Course Descriptions

DCOM 612 is a 5 ECTS course designed for second year Development

Communication and Media Studies students. The course has 4 units with
different sub topics units, which contain tasks on advanced writing
professional speaking; it captures the essence of speech writing and
speaking. This Course helps you to know what the course is all about,
and the materials you will need and how to work your way through
these materials. It provides guidelines on time you are likely to spend
on each unit. It also helps you to check your progress in the course by
asking you to write recaps relating to your field of specialization.

Course Objectives

This course is planned to meet the following objectives. It is expected that

by the time you have completed this course, you should be able to:

 define speech and writing;

 identify features of a good speech and qualities of a good
speech writer;
 explain how to plan a speech and writing;
 explain how to source for materials for the speech and use
different reasoning patterns;
 discuss how to use language to achieve objectives of speech
 analysis; and
 compose and deliver speeches for different occasions
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Working through this Course

To complete this course, you are encouraged to make tireless independent reading.
You are not advised to take everything from the instructor of this course. This
instructor is rather a facilitator of your learning. Much of the responsibilities rest on
your shoulder as the intention of this course is “Learning by doing.” Unless you make
practices, you cannot effectively develop your writing and speaking competencies,
which are the basic macro competencies media and communication. If you fail to
practice, you will also fail in practically operating tin the media and communication
activities. Throughout this course, you are also motivated to make self- check to
recognize your success in the course.

Pillars of this Course

The major pillars of this course include:

1. Study Units
2. Textbooks
3. Case Files to be produced by you and analysis of cases by others
4. Presentations of different modalities

Study Units

The study units of this course are structured as follows.

Unit One: Basics of Communication

1.1 Language and Speech
1.2 Communication
1.3 Types and Purposes of Communication
1.4 1.4 Types of Speech
1.5 Audience Analysis
Unit Two: Writing Activities
2.1 Writing Stages
2.2 Sourcing for Writing
2.3 Internet and Speech Writing

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2.4 Logical Issues in Speech Writing
2.5 Introduction of Writing
2.6 Other Parts of Writing
Unit Three: Language and Styles in Speech Writing
3.1 Word Writing
3.2 Paragraph Writing
3.2 Sentence Writing
3.4 Tense, Aspect, and Concord
3.5 Concision in Speech Writing
3.6 Fine- Tuning Speech Writing
Unit Four: Analysis of Selected Speeches
4.1 Techniques of Speech Analysis
4.2 George Washington’s Speech
4.3 Thomas Jefferson’s speech
4.4 Bill Clinton’s Speech
4.5 Musa Yar’Adua’s Speech
4.6 Goodluck Jonathan’s Speech

In sum, the first unit, which deals with Basics of Communication, introduces you to
writing and communication. This unit discusses steps involved in speech writing and
strategies to write quality speeches. The second unit discusses writing activities touching
on different important points to produce effective speech. The third unit illustrates the
language styles in speech writing. This unit gives attention to the necessity formal
language in writing speeches for different formal occasions. Finally, the course is
wound- up through the analysis of the speeches of some renowned speakers (3 former
American presidents, and three from Africa- Nigerian former presidents). You will also
be given tasks to glean some famous speeches of leaders and present to your instructor.

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Assessment of the Course
Your progress in this course is continuously assessed to help you seek
ways to manage the challenges you may face.

No Assessment Value in % Remarks

1 Two individual tasks
2 Two group tasks
3 Mid examination
4 Final examination
20 Write and reflect—10%
Write and submit--- 10%
20 Survey & write------ 10%
Interview and report---10%
20 Paper- pencil writing task
40 Paper- pencil writing task

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Course Schedule

Unit Title of work Week Assignment

One Basics of Communication

1.1 Language and Speech 1 Explore Ethiopian languages
1.2 Communication 2 Exploring the genesis of communication
1.3 Types and Purpose of Communication 3 Assess indigenous communication media
1.4 Types of Speech 4 Explore indigenous speech types
1.5 Audience Analysis 4 Describing behaviors of audience
Two Writing Activities
2.1 Writing Stages 5 Describing writing stages in foreign languages
2.2 Sourcing for Information 6 Identifying sources for writing
2.3 The Internet and Speech Writing 7 Identifying reliable & unreliable sources
2.4 Logical Issues in Speech writing 7 Setting standards for speech writing
2.5 Introduction 8 Analyzing i9ntroductions of speeches
2.6 Other Parts of the Speech 8 Assessing other parts of speech documents
Language and Styles in Speech Writing
Three
3.1 Sentence writing 9 Analyzing and writing sentences
3.2 Paragraph writing 9 Analyzing and writing paragraphs
3.3 The Internet and Speech Writing 10 Analyzing technology and speech delivery
3.4 Logical Issues in Speech writing 10 Assessing logics in writing
3.5 Fine-tuning the speech 11 Revising speeches
Four Analysis of Selected Speeches
4.1 Techniques of Speech Analysis 12

