| A | B |
|---|
| situational characteristics | factors in a specific speech setting that a speaker can observe or discover before giving the speech |
| audience size | the number of people who will be present for a speech |
| presentation time | the length of time a speaker has to deliver his or her speech |
| body clock (chronemics) | the time of day or day of the week when an audience will be listening to a presentation |
| location (forum) | the setting where a speaker delivers, and an audience listens to, a speech |
| stationary | an audience that will be relatively motionless while listening to a speech |
| mobile | an audience that is not bound to sit or stand for the duration of a speech. Mobile audiences might be found at an exhibitor’s booth or on a city sidewalk |
| demographics | audience members’ characteristics |
| age | a demographic consideration that affects an audience’s response to and understanding of a speaker’s message |
| gender composition | a demographic characteristic that considers how many men versus how many women will be in an audience |
| gender stereotype | an oversimplified, often distorted view of what it means to be male or female |
| sexist language | language with a bias for or against a given gender |
| sexual orientation | demographic characteristic that considers whether audience members may be straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered |
| race | common heritage based on genetically shared physical characteristics of people in a group |
| ethnicity | cultural background that is usually associated with shared religion, national origin, and language |
| religious orientation | a person’s set of religious beliefs that can shape his or her response to a speech |
| educational (and informational) background | an audience’s level of formal schooling or life experience that determines what they’re likely to know and not know |
| political affiliation | a person’s political beliefs and positions |
| common ground | beliefs, values, and experiences a speaker shares with an audience |
| prior exposure | the extent to which an audience has already heard a speaker’s message |
| disposition | an audience’s likely attitude toward a subject |
| hostile audience | a type of audience that opposes a speaker’s message |
| sympathetic audience | a type of audience that is already inclined to believe a speaker’s message |
| neutral audience | a type of audience that has neither negative nor positive opinions about a speaker or message |
| survey | series of written questions a speaker asks others to answer in advance of the speaker’s presentation |
| fixed-response questions | survey questions that give a respondent a set of specific answers to choose from |
| scaled questions | survey questions that measure a respondent’s feelings on an issue by offering a range of fixed responses |
| open-ended questions | survey questions that invite respondents to give answers of their own choosing, rather than offering them a limited set of responses |
| interview | a means of gathering information |
| situational audience | analysis quick audience analysis just before or during a speech |
