What must student speakers keep in mind when preparing for classroom speeches?

Purposive Communication 2Audience Analysis1Course ModuleWeek007 - Audience AnalysisWelcome to Week 7! We have learned how essential it is to alwaysconsider the audience in every step of the speech making process. If younoticed, we had to keep our listeners’ in mind even when brainstormingfor topics because it is important that what we will talk about isappropriate and interesting to them. In this chapter, we will study how wecan understand our audience better by analyzing them.At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:1.Explain how important audience analysis is.2.Create a questionnaire for audience analysis.3.Adapt audience analysis to speech.Audience CenterednessGood public speakers know that a speech is an opportunity to educate,inform or to convince the audience in order to get a desired response(Lucas, 2009).Being audience centered does not mean compromising to get the responsethat we want. Instead, it is about being true to oneself and remainingethical–and more importantly, tailor fitting our message to the needs ofour audience (Lucas, 2009).To be an effective public speaker, we must also build a rapport orrelationship with our listeners. We need to get to know them in order tocreate a relationship (de Caro, Adams, Jeffries, 2011).Psychology of the AudienceThere are two types of people in the audience: those who listen keenly towhat the speaker says, and to those whose minds wander as soon as thespeech starts. Each member of the audience has a different reason forattending the speech. They can start off as a listener and eventuallybecome a wanderer, or vice versa. The point is, since we may not knowthem personally and we do not know why they are there, we need to beable to make them listen to us (Lucas, 2009).

For those whose minds wander, we need to be able to say something thatwill catch their attention. And if we do get it, we need to be able to retain itthroughout the rest of the message.For those who do listen, we also needto be able to communicate to them as well as possible. As we learned inweek 1, there is such a thing as the audience’s frame of reference, whichallows them to interpret our message based on their own background orexperiences (Lucas, 2009). So what we say as a speaker may not be thesame message the listener gets.How then do we address this concern? Weneed to let our audience hear what they want to hear (Lucas, 2009).Audience AnalysisDemographic Audience AnalysisAs we begin creating the speech, we must make ourselves aware of thefactors and elements that comprise the audience (de Caro, et. al., 2011).Studying the audience is called audience analysis. It means taking intoconsideration pertinent elements that “define the make-up anddemographic characteristics” (de Caro, et. al., 2011, p. 2). Below are someexamples of demographics we need to consider:AgeGenderRace, Ethnic, Cultural BackgroundReligionGroup MembershipSince these categories often organize individual’s identities andexperiences, a wise speaker attends to them. Politicians usually pay a great

by Susan Verner 116,042 views

Bringing a guest speaker into your class is an opportunity you should seek out. Your students will be exposed to a different style of spoken English, and they might also learn content that will benefit their educations. Just bringing a guest in and letting him or her speak, however, is not always enough.

Here are some tips to make sure your students are getting the full benefit of the guest speaker experience.

How To Get The Most From Your Guest Speaker

1. 1

   Prepare Your Students on the Topic

   All students will benefit from some preparation as to the subject matter your guest will discuss. However, the level to which you should prepare your students will vary greatly depending on the language level of your class. For more advanced students, a brief introduction to the topic will be enough. You will want to challenge their listening skills and test their comprehension, so minimal information as to what they will hear from the speaker is best. For beginning level students, you should be intentional about giving them most of the information ahead of time. If your students are unable to understand the speaker, their natural response will be to disengage and stop paying attention. To prevent this, give them the information that they will hear before the speaker comes to class. Then when the guest speaker presents the information again, your students can focus more on understanding how the speaker is presenting the information rather than the content itself.

2. 2

   Prepare Your Students on the Speaker

   It is also a good idea to give your students some advanced information about who will be speaking to them. Is he an expert on the subject? What makes him an expert? What is his speaking style, or does he have an accent? What challenges might they have listening to this speaker? How is his speech different from what they are accustomed to hearing? The more you can prepare your students on what they will hear and experience, the less anxiety they will suffer. Not only that, they will be on guard for specific struggles and this will decrease their stress when they encounter them. Encourage your students to do their best to understand your guest speaker and to let it go when they do not.

