Analysis of the prospect of Entering Iraqi Oil Market essays

Analysis of the prospect of Entering Iraqi Oil Market essays Iraq holds the world's third largest oil reserves base after Saudi Arabia and Canada, with 112 billion barrels of proven reserves and an estimated 100 billion barrels of undiscovered reserves, which provides great opportunities for western oil companies like Chevron. In this paper, we analyze the Iraqi oil industry in perspective of Chevron's plans to invest in the region. The paper is organized into three sections: history of Iraq oil industry, its current state after American and British invasion and the direction its likely to head in the next couple of years. Looking back at the history of Iraqi oil, reports before April 2003 show that modernization was really needed. According to the Middle East economic survey, problems at Iraqi oil fields include: years of poor oil reservoir management; corrosion problems at various oil facilities; deterioration of water injection facilities; lack of spare parts, materials, equipment, etc.; and damages to oil storage and pumping facilities. 60% of Northern Oil Companys facilities in the northern and central Iraq were damaged during the Gulf War. Iraq utilized sub-standard engineering techniques, obsolete technology, and systems in various states of decay in order to sustain production. The legal status of business contracts was also up in the air, increasing the uncertainty level for companies interested in doing business with Iraqi companies. Besides legal issues, companies had been looking up for a relatively stable security situation, a functioning government and other conditions to be in place before they move heavily into the country. Iraqs oil export infrastructure such as pipelines, ports and pumping stations were seriously disrupted by the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988, the 1990/1991 Gulf War, and looting and sabotage since then. The pipeline built through Saudi Arabia during the Iran-Iraq war, to the Red sea port of Muajiz was closed after Iraq invaded Kuwai...

The Turn of the Screw essays

The Turn of the Screw essays Some people may see the character of Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw as somewhat inconsequential because it seems as though she doesnt do anything to help the book along. But in truth she serves a bigger purpose than she appears to serve. Mrs. Grose is an essential part in developing the story. Mrs. Grose is the reason the governess thinks she is seeing ghosts because of the Peter Quint incident. The governess was walking in the fields of the estate when she saw a figure in the distance on the old tower. The figure then disappeared and this frightened the governess so she went to Mrs. Grose. Before the governess could tell Mrs. Grose what had happened she saw the strange man again, but this time at the window. The governess was in quite a state when Mrs. Grose came in the room and the governess told her what she saw and described the man. From the governess description Mrs.Grose concluded that the man the governess saw was Peter Quint. Mrs. Grose then told the governess that Mr. Quint was dead. Since Mrs. Grose told the governess that Quint was dead she thinks she saw a ghost. If the governess was never told that Peter Quint was dead then she would never have believed she was seeing ghosts. The governess thinks she is seeing ghosts because Mrs. Grose told her Quint was dead. The governess also believes the children are seeing ghosts and just not telling anyone. The governess believes that the ghosts are there for the children and their souls. Mrs. Grose never says anything on that subject. She never says if she believes the children are or arent seeing ghosts. She just asks dumb questions and when she does give answers they are very vague. An example of this is when the governess first believes that Quint is there not for her, but for someone else. Mrs. Grose says: he was looking for someone else, you say-someone who was not you? The governess replies: He was lookin...

Chapter 4 and 5 Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chapter 4 and 5 - Research Proposal Example ive behavior in students, the climate within which both educational failure and negative behavior emerges and the relationship between the educational climate and education- based prevention and intervention programming. There are many reasons in the surrounding environment of the education as well as in the students’ life that emerge as a cause of failure in the educational performance and gives rise to negative behavior. The risk associated with the high school students basically comprise those who have low performance and are drop outs, they due to such factors tend to develop negative behavior. It depends upon the educational system to identify such students and develop program to change them (Wormer, 2006). The students who are dependent upon the single mother’s income for the education purpose tend to develop negative behavior due to low level of income and lesser affordability to get educated. It is the climatic condition that is present in the lives of the student which gives birth to negative behavior and causes low performance resulting to educational failure. The relationship shows a positive link between the two. The academic climatic condition is responsible as well as the students environment is also responsible for such state. But with the education- based prevention and intervention programming it can be minimized and the performance may increase as well as the students’ negativity may turn into positivity in terms of behavior. (McKinney, n.d). The social support, family cohesion, personality and sources of income of the single mother impact the behavior (either positively or negatively) of the children. The income level brings the change in the attitude along with the impact of social support from the mother, mother’s attitude, and personality traits. The low level of income is the risk factor which that can lead to the negative outcomes in the behavior and performance of the student. It is not only the factor that causes low

Case Study Starbucks Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Starbucks - Case Study Example The merchandise in the stores does not support the foundation of the coffee heritage Basically all the problems faced buy Starbucks today are due to unromantic streamlined operations. Although the decision for automation and streamlining operations have helped Starbucks expand and improve the customers experience in terms of speed of service and more extensive distribution(increased number of stores) but these operations have also distanced Starbucks from its tradition and heritage. The use of bagged coffee has solved the problem of availability of fresh coffee beans across long distances in time but has lead to the eradication of people scooping fresh coffee from bins and grinding it fresh in front of the customers. This in turn has lead to the absence of coffee grinders and other related merchandise in the stores giving the store a sterile and cookie cutter look lacking the warmth of a neighborhood store. As Starbucks is moving away from its heritage, it is loosing its competitive advantage, a coffee experience which is unique and exclusive and traditional, and competition is taking over in terms of generating trial through awareness and loyalty of customers. According to my analysis, the first thing Starbucks should do is to improve store design which should reflect the traditional coffee experience like the wooden counters of the first store, neighborhood store look etc. Automation has made business more efficient, hence realistically thinking, Starbucks should not do away with it but integrate the traditional and automated process of making coffee. This means that although automated machines should be used but are use of La Marzocca machines for coffee should also be offered on customers. Segmentation should be done on the basis of geography and culture, and flavors should also be customized keeping this in mind. More programs like "coffee master programs" should be introduced which improve both, customer satisfaction and employee motivations. These programs also relate to rituals of wine industry giving Starbucks an edge in developing premium brands. Sales promotion is essential for penetration among the masses. In addition to in store merchandise, accessories like t-shirts and mugs can be used in promotions which reflect the essence of Starbucks tradition, stories and rituals on them for the costumers to take home and have a long lasting experience. Lastly, new flavors should be introduced coupled with a story which relates to the tradition and roots of Starbucks origin and the region it is being introduced. Starbucks is loosing its edge and as its chairman Howard Schultz (2007) said "we desperately need to look in the mirror and realize it's time to get back the core and make

Leadrship Development and business Ethics Coursework

