Any public speech is always meant for an audience which may range from school children to high level corporate executives. Regardless of the composition of the audience, you must be prepared to analyse your audience in order to engage them effectively.

So how can you achieve this? Here are three easy steps

List the audience’s needs

In this first step, you will be required to identify what the audience needs to know. What is their objective for coming to this talk?

Approach the situation from the audience’s perspective. Why is the audience here? What’s in it for them to be here? What sort of material are they looking for? Are they seeking information, entertainment or inspiration? Perhaps a combination of the three? These factors have to be considered when planning your speech,

Assess the audience

The next step is assessing the audience. We can remember this with acronym KILL.

K – Knowledge

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What is the knowledge level of the audience? Are they well informed of the subject matter or are they encountering the topic for the very first time.

I – Interest

Is the audience eager to hear about this message? Or will it be a hostile audience?

L – Language

Will the audience be familiar with the of the presentation?

L – Level

What is the level of the audience? Will the audience consist of a homogeneous group such as a class of school children? Or will it contain people from all walks of life, of which the presenter will need to strike a good balance to appeal and meet the needs of the entire group.

By KILLing the audience, you will have a better idea of the technical level which you will be going to pitch the idea at. For technical presentations, you might check out the article Presentation Tips for the Technical Professional for tipsthat can help you the next time when you are delivering a technical presentation.

Decide on the outcome

Remember to maintain the focus on the audience. Based on the type of speech, you will need to decide beforehand what you want the audience to know, (for an informative speech).

For a motivational speech, you will need to know what you want them to feel. (Motivated, inspired or excited?)

Alternatively, for a speech which has a call for action, decide beforehand what you want them to do with your message or information. Do you want them to use it? Or perhaps to be invited back for further events? You will have to decide beforehand.

The following three step process should be followed as the very first step when planning a speech. This will allow you to focus and narrow the scope of your speech allowing it to be more focus and relevant. After you have completed analysing your audience, you might consider preparing your speech according to the following six steps. I hope that by following this recommended structure, you will be able to effectively wow your audience with a great prepared speech.