Get to Know Your Audience by Asking Questions

Every book on public speaking mentions it. Every trainer and coach in public speaking will tell you. As a speaker, regardless of your topic, you need to get to know your audience. And we do that by asking questions. It is one of the major keys to speaking success.

However, often for a variety of reasons, we don’t or won’t ask the questions we should be asking. It could be because our speaking engagement is still weeks or months away, and we feel we have lots of time. Perhaps, we are up to our elbows in issues at work. Or, perhaps we are convinced we have all the information we need, so asking any questions of the event planner or the participants who’ll be attending, is not necessary.

As speakers, to give our best, we must know what the people, sitting and listening to us, need and are looking for. Do they need motivating? Or persuading to accept a new course of action? Or instruction in new programs or procedures? It’s when we get the answers to the questions we ask, that we are able to truly determine the needs, direction and message for our audience.

When you are the speaker and need to ask questions about a presentation or workshop you are scheduled to give, ask the person who has hired you: the organizer or event planner. You can also ask participants who have registered. If at work, ask the people you’ll be speaking to: staff, management, teams, or clients. What they are expecting to take away from your presentation?

If you don’t have or can’t think of what questions to ask the person (or people) who hired you, think about asking some of the questions listed below. (in no particular order)

1.  What does the person who hired you  expect you to achieve in your presentation?
2.  Why this topic now, at this time?
3.  Why is the audience here? (at this meeting, forum, event)
4.  Has this topic (or something similar) been presented previously?
5.  Why were you hired to speak to this particular group and not someone else?
6.  Who will be attending this workshop?
7.  Any current work challenges that might interfere with your presentation?
8.  How will the audience be seated? (Round tables? Theatre style? Board room? Etc.)
9.   How many people are in your audience?
10. How long do you have to speak? (including any Question & Answer session)
11. Is attending your presentation voluntary or mandatory?
12. What outcome is the person who hired you hoping you will achieve?
13. What kind of a room will you be speaking in?
14. What are the expectations of people attending? (What are they looking for?)
15. Is there anything you need to know (as the presenter) that could interrupt or interfere with your presentation?
16. Who are the people in your audience?
17. As the presenter what is your purpose in speaking to this group?
18. What does the audience already know about the topic you are presenting?
19. Will you be introduced by someone, or will you be introducing yourself?
20. What do you want your audience to think or feel or do when you are finished your presentation?
21. If there is a preceding speaker, and that speaker goes overtime, will you be able to use your scheduled time?
22. Why should your audience listen to you?
23. Will the audience be asked to fill out feedback forms, and will you have access to those?
24. What is the one thing beyond all others that the organizer wants you to leave with the audience.
25. What steps do you want your audience to take when you are finished?

Get to know your audience by asking questions. And keep in mind that asking the organizers similar questions such as … what they’re hoping you’ll achieve, and the outcome they are looking for and, what they want the audience to take away … might give you different answers. And, what the organizer is looking for might be different from what the people who’ll be attending your presentation are looking for.

As a speaker, a presenter, get to know your audience by asking questions. The more information you have, the greater your speaking success.