Leadrship Development and business Ethics - Coursework Example dren as they are required to wear specific school shoes for attending schools.  Also children have to walk long distances  in order to  access educational, medical and clean drinking water  facilities.  Shoes  are the focus of special attention  because children deprived of shoes are vulnerable to numerous soil-based diseases like jiggers, hookworm, tetanus and podoconiosis. Hookworm is a universal disease that affects around 576 to 740 million people around the globe. It is a major cause of protein loss and blood loss (anemia) in children. Similarly podoconiosis develops in individuals from being bare feet resulting in a disease known as big foot. It begins in children in teenage and causes severe leg and foot pain. Children with bare feet are also prone to jiggers that cause inflammation and ulcers in the feet. Tetanus is another disease causing acute infection if a bacterium enters through an open wound or injury in the foot. The One for One program operates by acquiring  global partnerships of  humanitarian organizations to identify deprived communities  evaluated on grounds of health, educational and economic conditions. Moreover TOMS shoes make sure that its  involvement does not affect the  local shoe making  businesses  adversely. TOMS also provides supplementary support to cater health and educational issues in children. Children of developing countries are the  main target of TOMS  One for One program. TOMS shoes does not provide a single kind of shoes but a variety of shoes tailor made to meet the size  requirements of children of different ages as well  as fulfill their  diverse cultural needs. In 2012 TOMS,  in collaboration with its sight-giving partner Seva Foundation, also  brought eyewear within the ambit of its product-line. It works on the same line  as  One for One program for shoes and donates a pair of glasses for every pair sold out. It also  encompasses medical treatments, eye examinations and sight saving surgeries for children in

The topic of nutrition of the elderly

The topic of nutrition of the elderly The purpose of this literature review is to research the topic of nutrition of the elderly, and to discuss my findings. I will be researching this subject using tools such as athens, and using websites such as google scholar, ovid and internurse. I have chosen to use articles and reviews from the past ten years as I feel they will bring the most up to date nursing care techniques and the most reliable research into the subject. Nutrition of the elderly is an important area of nursing care and should not be taken lightly. It is important in nursing care to assess patients nutrition, as if taken care of it can optimize the general well being of the patient. Malnutrition is the main worry when focusing on elderly patients nutrition, as 40 to 60% of older adults who are hospitalized are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. This statistic is rather high, meaning that the correct nursing practise is not always used. In this review I will be looking to find the reasons behind this and how the care of these patients can be increased to its full potential. When we look at nutrition we have to consider why it is that elderly patients are so different compared to everyone else. Many questions arise when we look at this for example do they have different eating habits, is there a physiological problem or even is there a psychological problem. The answers to these questions can always be yes in relation to the elderly and we must look further than these general questions, and study the literature of the subject to fully become aware of the correct nursing care to correctly assess and treat this problem. A review by Finch et la (1998) shows that a the majority of the elderly population, not requiring hospitalization, are well nourished and have a good intake of all the correct vitamins, minerals and calories. However what is of more importance in this review is the elderly patients who fall without this category including patients whose nutrition does affect their health and have physical and or mental problems which lower their nutritional intake. A report by COMA (DH, 1999) stated that diet deficiencies in the elderly, most noticed in calcium levels and recommended that current practice of fortifying flour with calcium should continue the same. That same survey also highlighted the low levels of Vitamin D in the elderly which, together with the low levels of calcium gave concern for the increased incidence of osteoporosis found in the elderly population. Another review highlighting deficiency in different areas for the elderly. (Steele et al., 1998) point us to the fact that many elderly patients do not have a good dentition. This obviously can have a massive impact on their nutritional intake and in their choice of food and ease or difficulty of eating it. They also found that those of the elderly who had their own dentition did have a measurable better nutritional and mineral intake than those who did not. Those with poor teeth tended to eat significantly less fruit, nuts and food generally that was hard to chew, meaning they missed out on vital natural vitamins and minerals. All of these facts drawn from literature show us that the nutrition of the elderly is an important and special group. I will now look into further literature to show these specific groups in the elderly population which lack of proper nutrition can affect. Malnutrition is a main concern in nursing practise with elderly patients, so when looking at it we must be fully aware of what the term means. A review by DiMaria-Ghalil (2005) shows the definition of malnutrition. Any disorder of nutritional status, including disorders resulting from a deficiency of nutrient intake, impaired nutrient metabolism, or over-nutrition. Reuben (2005) shows us that malnutrition can be brought on by many things in the elderly population such as dietary intake, isolation, chronic illness, and physiological changes. The routine for the correct nursing care with elderly patients is essential and must be followed for every patient so that no patient is misdiagnosed. During the routine nursing assessment, any and all alterations in the general assessment areas that may influence the patients factors of intake, absorption, or digestion of nutrients should always be further assessed to make sure if an older patient is at a nutritional risk. These areas include the following. As stated by a review done by the University of Texas, School of Nursing (2006) a typical assessment should be done including their present history, past and medical history, and an assessment of their current symptoms. A note of their social history should be taken into account. Any drugs the patient may be taking which can interact or affect the patients nutrient intake and absorption. Boullata, J (2004) stated that drugs can affect and modify the nutrient needs for the metabolism of older people. It also stated that factors such as restrictive diets, changes in eating habits and diet, alcoholism and chronic disease with long term drug treatments can all affect the nutrient intake and reactions in an elderly patient. The fourth area that should be taken into account is the patients functional limitations. Boullata, J (2004) showed that patients with functional limitations can be at risk of malnutrition for many reasons, whether it be a disability restricting their movement, and even a psychological problem such as dementia which can restrict the patients ability to eat in different forms. Next that will be checked on the nursing assessment will be the objective assessment. This will include a physical examination of the patient with emphasis on things such as an oral exam, loss of body fat, dysphagia, bmi and muscle wasting. Also DiMaria-Ghalili (2005) showed that for a more in depth idea of the patients dietary intake can be gathered by a documented three day calorie count using a food chart for the patient. This will help gain some more information for the patients nutrition. Also one of the main things used for every patient in hospital which is malnourished or at fear of malnutrition is the nutrition risk assessment tool. Both DiMaria-Ghalili (2005) and Salva, A (2004) go on to state how this tool is vital and very useful at assessing as it determines the risk by looking at the patients bmi, history of weight loss, psychological stress, or acute disease and dementia or any other conditions which could affect their dietary intake. By using all these it can help come up with a individual score for the patient, and with this score we can evaluate if the patient is malnourished, and what further action can be taken to benefit the patient. This will include things such as referring the patient to the dietician, and or the speech and language therapist. There are many nursing strategies we can use to make sure that any patient that is malnourished can be assessed and monitored to help improve their health and general well being. As I previously noted by Salva, A (2004) referring to the dietician if the patient is at risk for or has under-nutrition. Another useful collaboration for nursing care is to consult the patients medication and review it for possible drugs that can affect the nutrient interactions. Also consulting with a multidisciplinary team specializing in nutrition can benefit the patients all over care as it is more specific to their needs. There are also methods that the nurse can use in the patients daily routine to help the patients efforts in becoming nourished. By alleviating a dry mouth the nurse can help the patient become more willing, and wanting, to take diet and fluids. This can be done by avoiding any foods or drink which can further cause a dry mouth, such as, tobacco, dry and bulky foods, and highly acidic foods. Also to encourage frequent sips of water and keeping lips moist will help the patient to become more hydrated and more comfortable, which, will make them more willing to eat and drink. Margetts, B (2003) also states how important it is to maintain an appropriate nutritional intake for an elderly patient. It goes on to explain how the daily requirements of older adults includes thirty kcal per kg of body weight and 1g of protein per day, with this no more than 30% of calories from fat. It also goes on to