Audience Analysis Paper COM/285 October 2011

Effective communication is essential, globally throughout the business world today. To be effective, one must master the art of communicating verbally, both internally and externally. Communications can take on several forms in business, including but not limited to e-mails, memos, podcasts, wiki’s and speaking to large audiences. Weather communication is verbal or written; one must know the audience they are addressing in order to get their message across and maintain tone control.
When initiating an in person meeting one must first consider the audience in which they are addressing and the material that needs to be addressed. I have been asked to present an in person quarterly sales result meeting in front of a group of managers, employees and customers. In order to successfully present this meeting I first must research the information to be communicated, and then preform an audience analysis to ensure my message is effectively communicated to the audience intended. Stakeholders defined in the business dictionary “is any person, group, or organization that has a direct or indirect stake in an organization because it can affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives, and policies”. For the purpose of this report the employees, managers and customers will now be referred to as the stakeholders. When speaking in front of a group of stakeholders it is important to realize that each individual group of stakeholders will have different priorities at stake; so therefore each group will interpreted the message differently. Content and appeal to common ground is critical, so organizing the information to fit the group of the stakeholders is relevant. To analyze my audience of stakeholders, I first must consider who my audience is and what audience characteristics are relevant. Because audiences vary in cultures I need to understand that different cultures have different communication styles. Once I understand the diversified cultures of my audience I must format my speech to include all.
Secondly, I must know the purpose of communicating to my audience followed by the information to be including in my presentation. To begin this presentation I must make a list of the points to be included during the presentation. I need to ask myself how can I build support on my position and what reasons and benefits will my audience find convincing. I need to also understand what objectives my audience will have and what negative elements of my message do I need to de-emphasize. I will focus on the tone, power and politeness of my presentation and pay close attention to content and choice of details.
Depending on the results of the quarterly sales report I must decide if the information I am going to be presenting is either negative in nature or positive. I must present the information in a positive manner; regardless of the fact that the information I am presenting may be negative. If the information being presented is of a negative nature I will present the information in the middle of my presentation. I will open up the presentation on a positive note, and end the presentation on a positive note. If the stakes are low I will be straightforward with my audience and not beat around the bush. When preparing for this presentation I need to ask myself; what will the audience’s initial reactions be to the message I am delivering, how much information do I need to disclose, what obstacles may I need to overcome, what are the positive messages I can emphasis on, and what are the expectations of my audience and how will the audience use this information?
In analyzing this particular audience I have come to the conclusion that my audience (stakeholders) will consist of a primary audience, a secondary audience and a watchdog audience and that empathy will be used as my primary tool in analyzing said audience. Empathy is “the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to feel with that person” (Lock & Kienzler, 2008 p. 43).In order to present effectively to my audience I must possess empathy.
Communication channeling is the means in which one conveys their message to an audience. Because my presentation is going to be in person I will use oral communication along with overhead graphs to present the quarterly sales results. Using overhead graphs will give my audience a visual overview on the sales results. The overhead graphs will provide stakeholders with basic information such as comparison results from the previous quarters. Through the use of overhead graphs I can address the company’s financial position for this quarter versus last quarter, financial gains or losses the company may have experienced during the quarter, certain areas requiring improvement, areas needing immediate attention ,over expenditures, and areas where cost need to be cut. Because I am conducting an in person quarterly sales result presentation visual communication will play an important role in getting the main points being addressed across to my audience.
I will start off this quarterly sales result meeting on a positive note, providing an overview of the topics that are going to be discussed in detail during the presentation. I will provide each attendee with a document overview, and a pen and paper to keep notes on for later review. During my presentation I will focus on the tone, power and politeness of my presentation and pay close attention to content and choice of details. I will address all negative information in the middle of my presentation so I can end the presentation on a positive note. I will develop audience benefits by identifying the fears and feelings of my audience, while keeping the content in you-attitude. The you attitude will emphasize on what the audience wants to know while respecting the audience’s intelligence, and protecting their ego’s.
Because time management is an important tool, I will set time lines on all topics being presented in this meeting in order to cover all points. I will conclude my presentation by setting aside a specific amount of time to allow the audience to ask questions. By giving my audience an open forum to ask questions and speak their minds, will not only give the audience a sense of belonging, but will also allow the audience to actively participate in the presentation.

Reference
Business dictionary, retrieved October 29, 2011 from www.businessdictionary.com Locker, K. O., & Kienzler, D. S, (2008). Business and

administrative communication (8th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-

Hill.