What is a presentation without an audience? Seriously, if you didn’t have an audience, you would be speaking to yourself, or, maybe, your pet. Speeches are meant to be spoken to a person or group. Thus, the audience plays a central role in public speaking. In fact, the audience is the reason for giving a speech.

What is an audience? Technically, it is any one, or group, that is listening to someone convey a message. This conveyance may take many forms but the action is the same—the speaker creates and relays a message out to a receiver(s).

To be a successful speaker, you must know who is in your audience., which is why audience analysis is so important and must be conducted.

We have all sat through speeches where we didn’t feel a connection to the speaker.

We have all sat through speeches where we didn’t feel a connection to the speaker. The speaker may have outlined what he or she wanted to say without thinking about what the audience wants to hear. The speaker can know what content is important to relay but must also know how the audience wants to hear this information.

Connection is key in public speaking.

Connection is key in public speaking. That spark that one feels when a dynamic speaker presents information is the goal. The audience can feel electrified if the speaker is presenting information that is directly relevant and uses language that resonates with the whole audience. To build this connection, the speaker should use body language, clothes, examples, language, vocal emphasis, organizational style, research usage, venue considerations, visual aids, delivery, and anything else needed to build a bond with those who are listening. All those considerations should be tailor made to the people in the audience. Creating a connection where the speaker bonds with the audience makes the difference between an okay speech and a great speech.