explain all requirements will differ depending on the degree of malnutrition and physiological stress the patient is in. A nurse can take this into account when treating a patient in their daily routine by improving the patients oral intake, of which there are many ways of achieving. Souter, S (2003) shows that a patients meal times are important as it will determine how much food the patient has consumed and whether or not they will need assistance with eating from a member of staff. A nurse can go further than this by asking the patients family members to visit during mealtimes making it a more relaxed atmosphere for the patient, meaning they will feel more relaxe d and willing to eat, and for those who need help eating, their family members can assist them which may be more comfortable for them. A nurse can also ask the family members to bring in favourite foods of the patients from home to help in the intake of the patient. With foods that they regularly eat and enjoy, the patient will be more likely to partake in meal times and even snacking between meals, increasing their intake overall. If this is done for a patient the nurse must be aware of the foods the patient likes, and or can handle so that they can supply the patient with what the need and want for their duration in hospital. The nurse can also take into account the nutrients that the patient needs, therefore can suggest small and frequent meals which contain these to help to regain and maintain weight. The nurse can also help a patient with their mouth care such as helping patients with their dentures before food is served so they are ready to eat when it arrives. Souter, S (2003) showed that another way to improve meal times is to create a good environment for the patient. By removing things such as bedpans, urinals, and sick bowls can help to create a positive and clean place for the patient to eat, so nothing is putting them off or distracting them from their food. Also Souter, S stated that any patients who tend to feel ill during meal times can be administered antiemitics on a schedule that will help to lower and diminish the likelihood of them feeling nauseated during their meal. Shahar, D (2001) also shows that with certain patients who are mobile enough to sit in a chair rather than their bed should be placed in such as it is more comfortable for them to eat their meals. The nurse can also create a relaxing atmosphere for patients who needs assistance in eating their meal by sitting at the patients eye level and making eye contact during so that they feel they are not just a chore for the nurse. It is also important for nursing staff not to interrupt patients during meals for drug rounds and procedures as it may distract the patient from their meal and even make them feel, depending on the medication, tired or nauseated which will stop them from eating a sufficient amount for themselves. Nursing staff can also provide specialised nutritional support for certain patients depending on their requirements. The Nutrition Screening Initiative (2002) states that a patient should be started on nutritional support when they cant or wont eat an adequate amount to ben efit themselves. The patient must be reviewed regarding if they already use artificial nutrition and hydration. This can be done by providing oral supplements to the patient. These supplements are not to replace meals, but to be given during the day between meals as shown by Wilson, M (2002). Also it is stated by American Society of Anaesthesiologists that by placing elderly patients as early in the day as possible for tests or procedures it will decrease the length of time that the patient is nil by mouth and not allowed to eat or drink. Meaning less time is wasted where the patient could have been receiving a nutritional diet and fluids. By looking at all this literature we can see that

Character of Mephistopheles in Goethes Faust :: Faust Essays

The Character of Mephistopheles in Faust Mephistopheles, from the epic poem Faust, by Goethe, is one of the most interesting characters if examined carefully. Much like today's crude interpretations of the devil, Mephistopheles was a skeptic, a gambler, self- confident, witty, stubborn, smart, creative, tempting and of course, evil. There were very ironic things about him. Though he was evil, he was a force of goodness. The evil in him was portrayed in the negative aspects of Faust's personality, which showed that no matter how powerful the Lord was, the devil would always have an impact on a persons life and decisions. Mephistopheles was very much of a skeptic and a gambler. In the "Prologue in Heaven", Mephistopheles bet the Lord that he could turn Faust against him and make him do evil. This was ironic because most people would never dream of speaking to the Lord in this way. This showed that Mephistopheles was self- confident and witty. He was very set in his ways and beliefs and found it difficult to believe that God could keep total control over Faust, or any one else for that matter. Though Mephistopheles was a skeptic when it came to many things such as natural phenomenon of life, he did believe the Lord when he told Mephistopheles that he had power. Mephistopheles even preached this word to people. After speaking to one of Faust's students, he wrote in his yearbook. It said: "Eritis sicut Deus, scientes bonum et malorum ", meaning "You shall be like God, knowing good and evil". (line 2075) This is a quote from the book of Genesis 3:5 of the Bible. By Mephistopheles saying this quote, he was admitting that God had power and did know what good and evil were. He also believed that he could overcome God, therefore saying that he was more powerful than the Lord. Mephistopheles was very smart and creative when it came to luring in his victims of evil. In "Outside the City Gate", Mephistopheles disguised himself as a dog and followed Faust home. Faust knew this dog was evil. He said the dog was "circling around" him and "a wake of fire's streaming behind him" (lines 1175-1179). Every time Faust would begin reading the Bible, the dog would bark as a sign of disbelief and wrongs about it. The next day, in Faust's study, the devil showed up again, but this time in the form of a nobleman tempting Faust to "a life of limitless wealth and pleasure" in return for his soul for eternity.

Audience Analysis

The ACA Open Knowledge Online Guide Tyrone L. Adams, Ph. D. [[email  protected] edu] D’Aquin Professor of Journalism and Communication Department of Communication University of Louisiana, Lafayette and Peter A. DeCaro, Ph. D. [[email  protected] edu] Department Chair and Associate Professor of Communication Department of Communication California State University Stanislaus The Significance of Audience Analysis: Strategically Considering Your Target Populace It cannot be said often enough: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!Knowing your audience—their beliefs, attitudes, age, education level, job functions, language and culture—is the single most important aspect of developing your speech. Your audience isn’t just a passive group of people who come together by happenstance to listen to you. Your audience is assembled for a very real reason: They want to hear what you have to say. In public speaking, the audience is the entire reason This module helps you understand: Th e critical importance of understanding your audience. The various methods used in analyzing a given audience.The five layers of any given audience analysis. you are giving the speech; thus, the audience is the most important component of speechmaking. We analyze our audience because we want to discover information that will help create a link between the speaker and the audience. We call this link identification. Aristotle loosely called it â€Å"finding a common ground. † This isn’t a one-way process between the speaker and the audience; rather, it is a two-way transactional process. When you ask an audience to listen to your ideas, you are asking them to come partway into your experience as a speaker.And, in return, it is your obligation to go partway into their experience as an audience member. The more you know and understand about your audience and their needs, the better you can prepare your speech. For example: Bob Mullins, a local bank officer, was preparing fo r a speech at the Rotary Club in Dallas, Texas on â€Å"finding the right loan† for a diverse ethnic audience. He knew his topic extremely well, had put a lot of hard work into his research, and had his visual aids in order. One of the things he had not completely considered, however, was the audience to which he would be speaking.On the day of the event, Mr. Mullins delivered a flawless speech on car and home loans, but the speech was not received well. You see, on this particular week, a major segment of the audience consisted of the â€Å"Junior Rotarians† who wanted to hear about â€Å"personal savings accounts† and â€Å"college savings plans. † It was a critical mistake. Had Bob considered the full nature and makeup of his audience prior to the event, he might not have been received so poorly. A hard lesson learned. This module is dedicated to understanding how a speaker connects with an audience through audience analysis.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3. 0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3. 0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. I. How Do I Analyze My Audience? Whenever thinking about your speech, it is always a good idea to begin with a thorough awareness of your audience and the many factors comprising that audience. In speech communication we simply call this â€Å"doing an audience analysis. An audience analysis is when you consider all of the pertinent elements defining the makeup and characteristics of your audience. There are many elements to consider, too, such as: age, gender, education, occupation, language, ethnicity, culture, background knowledge, needs and interests, and previously held attitudes, beliefs, and values. Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list. But, it does help you get a good general understanding of the demographics shaping up whom, precisely, you will be addressing.From the Greek affix demo (of the people) we come to understand that demographics are detailed accounts of human population characteristics. These accounts are usually rendered as statistical population segments. Demographics are widely used by advertising and public relations professionals to analyze specific audiences so that their products or ideas will carry influence. However, all good public speakers consider the demographic characteristics of their audience, as well. It is a, if not the, fundamental stage of preparing for your speech.So now you may be saying to yourself: â€Å"Gee, that’s great! How do I go about analyzing my particular audience? † Well, first you need to know that there are three overarching methods (or what we like to call â€Å"paradigms†) for doing an audience analysis: (1) audience analysis by direct observation, (2) audience analysis by inference, and (3) audience analysis through data sampling. Once you get to know how these methods work a bit better, you should be able to select which one (or even combination of these methods) is right for your circumstances.Audience Analysis by Direct Observation Audience analysis by direct observation, or direct experience, is, by far, the most simple of the three paradigms for â€Å"getting the feel† of a particular audience. It is a form of qualitative data gathering. We perceive it through one or more of our five natural senses—hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Knowledge that we acquire through personal experience has more impact on us than does knowledge that we learn indirectly. Knowledge acquired from personal experience is also more likely to affect our thinking and will be retained for a longer period of time.We are more likely to trust what we hear, see, feel, taste, and smell rather than what we learn from secondary sources of information. All you r eally need to do for this method of observation is to examine the broad composition of your audience working in its natural state. If you are lucky enough to be able to do this before speaking to your audience, you will be able to gather some basic reflective data that will help you arrange your thoughts and arguments for your speech. One excellent way to become informed about your audience is to ask them about themselves.In its most basic form, this is data collection. In the classroom situation, you should have had ample time to get to know your fellow classmates and become familiar with who they are on a personal level. Through class conversations—and your unmonitored small-group conversations before and after class—you will be able to get to know and appreciate each class member as both a human being and an audience member. You will come to understand what interests them, convinces them, or even makes them laugh.Do not discount even a simple form of data collection such as distributing a three- or four-item questionnaire before class. You might arouse interest and curiosity in your topic while you also gain valuable data. Knowledge acquired from personal experience is also more likely to affect our thinking and will be retained for a longer period of time. Clearly this cannot be done in every speaking situation, however. Often, we are required to give an unacquainted-audience presentation. Unacquainted-audience presentations are speeches where you are completely unfamiliar with the audience and its demographics.In these cases, it is always best to try and find some time to sit down and talk with someone you trust (or even multiple parties) who might be familiar with the given audience. These confidantes can be very constructive in helping you understand the context in which you will be speaking. You see, not understanding the basic demographic characteristics of an audience, or further, Who is it that I am going to be talking to? that audienc e’s beliefs, values, or attitudes about a given topic, makes your presentation goals haphazard, at best.Look around the room at the people who will be listening to your speech. What types of gender, age, ethnicity, and educational-level characteristics will you be appealing to? What expectations does your audience have for your presentation? These are all important questions you should be asking yourself before you begin doing your research and drafting your outline. Who is it that I am going to be talking to? What, exactly, makes them, as listeners, tick? Audience Analysis by Inference Audience analysis by inference is merely a logical extension of your observations drawn in theWhat, exactly, makes them, as listeners, tick? method above. It is a form of critical thinking known as inductive reasoning, and another form of qualitative data gathering. An inference is when you make a reasoned tentative conclusion or logical judgment on the basis of available evidence. It is best used when you can identify patterns in your evidence that indicate something is expected to happen again or should hold true based upon previous experiences. Do you need to learn how to interpret information and draw conclusions? Absolutely! We make inferences—or reasonable assumptions—all the time.For example, when we hear someone speaking Arabic, we infer that they are from the Middle East. When we see this person carrying a copy of The Koran, we infer that they are also a follower of the Muslim faith. These are reasoned tentative conclusions that we make based upon the evidence available to us and our general knowledge about people and their traits. When we reason, we make connections, distinctions, and predictions; we use what is known or familiar to us to reach a conclusion about something that is unknown or unfamiliar for it to make sense. Granted, of course, inferences are sometimes wrong.Here’s a familiar example: Some of your classmates recommend a part icular course to you, telling you that it is relatively simple. You’ve heard similar things from other students, so you take the course and discover that they were, indeed, right. These same classmates recommend another course allegedly just as trouble-free as the last one. Only this time, you discover the opposite to be true. The course was insanely difficult. You inferred, or made a reasonable assumption based on information from your fellow classmates, that the course they recommended would be easy. Hey! You aren’t alone in this regard.Everybody makes these types of mistakes. It’s a normal part of processing information. Audience Analysis by Data Sampling Unlike audience analysis by direct observation and analysis by inference, audience analysis by data sampling uses statistical evidence to quantify and clarify the characteristics of your audience (data is the plural form of datum). These characteristics are also known as variables, and are assigned a numeric al value so we can systematically collect and classify them. They are reported as statistics, also known as quantitative analysis or quantitative data collection.Statistics are numerical summaries of facts, figures, and research findings. Audience analysis by data sampling requires you to survey your audience before you give your speech. You need to know the basics of doing a survey before you actually collect and interpret your data. The Basic Questionnaire There are a great number of survey methods available to the speaker. However, we will cover three primary types in this section because they are utilized the most. The first type of survey method you should know about is the basic questionnaire, which is a series of questions advanced to produce demographic and attitudinal data from your audience.You can easily gather information from your audience, using questions similar to these below: My academic level in college: I currently have: no children 1 child 2 children 3 or more ch ildren I can best be classified as being: Caucasian Black or African American Hispanic of Asian descent other My marital status is: single married divorced/separated widowed These questions probe more deeply into the psyche of your audience members, and will help you see where they stand on certain issues. reshman sophomore junior senior My age is: less than 18 years of age between 18-21 years of age between 21-25 years of age over 25 years of age Clearly, audience members should not be required to identify themselves by name on the basic questionnaire. Anonymous questionnaires are more likely to produce truthful information. Remember, all you are looking for is a general read of your audience, you should not be looking for specific information about any respondent concerning your questionnaire in particular. It is a bulk sampling tool, only.While you can gather basic demographic data (as shown above) easily, we need to adjust our questions a bit more tightly, or ask more focused qu estions, in order to understand the audience’s â€Å"predispositions† to think or act in certain ways For example, an attitudinal extension on the basic questionnaire might ask some of the following questions: I regard myself as a: conservative liberal socialist independent I believe that: there is a God there is not a God there might be a God, but I’m unsure none of the above These questions probe more deeply into the psyche of your audience