A key element in preparing for an oral presentation is analyzing your audience. Audiences fall into one of four categories. List and describe these four audiences. Then tell how you would present to each category of audience to better guarantee that your presentation will be successful

Answer 1

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Friendly Audience: They like you and your topic.

Presentation Techniques: Use any organizational pattern. Try something new. Try to involve the audience. Be warm, pleasant, and open. Use lots of eye contact and smiles. Include humor, personal examples, and experiences.

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Neutral Audience: They are calm and rational. Their minds are made up, but they think they are being objective.

Presentation Techniques: Present both sides of the issue. Use pro/con or problem/solution patterns. Save time for audience questions. Be controlled and do nothing showy. Use confident, small gestures. Use facts, statistics, expert opinions, and comparison and contrast. Avoid humor, personal stories, and flashy visuals.

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Uninterested Audience: They have short attention spans. They may be there against their will.

Presentation Techniques: Be brief; cover no more than three points. Avoid topical and pro/con patterns that seem lengthy to the audience. Be dynamic and entertaining. Move around and use large gestures. Use humor, cartoons, colorful visuals, powerful quotations, and startling statistics. Avoid darkening the room, standing motionless, passing out handouts, using boring visuals, or expecting the audience to participate.

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Hostile Audience: They want to take charge or to ridicule the speaker. They may be defensive and emotional.

Presentation Techniques: Organize using a noncontroversial pattern such as topical, chronological, or geographical strategy. Be calm and controlled. Speak evenly and slowly. Include objective data and expert opinion. Avoid anecdotes and humor. Avoid a question-and-answer period, if possible; otherwise, use a moderator or accept only written questions.