experience has come primarily from within this group. Though they have varied skills, the presentation will draw on their basic common knowledge, Many had an educational background prior to joining this company, and several have been teachers or school administrators. These experiences should aide them in understanding the material I plan to present. Determine whether the audience already knows about the subject. Though everyone in the group is familiar with the subject in general, few are familiar with the detailed process I'll be covering. We all use the same tools everyday, but they are not aware that they can be used to locate children's books. This should allow the audience to understand the topic and remain interested without getting bored. Decide what background information the audience will need to better understand the subject. It will be helpful for the audience to understand how the reading level of a children's book is ascertained. The department works with this parameter daily and there should be a general understanding of it. However, it is a subject that is outside the scope of my presentation, and I will only cover the way that the computer stores the information. Consider whether the audience is familiar with your vocabulary. With the exception of a few technical terms or jargon, everyone in the group speaks and writes English at a high level. There should be no concern about talking over them or beneath them. Since this is a focused group that is exposed to this type of material daily, I won't be uncomfortable using technical terms or jargon. Analyze what the audience expects from you. The audience will expect to get accurate information on the topic presented in a way that makes sense. They will not expect an in depth technical analysis, but only information that is of value from a users standpoint. They will expect to sit down at their desk and perform a search of the database without any further instructions. Think about the mix of general concepts and specific details you will need to present. The presentation will be mostly details of the search process. There will be some historical overview, and a general explanation of the database structure, but it will consist mainly of details about files, syntax, and delimiters. Read More