members, and will help you see where they stand on certain issues. Of course, you may need to change these questions a bit to get to the heart of your specific topic. But, once you do, you’ll have a wealth of data at your disposal which, ultimately, will tell you how to work with your target audience.I believe that abortion is: wrong, and should be illegal wrong, but should remain legal okay, but should be illegal okay, and should remain legal none of the above Value Hierarchy by Ordered Categories Another method of finding out your audience’s value set is to survey them according to their value hierarchy. A value hierarchy is a person’s value structure placed in relationship to a given value set. The way to determine a person’s value hierarchy is to use the ordered categories sampling method. In ordered categories, the surveyor lists a number of values on a piece of paper, and asks the respondent to order them on another piece of paper, according to their importance to the respondent (the respondent is the person who fills out the questionnaire).What occurs is that the respondent takes a series of values and, in turn, develops them into a concrete self-ordered The way to determine a person’s value hierarchy is to use the ordered categories sampling method. list. Each response is different, but when analyzed by the speaker, common themes will present themselves in the overall data. Accordingly, the speaker can then identify with those common value themes. See the exa mple below for a given speech on â€Å"homeland security initiatives:† Targeted Value Set Life Liberty Safety Freedom Justice Family Faith Patriotism Democracy Likert-type Testing of Attitudes The final method of assessing your audience’s attitudes deals with Likert-type testing.Likert-type testing is when you make a statement, and ask the respondent to gauge the depth of their sentiments toward that statement either positively, negatively, or neutrally. Typically, each scale will have 5 weighted response categories, being +2, +1, 0, -1, and -2. What the Likert-type test does, that other tests do not do, is measure the extent to which attitudes are held. See how the Likert-type test does this in the speech example on â€Å"unsolicited email† below: UNSOLICITED EMAIL 1. Unsolicited email should be illegal 2. Making unsolicited email illegal would be fundamentally unfair to businesses 3. Making unsolicited email illegal would be a violation of the First Amendment (Free Speech) 4. I usually delete unsolicited email before ever opening it 5.I sometimes open unsolicited email when I am bored Strongly Agree 1 Agree Neither agree nor disagree 3 Disagree Strongly Disagree 5 Ordered Value Set 1. Freedom 2. Democracy 3. Liberty 4. Safety 5. Justice 2 4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 A small Likert-type test will tell you where your audience, generally speaking, stands on issues. As well, it will inform you as to the degree of the audience’s beliefs on these issues. The Likert-type test should be used when attempting to assess a highly charged or polarizing issue, because it will tell you, in rough numbers, whether or not your audience agrees or disagrees with your planned advocacy. †¦ re your audience members literally â€Å"speech captives† who have somehow been socially or systematically coerced into hearing you? II. The â€Å"Five Layers† of Audience Analysis No matter which of the above inquiry methods you choo se to do your audience analysis, you will, at some point, need to direct your attention to the five â€Å"layers† of audience analysis. These are the five layers through which you will learn to better appreciate your audience. Let’s now examine these layers and understand the variables and constraints you should use to estimate your audience’s information requirements. Layer 1: The Situational Analysis The situational audience analysis layer considers the situation for which your audience is gathered.This layer is primarily concerned with why your audience is assembled in the first place. Are they willingly gathered to hear you speak? Have your audience members paid to hear you? Or, are your audience members literally â€Å"speech captives† who have somehow been socially or systematically coerced into hearing you? These factors are decisively important, because they place a major responsibility upon you as a speaker, whichever the case. The entire tone an d agenda of your speech rests largely upon whether or not your audience even wants to hear from you. Many audiences are considered captive audiences in that they have no real choice regarding the matter of hearing a given speech. In general, these are some f the most difficult audiences to address because these members are being forced to listen to a message and do not have the full exercise of their own free will. Consider for a moment when you have been called to a mandatory work meeting. Were you truly happy to listen to the speaker, in all honesty? Some might say â€Å"yes,† but usually most would rather be doing something else with their time. This is an important factor to keep in mind when preparing your speech: some simply do not want to listen to a speech they believe is compulsory. The voluntary audience situation, in stark contrast, is completely different. A voluntary audience is willingly assembled to listen to a given message.As a rule, these audiences are much easier to address because they are interested in hearing the speech at hand. To visualize how this works, reflect upon the last speech, concert, or show you’ve attended of your own accord. While the event may or may not have lived up to your overall expectations, the very fact that you freely went to the occasion speaks volumes about your predisposition to listen to—and perhaps even be persuaded by—the information being presented. There’s something else to be said about captive versus voluntary audiences, as well. Modern communication researchers have found that captive audiences are more heterogeneous and that voluntary audiences are more homogeneous.In other words, when captive audiences are gathered, the audience is typically heterogeneous or characterized by many demographic differences among individuals. On the other hand, when voluntary audiences assemble, by and large, they are populated by homogeneous groupings, or, audiences which are characteriz ed more by their demographic similarities than their differences. Sometimes audiences are mixed in their situational settings, too. For instance, take the everyday classroom situation. While college is pronounced to be a voluntary listening situation in that students choose to attend higher education, many people in the college classroom environment sadly feel as if they are still â€Å"trapped† in school, and would rather be elsewhere. Obviously, this erception colors how information is being processed—and in some cases, not being processed. On the other hand, some students in college are truly there by choice, and attentively seek out knowledge from their teacher-mentors. What results from this mixed audience situation is a hybrid captive-voluntary audience, with those who are only partially interested in what is going on in the classroom and those who are genuinely involved. Of course, this leaves you with a difficult set of circumstances when preparing for your cla ss speeches. Both you and your professor are well aware that the audience you will be speaking to Would you be more inclined to talk to issues bearing upon id not enroll in the course to hear from you, specifically. However, this difficulty of speaking to a hybrid captive-voluntary audience does present you with an excellent opportunity: you will have the good fortune of speaking to people who do and do not, fully, want to hear from you. What a prospect! You literally get to hone your speech skills on both types of audiences, thereby learning a skill set that many never get to exercise. You should begin this wonderful opportunity by considering ways to inform, persuade, and humor a mixed situation audience. Think of it as a learning occasion, and you’ll do just fine. Layer 2: The Demographic Analysis those gender, age, and race qualities?The second layer of audience analysis is demography. As mentioned before, demographics are literally a classification of the characteristics of the people. Whenever addressing an audience, it is generally a good idea to know about its: age, gender, major, year in school, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, et cetera. There are two steps in doing an accurate demographic analysis: (1) the gathering of the demographic data, and (2) the interpretation of this demographic data. Sometimes, this information is gathered by the questionnaire sampling method, and is done formally. On other occasions, this information is already available in a database and is made available to the speaker.Some noteworthy speakers even have â€Å"scouts† who do demographic reconnaissance on an audience prior to a speaking event, and make ad hoc interpretations on that audience based upon key visual cues. For example, congresspersons and senators frequently make public appearances where they use stock speeches to appeal to certain audiences with specific demographic uniqueness. In order to know what type of audience he or she will be addr essing, these politicians dispatch staff aides to an event to see how many persons of color, hecklers, and supporters will be in attendance. Of course, doing ad hoc interpretation of demographic characteristics is, indeed, more an art form than a science. Still, it is a common practice among many professional speakers.Consider for a moment how valuable knowing that your audience will be mostly female, between