3. 3

   Prepare Your Students on Behavior

   If you are like most ESL teachers, you encourage your students at every turn to speak and use their language in the classroom, but the behavior you encourage on a daily basis may not be ideal for a guest speaker. Communicate with your students ahead of time what behavior is expected when listening to a guest speaker. They should listen quietly to the guest speaker. They can ask questions, but it is most polite to wait until the end of the presentation to do so. They should make eye contact with the speaker, and it is appropriate to take notes while the presenter is speaking. Once your students understand this, they will be ready to listen to a guest speaker attentively and respectfully.

4. 4

   Prepare the Speaker on Language Level

   Not all speakers are familiar with speakers of English as a second language. In fact, it will probably benefit your class more if your guest speaker is not an ESL teacher. With this in mind, it is not a bad idea to prepare her as to the language level of your students before she comes to class to speak. Again, for more advanced students this may not be as crucial, but for beginning level students, you may want to prepare your guest for your students’ level of vocabulary, what verb tenses they have studied, and what constitutes slang or lingo. Doing this will help your speaker present fewer grammatical and linguistic challenges to your students and perhaps give both her and your class a better overall experience.

5. 5

   Have Your Students Prepare Questions

   Thinking of questions for a guest speaker can be very challenging to most ESL students, especially if you ask them to do it on the spot. Therefore, it is beneficial to have your students write some follow-up questions for your speaker before the day he is scheduled to come to class. After presenting your students with information about the speaker and the topic which he will discuss, have each student write three to five follow up questions for your guest. They can be questions that ask for additional information on the topic or questions that look for clarification about something else. Make sure your students bring the questions on the day the speaker comes to class. You can also encourage your students to write questions they may have as the presenter speaks to the class. Then, when he is finished, encourage them to ask the questions they wrote earlier in the week as well as the ones they wrote down as he was speaking. By doing this, your students will not be dumbstruck trying to think of questions immediately after the presentation.

6. 6

   Engage Your Students

   This may be understood, but the more your speaker can engage your students the better. They may choose to do this with responsive questions during the presentation, visual aids, humor or other means. Encourage your speaker to engage your students as she speaks, and select those guest speakers who you think will be able to do this for your class. The lower the language level of your class the more important this engagement is. To help your speaker, make sure you have everything she will need for the presentation including a projector or television if necessary. Make sure you talk with your speaker ahead of time to see what she will need so you are not scrambling when she shows up at your classroom door.

7. 7

   Debrief Your Students

   Debriefing is important both for making sure your students understood today’s presentation as well as preparing them for future presentations. After your speaker has left and your class has asked their questions, ask your students how they felt about the experience. Did they enjoy the guest speaker? What was the most enjoyable part for them? What was most challenging? Did they understand what the speaker said? Did they notice the differences in language and style that he used? The more you talk with your class about the experience, the more benefit they will get. Individual students will be encouraged to know that everyone in the class had struggles understanding the speaker and that none understood everything that he presented to the class.

8. 8

   Develop Ongoing Relationships

   If you can, your class may benefit by developing an ongoing relationship with your speaker or speakers. If you can and they are able, invite the same speaker to come to your class on multiple occasions. Your students may feel more relaxed if they already have experience with a given speaker, and they may be more willing to ask her questions or clarify points while she speaks. Repeated visits will also help your students see their language improvement as understanding your guest becomes easier over time. Not everyone is able to take time away from their lives to come to your class on multiple occasions, so do not let that stop you from inviting guest speakers. Just keep in mind that if someone who has spoken to your class is willing to return and speak again, you should take advantage of it.

9. 9

   Tie Your Speakers Into Class Topics

   Likewise, the more your speakers tie into the topics you are covering in your class, the better. If your students already have experience with a subject and its vocabulary, they will have higher levels of comprehension and a greater level of comfort as they listen. With this in mind, if you are doing a unit on sports, think about anyone you may know that can come and speak to your class about sports. If you are doing a unit on food with your students, ask a chef, restaurant worker or home chef to come and speak to your class. Make the most of any connections you can between your curriculum and your guest speaker to benefit your students.

10. q

    Who to Invite

    Before you even invite a guest speaker, think about what kind of speaker from whom your students would most benefit. Try to bring in speakers of different ages with different ethnic and geographical backgrounds. It is also helpful if the speaker is not a teacher of English since his or her speech patterns will be more realistic even if more challenging for your students.

With these in mind, the next time you bring a guest speaker into class, do not let the experience end when he walks out the door.

Working with your students before he comes and then again after he leaves can make a good experience for your students even better.

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