Audience analysis is the process where the speaker discovers who will be in the audience and what their attitudes, beliefs and values are towards the topic.
In addition to knowing who will be in the audience the speaker needs to know more about the context in which they will be speaking before they determine the focus of the presentation.
Being aware of all the external things that can impact the speech such as the environment and the context in which the speech will be presented is called situational analysis.
It involves assessing aspects of the occasion, the context, time considerations and location.
Occasion
The occasion for the speech will determine many aspects of your presentation such as how formal it will be, how many people will be in attendance, what is the reason for the gathering, what are the expectations that the audience will have for your speech.
Many events and occasions have speeches which follow particular rules such as toasts at a wedding, eulogies at a memorial service, or after dinner speeches at banquets.
Questions about the occasion of a speech include:
What is the reason for the people to attend the event?
What time of day will the speech take place? What is the time limit on the speech?
How will the room be set up?
Will I be speaking from a lectern and it there a microphone?
Will there be food or drink present during the speech?
Who else will be speaking?
Will someone introduce me and my topic?
Will there be equipment for visual aids?
Will there be any distractions in the room that can be predicted?
Context
No speech happens in isolation.
There are many events which impact the situation in which we will be speaking and it is important to consider what these are and what impact they will have on the audience.
These events range from local to global impact and anywhere in between. It is necessary to be aware of local news events and determine to what extent they impact the audience and in what way.
For example, scandals involving local politicians may make the audience more skeptical of local government getting things done in the area.
If there has been a deadly house fire in the local community from which the firefighters saved the lives of three children the audience will be more aware of the role of first responders in their area and the good job they are doing.
Even the outcome of the weekend game of the NFL team alters the mood of the audience for the next week along with the anticipation for the upcoming game.
At a national and international level can also have significant and long-term effects on an audience depending on how significant they are at the time.
The shooting of Congresswoman Kathy Gifford shook the nation but the impact of the massacre of school-children at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December was felt even more.
Other events in the news such as the doping scandal of Lance Armstrong, the budget debate in Washington, the debt crisis in Greece, the horse meat scandal in Europe and whatever will make the headlines the day of your speech form part of the backdrop for your speech.
When events like these have an emotional impact on the audience it is really important to be aware of what that is and to plan accordingly.
Location
Where your speech takes place will determine many aspects of the presentation.
If the setting is formal the speech should reflect that atmosphere. If the setting is casual then it is important not to overdo it.
The arrangement of the room and the noises within the room as well as those coming from outside can effect the speech.
For example, the classroom where I have taught public speaking for the last five or six years is about 200 feet from the train tracks and trains come by as often as twice each hour.
They are very loud. It is a good idea for a speaker to anticipate how they will respond when this occurs so that they are not distracted or caught out when it happens.
In an ideal situation the placement of chairs, the arrangement of audio-visual materials such as the computer on which you have your power points or the location of the screen should all be under your control.
But it is very important to be able to adapt to any situation when doing a speech.
Things can always go wrong!
The power-point may not load, the sound system may not be working, the lighting may not be ideal and the audience may be distracted by any number of things.