the ages of 25 and 40, predominantly married, and Caucasian, could be to you as a public speaker. Would you change your message to fit this demographic? Would you be more inclined to talk to issues bearing upon those gender, age, and race qualities? Or, would you keep your message the same, no matter the audience to whom you were addressing? Frankly, the smart speaker would shift his or her message to adapt to the audience. And, in a nutshell, that’s the purpose of doing demographics: to embed within your message the acceptable parameters of your audience’s range of needs.This, of course, raises an extremely important ethical issue for the modern speaker. Given the ability to do demographic data analysis and interpretation of an audience, does a speaker shift his or her message to play to the audience entirely? Or, on the other hand, does a speaker not shift his or her message so as to remain true to his or her motives? It is a delicate balancing act, for certain. Demographic information not only has the ability to truly enlighten a speaker, it also has the ability to modify a speaker’s original intent. Only you will be able to alleviate the tension between a speaker’s need to adapt to an audience and his or her need to remain true to form.Some political critics have even argued that our modern leadership no longer â€Å"leads,† it merely speaks according to demography and issue polls. Layer 3: Psychological Description: On Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values Unless your selected speech topic is a complete mystery to your aud ience, your listeners will already hold â€Å"attitudes, beliefs, and values† toward the ideas you will inevitably present. As a result, it is always important to know where your audience stands on the issues you plan to address ahead of time. The best way to accomplish this is to sample your audience with a quick questionnaire or survey prior to the event. This is known as the third layer of audience analysis, or psychological description.There are three things you seek to identify when performing a description: the audience’s (1) attitudes, (2) beliefs, and (3) values. They are your calculated allies †¦ it is always important to know where your audience stands on the issues you plan to address ahead of time. in understanding how your audience thinks. 1. Attitudes What exactly is an attitude? In basic terms, an attitude is a learned disposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a person, an object, an idea, or an event. Attitudes come in different forms. You are very likely to see an attitude present itself when someone says that they are â€Å"pro† or â€Å"anti† something.But, above all else, attitudes are learned and not necessarily enduring. Attitudes can change, and sometimes do, whereas beliefs and values do not shift as easily. Let’s examine a sample list of attitudes below: Pro-war Anti-affirmative action Pro-choice Pro-business Anti-discrimination Anti-war Anti-slavery Pro-gaming Anti-government Pro-capital punishment Pro-diversity Pro-life Anti-gambling Anti-drugs Anti-capital punishment These are just a small range of issues that one can either be â€Å"for† or â€Å"against. † And, while we are simplifying the social scientific idea of an attitude considerably here, these examples serve our purposes well. Remember, attitudes are not as durable as beliefs and values.But, they are good indicators of how people view the persons, objects, ideas, or events that shape their world. 2. Beliefs Beliefs are principles. Beliefs are more durable than attitudes because beliefs are hinged to ideals and not issues. For example, you may believe in the principle: â€Å"what goes around comes around. † If you do, you believe in the notion of karma. And so, you may align your behaviors to be consistent with this belief philosophy. You may not engage in unethical or negative behavior because you believe that it will â€Å"come back† to you. Likewise, you may try to exude behaviors that are ethical and positive because you wish for this behavior to return, in kind. You may not think this at all, and believe quite the opposite.Either way, there is a belief in operation driving what you think. Let’s now turn to examine some sample beliefs: – The world was created by God. – Marijuana is an addictive gateway drug. – Ghosts are all around us. – Smoking causes cancer. – Anyone can acquire HIV.  œ Evolution is fact, not fiction. – Marijuana is neither addictive nor harmful. – Ghosts are products of our imagination. – Smoking does not cause cancer. – Only high-risk groups acquire HIV. 3. Values A value, on the other hand, is a guiding belief that regulates our attitudes. Values are the core principles driving our attitudes. If you probe into someone’s attitudes and beliefs deep enough, you will inevitably find an underlying value.Importantly, you should also know that we structure our values in accordance to our own value hierarchy, or mental schema of values placed in order of their relative individual importance. Each of us has our own values that we subscribe to and a value hierarchy that we use to navigate the issues of the world. Truth be known, we really aren’t even aware that we have a value hierarchy until some of our values come in direct conflict with †¦ we make decisions small and grand, based from our value hierarchi es. each other. Then, we have to negotiate something called cognitive dissonance, or the mental stress caused by the choice we are forced to make between two considerable alternatives. For example, let’s assume that you value â€Å"having fun† a great deal. You like to party with your friends and truly enjoy yourself.And, in this day and age, who doesn’t? However, as a young adult now experiencing a significant amount of independence and personal freedom at college, you have many life options at your disposal. Let’s also say that some of your close personal friends are doing drugs. You are torn. Part of you wants to experience the â€Å"fun† that your close friends may be experiencing; but, the more sane part of you wants to responsibly decline. In honesty, you are juxtaposed between two of your own values—having â€Å"fun† and being responsible. This real life example is somewhat exaggerated for your benefit. Realize that we make dec isions small and grand, based from of our value hierarchies.Let’s look at some basic values common to people around the world: Accomplishment Aesthetics Authority Competency Creativity Learning Flexibility Health Independence Intellectual stimulation Leisure Material Status Peace Power Security Teamwork Layer 4: Multicultural Audience Analysis Demography (as outlined in Layer 2) looks at issues of race and ethnicity in a basic sense. However, we believe that in our increasingly diverse society, it is worthy to pay particular attention to the issue of speaking to a multicultural audience. Odds are that both your classroom audience and any real world audience that you encounter will have an underlying multicultural dimension.As a speaker, you need to recognize that the perspective you have on any given topic may not necessarily be shared by all of the members of your audience. Therefore, it is imperative that you become a culturally effective speaker. Culturally effective speak ers develop the capacity to appreciate other cultures and acquire the necessary skills to speak effectively to people with diverse ethnic backgrounds. Keep these issues ever-present in your mind: Language: Many people speak different languages, so if you are translating words or phrases, make sure that your translations are correct and that you are using concrete language instead of slang or jargon, which can be confusing.Advancement Affiliation Broadminded Competition Economic Return Family Freedom Helping others Influence Intellectual status Loyalty Moral fulfillment Physical work Prestige Self-expression Variety Adventure Appearance Community Cooperation Education Fast Pace Friendship Honesty Integrity Leadership Management Order Pleasure Recognition Travel Wisdom Cognition: Realize that different cultures have different cultural-cognitive processes, or means of looking at the very concept of logic itself. Accordingly, gauge your audience as to their diverse ways of thinking and be sensitive to these differing logics. Ethnocentricity: Do not assume that your culture is dominant or better than other cultures. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture or ethnicity is superior to others. Remember that, in many cases, you will be appealing to people from other cultures. Ethnocentric viewpoints have the tendency to drive a wedge between youKnowing that culture does play a major role in interactions between you and your audience is a good step in becoming an effective communicator. and your audience. Values differ greatly: Not only do individuals have value systems of their own, but societies promote value systems, as well. Keep in mind the fact that you will be appealing to value hierarchies that are socially-laden, as well as those that are individually-borne. Communication styles differ greatly: While you are trying to balance these language, cognition, cultural, and value issues, you should also recognize that some cultures prefer a more anima ted delivery style than do others.The intelligent speaker will understand this, and adapt his or her verbal and nonverbal delivery accordingly. Audience Analysis and the Multicultural Audience Today’s speakers face many cultural challenges. These challenges include ethnocentrism, stereotyping, verbal and nonverbal misinterpretations, differences in information processing, and translation difficulties. Ideally, it would be wonderful to be able to master every culture and language, but we cannot be superhuman. Still, there are some universal cultural attributes you can identify through audience analysis that will give you a basic understanding about your multicultural audience.Knowing that culture does play a major role in interactions between you and your audience is a good step in becoming an effective communicator. The key is for you to find alternative approaches to delivering your message, with both verbal and nonverbal elements of communication, that are more in line with your audience’s cultural instincts. There are three areas of cultural orientation we will explore: (1) cognitive styles: how we organize and process information; (2) decision-making: what we accept as evidence; and (3) communication patterns: how we communicate verbally and nonverbally. 