Adaption

2) Discuss the importance of audience analysis and audience adaptation in the speech development process.  Also discuss how you plan on using audience analysis in your speech.  

Chapter 5 highlights the importance of learning about/ adapting to one's audience. Adapt to the setting, adapt to the occasion, adapt to the time, and adapt to the demographic. From the text's perspective, audience adaptation is one of the single most crucial aspects of pre-planning one's speech. It gave helpful hints like, "Refer to your audience during the speech" or "Use language that appeals to all members of the audience." It stressed the impact of diversity in an audience and explained how to apply adaptation techniques in order to have a wider appeal. 

I understand the importance of appealing to one's audience, but I don't think I'd take it as far as the text recommends. If the point is important and the message is meaningful, then you shouldn't be forced to compromise your speech in order to be more liked. And, though this is just my opinion, I feel as though boldness and risk in a speech is going to leave a more lasting impact on the audience (sometimes negative, sometimes positive). Of course this little aside is due in part to the season - election season. I couldn't help but think about today's politicians and how they approach "audience appeal." Reading this text, I felt like I had the insider's guidebook for political correctness and risk-evasion. 

A diverse audience can be an advantage, but if you're trying to appeal to everyone then you're eventually going to find yourself so tied up in restrictions that the speech (and in the case of politics, you're integrity) becomes compromised. I like a little edge to my speeches, but also a sense of duty to the audience. I think credibility is inherent when you use facts and that you don't gain credibility by feeding people what they want to hear. Appealing to your audience is great! But don't distract your audience with p.c. circle-jerking... Mitt.

-I.F.K