Audience Analysis Paper

Running head: AUDIENCE ANALYSIS PAPER

Audience Analysis Paper

University of Phoenix

COM 285

August 26, 2009

Audience Analysis Paper

The presenter of the quarterly sales meeting must establish a tactical and effective strategy to communicate an organization’s current financial standing. To prepare for the upcoming presentation, the speaker must first analyze the roles and characteristics of the attending stakeholders, managers, salespeople, and customers. When analyzing an audience, the person presenting basically steps into the audience’s shoes to understand his or her information needs. Researching the company to figure out which communication channels would be the most effective in communicating to a diverse audience would also prove advantageous to the presenter.

Since no two audiences are the same and the presenter wants to deliver a successful presentation of the quarterly sales, he or she must develop a strategy and be able to adapt quickly to the audience’s needs. After all, they will be the ones affected the most by the information. A strong strategy starts with tailoring the presentation to include all the pertinent issues affecting the primary audience. This is done by taking the characteristics of the audience into consideration prior to the presentation to ensure the needs of the audience are met. The speaker should invest enough time to review the backgrounds of the gatekeeper and stakeholders participating in the meeting. The review could include initiating conversations before the meeting begins and evaluating the needs of each person involved in an effort to distinguish the different personalities. The knowledge gained can give an edge to the speaker and make it easier to present the most urgent information first. This evaluation can also help the speaker to understand what the interests and goals of the stakeholders, managers, salespeople, and customers are intended to be. By completing an assessment of issues from...