1. Cognitive Styles The word cognitive means thought. So, â€Å"cognitive styles† refers to thought patterns.Studies of cognitive styles suggest that people fall into open-minded and closed-minded categories. The openminded person seeks out information before making a decision. They are more likely to see the â€Å"relatedness of issues. † They admit that they don’t have all of the answers, and they need to learn more before they can draw a conclusion. The closed-minded person has tunnel-vision—he or she sees only a narrow range of data and ignores the rest. They accept information only if it conforms to their established mindset. Another aspect of cognitive styles is how people process information. We divide such processing into associative and abstractive characteristics. A person who thinks associatively is filtering ew data through the screen of personal experience, such as in direct observation. New data can be understood only in terms of similar past experiences. This person’s mind is generally closed to all information that does not reflect established values. Individuals that display abstractive characteristics think very analytically, and concepts are abstracted quickly. Innovation often takes precedence over tradition. So you can see how understanding these differences will help you develop your speech. And a third cognitive process is how we actually link information in a chain to come to a conclusion or decision. Generally, there are two types of thinking: linear and systemic.Linear thinking means that we process information by creating an associative link, that is, we first begin with A, then go to B, then to C, and so on, until we have created a chain of reason in order to come to a conclusion. Individuals who process information systemically consider all of the information at one time, mulling it over. This type of person may holistically consider A, B, C, and D, at the same time in order to come to a conclusion. Each type of cognitive process requires a different style of organization and delivery of your speech. The trick is to know how If they think that you are a credible speaker, chances are you can influence their decision-making process. and when to use both styles, and that’s where audience analysis comes in. 2.Decision-making Members of different cultures arrive at decision-making in different ways. These ways can be described as faith, fact, and feeling. The person who acts on the basis of faith is using a belief system which can be a religion or political ideology. Presenting facts in your speech that do not reflect religious or political beliefs can be a waste of time. His or her faith operates independently from facts. People who believe in facts want to see evidence to support your position. They can be the most predictable to persuade. People tend to accept scientific evidence rather than question or reject it. And finally, people who believe in feelings are the most common throughout the world.These are the people who â€Å"go with their gut instincts. † If they think that you are a credible speaker, and they develop a â€Å"liking† for you, chances are you can influence their decision-making process. 3. Communication Patterns Verbal Communication Each culture has a system for communicating. Hall has indicated that these systems can fall into two categories: low-contextual communication and high-contextual communication. Cultures that express themselves in a high-context communication system emphasize how intention or meaning can best be conveyed through the context (e. g. , social roles or positions) and the nonverbal channels (e. g. , pa uses, silence, tone of voice) of the verbal message.The high-context system is also known as an indirect verbal style, or indirect communication, verbal statements tend to camouflage the speaker’s actual intentions and are carried out in a softer tone of voice. Rules for speaking and behavior are implicit in the context. What this means is that much of the communication is expressed through nonverbal behavior—a slight nod of the head, a simple hand gesture as acknowledgement, a brief smile. Compare this to a low context communication system, where exchange of facts and information is stressed. Information is given primarily in words and meaning is best expressed explicitly. The lowcontext system is also known as a direct verbal style, or direct communication, verbal statements tend to reveal the speaker’s intentions with clarity and are enunciated with a forthright tone of voice.Generally speaking, low-context communication (LCC) refers to communication patterns of direct verbal orientation: straight talk, nonverbal immediacy, and sender-oriented values (i. e. , the sender assumes the responsibility to communicate clearly). In the LCC system, the speaker is expected to be responsible for constructing a clear, persuasive message that the listener can decode easily. In comparison, high-context communication (HCC) refers to communication patterns of indirect verbal orientation: self-humbling talk, nonverbal subtleties, silence, and interpreter-sensitive values (i. e. , the receiver or interpreter of the message assumes the responsibility to infer the hidden or contextual meanings of the message).In the HCC system, the listener or interpreter of the message is expected to â€Å"read between the lines,† to accurately infer the implicit intent of the verbal message, and to decode the nonverbal subtleties that accompany the verbal message. Nonverbal Communication As the global village continues to shrink and cultures co-mingle, it is essen tial for public speakers to become more sensitive, more aware, and more observant to the nearly limitless numbers of motions, gestures, and body language that surround us every day. And as we cross over cultural borders, we should learn to respect, learn, and understand more about them. Nonverbal communication is a powerful form of human expression. It is everywhere.People all over the world use their hands, heads, and bodies to communicate expressively. Nonverbal messages are often the primary means of relating our emotions, our attitudes, and the nature of our relationships with oth- Eye contact is an important channel of communication. ers. Nonverbal messages can express what verbal messages cannot express and are assumed to be more truthful than verbal messages. Some major areas of nonverbal behaviors include: eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture and body orientation, proximity, paralinguistics, and humor. Eye contact is an important channel of communication. It si gnals interest in others and for some, eye contact with your audience increases the speaker’s credibility.You’ve heard the statement â€Å"Look at me when I’m speaking to you,† or you are taught in public speaking to make â€Å"eye contact† with your audience. This is another culturally dependent orientation. Among the Japanese, one way to show that you are listening is to close the eyes in contemplation and nod the head slightly, up and down. The Japanese are not ignoring the speaker nor are they taking a nap. It is one way to show concentration and attentiveness. The Japanese prefer indirect eye contact; they avoid direct or prolonged eye contact as mush as possible. Making eye contact with your audience is important, but knowing who to make that eye contact with is equally as important.Remember, some audience members expect you to look them directly into their eyes, while others may prefer indirect eye contact. What about something as simple as a hand gesture – say the â€Å"thumbs up† with a closed fist? In the U. S. it can mean support or approval, â€Å"O. K†. or â€Å"Good Job! † It is also used for â€Å"hitch-hiking† in the U. S. In France this same gesture means zero. In Japan it means money or coins. In Nigeria it is a rude gesture. In Australia, if pumped up and down, is an obscene gesture, and in Germany and Japan it is the signal for â€Å"one. † Here’s where you walk a fine line—if you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring, stiff, and unanimated.A somewhat lively and animated delivery may entertain your audience and demonstrate your confidence about your knowledge of the speech material. On the other hand, if you emphasize certain nonverbal gestures that one or more segments of your audience find offensive, you may wind up alienating them. We can make some general assumptions about Low-Contextual and High-Contextual cultures. The e xchange of facts and information is stressed with members of Low-Context cultures. Information is given primarily in words and meaning is expressed explicitly. There is a stress on task performance, and the communication style is considered to be unemotional and impersonal, with a high degree of objectivity.Low-Context individuals are also informal communicators, where dispensing with ceremony and rigid protocol is accepted, if not the norm. Reasoning is deductive; based on theory and logic. And members prefer analytical thinking, which breaks problems into small chunks. Direct eye contact is expected from both the speaker and audience. In High-Context cultures, shared experience makes certain things understood without them needed to be stated explicitly. Rules for speaking and behaving are implicit in the context, as is the preference for implicit communication. The communication style is emotive and personal, with a high degree of subjectivity and a stress on relationships. There is a high emphasis on protocol and social customs.Reasoning is based on experience and experimentation, with a preference for holistic thinking that is focused on the big picture and interrelationships between components. Indirect eye contact is expected from both speaker and audience. Remember that no two people behave in precisely the same way. Nor do people from the same culture perform exactly the same gestures and body language uniformly. For almost any nonverbal gesture there will probably be someone within a given culture who might say, â€Å"Well, some might attach that meaning to it, but to me it means†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and then they will provide a different interpretation. It is not only what you say in your speech that is important, but it’s how you say it that can make a difference to a multicultural audience.Gestures and body language communicate as effectively as words, and at times, even more so. Do we expect other cultures to adopt our customs or are we willing t o adopt theirs? We may not have time to study a language, but taking time to learn the nonverbal signals is a powerful communicator. We want to create a safe, inclusive environment for all audience members. Even though we have these cultural differences, people come together because they share similar interests. The success of your speech depends upon you, your research, and the quality and accura- †¦ you want to put your best work forward, and let your audience see your confidence and preparation shine through. cy of your information.Remember, communication always takes place between individuals, not cultures, but understanding cultural orientations will always help you become an effective speaker. Without nonverbal communication, our world would be static and colorless. Layer 5: â€Å"Topic Interest† and â€Å"Prior Knowledge† Analysis Finally, you want to query your audience for their interest in, and prior knowledge of, your topic. If the goal of your speech i s to deliver a unique and stirring presentation (and it should be), it would make perfect sense to know ahead of time if your audience: (1) is interested in what you have to say, and (2) has any prior knowledge regarding your topic.It stands to reason that you do not want to give a boring or trite speech. That much is clear. Instead, you want to put your best work forward, and let your audience see your confidence and preparation shine through. And, it also stands to reason that you don’t want to make a speech that your audience already knows a lot about. So, your job here is to â€Å"test† your topic by sampling your audience for their topic interest and topic knowledge. Defined, topic interest is the significance of the topic to a given audience; oftentimes related precisely to the uniqueness of a speaker’s topic. Likewise, topic knowledge is the general amount of information that the audience possesses on a given topic.These are not mere definitions listed fo r the sake of argument; these are essential analytical components of effective speech construction. Unlike multicultural audience analysis, evaluating your audience’s topic interest and topic knowledge is a fairly simple task. There are two ways to go about doing this: (1) through informal question and answer dialogue in class, or (2) more formally through an actual survey. Either way, it is best to have some information, rather than none at all. Imagine if you will, the laundry list of topics that people have heard over and over and over, ad nauseam. You can probably name some yourself, right now, without giving it much thought.If you started listing some topics to yourself, please realize that this is the point of this section of this module; your audience is literally thinking the same exact thing you are. Given that, topic preparation is strategically important to your overall speech success. Again, do not underestimate the power of asking your audience whether or not you r topic actually interests them. If you find that many people are not interested in your topic, or already know a lot about it, you have just saved yourself from a potentially mind-numbing exercise. After all, do you really want to give a speech where your audience could care less about your topic—or even worse— they know more about the topic than you do yourself? Not at all!The purpose of this section is to help you search for the highly sought-after public speaking concept called uniqueness, or when a topic rises to the level of being singularly exceptional in interest and knowledge to a given audience. We know that you wish to excel in giving your speech, and indeed you shall. But first, let’s make sure that your audience is â€Å"turned on† by your topic and hasn’t already heard the subject matter so much that they, themselves, could give the speech without much (if any) preparation. One final note: There’s an old adage in communication studies that reasons: â€Å"know what you know; know what you don’t know; and, know the difference between the two. In other words, don’t use puffery to blind your audience about your alleged knowledge on a particular subject. Remember, there is likely to be someone in your audience who knows as much about your topic, if not more, than you do. If you get caught trying to field an embarrassing question, you might just lose the most important thing you have as a speaker: your credibility. If you know the answer, respond accordingly. If you do not know the answer, respond accordingly. But, above all, try and be a resource for your audience. They expect you to be something of a de facto expert on the topic you choose to address. Conclusion Obviously, when thinking about what kind of topic you are going to select, it is compulsory for you to keep your audience in mind.Not doing so will put your speech at risk of not corresponding â€Å"Fail to plan, plan to fail. † with the information needs of your audience and further jeopardize your credibility as a speaker. In this module, we have covered (I) how to analyze an audience and (II) the five layers of audience analysis. In sum, this information equips you with the foundational knowledge and skill-set required to ensure that your topic complements your audience. And, after all, if we are not adapting to meet the needs of our audience, we are not going to be informative or convincing speakers. There’s a contemporary maxim that runs strong: â€Å"Fail to plan, plan to fail. We, your authors, believe that if you have failed to fully consider the nature, make-up, and characteristics of your audience, you are—for all intents and purposes—neglecting the spirit of the public speaking exercise. Confidently speaking to audiences can be somewhat addictive. The experience, when properly executed, can be empowering and help you succeed personally and professionally throughout your life . But, you must consider whom you are addressing first, and take their every requirement into account. We are linked to, joined with, if not bound by, our audiences. And, your main speaking ambition should be to seek identification with them, and for them to, likewise, seek identification with you. Works Consulted Bem, D. J. (1970).Beliefs, attitudes, and human affairs. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. Benjamin, B. (1969). Demographic analysis. New York: Praeger. Caernarven-Smith, P. (1983). Audience analysis & response (1st ed. ). Pembroke, MA: Firman Technical Publications. Clevenger, T. (1966). Audience analysis. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. Colburn, C. W. , & Weinberg, S. B. (1981). Listening and audience analysis (2nd ed. ). Chicago: Science Research Associates. Gibson, J. W. , & Hanna, M. S. (1976). Audience analysis: a programmed approach to receiver behavior. Englewood Cliffs, N. J. : Prentice-Hall. Hayes, A. (1994). The role of culture in demographic analysis: a preliminar y investigation.Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Social Sciences. Jastrow, J. (1918). The psychology of conviction; a study of beliefs and attitudes. Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin. Jaszczolt, K. (2000). The pragmatics of propositional attitude reports. Oxford; New York: Elsevier. McQuail, D. (1997). Audience analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Nelson, N. , & De Saulles, T. (1993). Signs and symbols. New York: Thomson Learning. Pressat, R. (1972). Demographic analysis; methods, results, applications. Chicago: Aldine-Atherton. Rokeach, M. (1968). Beliefs, attitudes, and values; a theory of organization and change (1st ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Ting-Toomey. S & Chung, L. C. (2005). Understanding intercultural communication. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing. Tucker, K. T. ; Weaver, II, R. L. ; Berryman-Fink, C. (1981). Research in speech communication. Englewood Cliffs, N. J. : Prentice-Hall. Youga, J. M. (1989). The elements of audien ce analysis. New York: Macmillan. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3. 0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3. 0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

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