4. 2 Analysis of George Washington’s 12

Speech
4.3 Analysis of Thomas Jefferson’s 13
speech Extracting famous speeches from different
4.4 Analysis of Bill Clinton’s Speech 13 sources, and presenting them
4.5 Analysis of Musa Yar’Adua’s 14
Speech
4.6 Analysis of Goodluck Jonathan’s 14
Speech
Wrap- up 15
Examination 16
Total 16

In summary, this Course gives you an opportunity to make practices in writing and speaking so
that you enhance your productive competencies of communication to apply at your work setting.
It is true that you cannot help yourself grow unless you think naively and act accordingly. The
course teaches you the techniques of writing a good speech and trains you on practical steps of
becoming a good speech writer.

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Contents
Unit 1: Basics of Communication
1.1 Language and Speech
1.2 Communication
1.3 Types and Purpose of Communication
1.4 Types of Speech
1.5 Audience Analysis
Unit 2: Writing Activities
2.1 Writing Stages
2.2 Sourcing for Information
2.3 The Internet and Speech Writing
2.4 Logical Issues in Speech Writing
2.5 Introduction
2.6 Other Parts of the Speech
Unit 3: Language and Styles in Speech Writing
3.1 Word Formation
3.2 Sentence Writing
3.3 Paragraph Writing
3.3 Tense, Aspect, and Concord
3.4 Concision in Speech Writing
3.5 Fine-Tuning the Speech
Unit 4: Review of Selected Speeches
4,1Techniques of Speech Analysis
4.2 Review of George Washington’s Speech
4.2 Review of Thomas Jefferson’s Speech
4.3 Review of Bill Clinton’s Speech
4.4 Review of Musa Yar’Adua’s Speech
4.5 Review of Goodluck Jonathan’s Speech

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 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

UNIT 1: BASICS OF COMMUNICATION

1.1 Language and Speech

1.2 Communication
1.3 Types and Purpose of Communication
1.4 Types of Speech
1.5 Audience Analysis
1.6 Logical Issues in Speech Writing

1.1 Language and Speech

Introduction
This unit is dedicated to explain the interdependence and differences among language, speech and
communication, and their inseparable nature for quality communication. It is thus very critical to
devote your time and energy to be capable in managing communication and transmit information
effectively.
Objectives the Unit

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

 define language;
 highlight the functions of language;
 define speech;
 define communication;
 identify indigenous communication media;
 identify the features of a good speech;
 identify the qualities of a good speech writer; and
 assess your level of competency in the context of the unit.

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 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

Language
Brainstorming Team Task (15 minutes)
1. Why are we worried about language?
2. Can we change our definition about language? If so, when is it?
3. Ask as many as possible questions about language, and present to your instructor in
writing.
4. How do you relate it, in creative sense, with writing and speaking?
5. Can language be a cause for the globalism or singularity?

Why do we study it? What is it for? What is language? Is it nature or nurtured? The way we
answer can be influenced by the philosophy we are with, and we nurture. We can also ask if it
is given or learnt. This again shows who we are in terms of our thinking about realities. It is
also like asking “Is the reality we are with created, or given, or both, or unknown?” Answers
to these questions also show the depth of our thinking and the philosophical competency we
are endowed with or we nurture.
It can be concluded that both nature and nurture play an important role in the development of
language acquisition. This is because we need our genes and brain to build a language
acquisition device (LAD), and then, after we have the ability to learn a language, our
acquired environment acts on our language system.

Language can be given meanings as follows.

 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

You have to decide whether we have to keep asking questions, which do not have answers or
you ask questions, which may open new eyes for you. We should not repeat what others have
already asked aimlessly, and gaining no new results. What we have to ask may be aligned
with the existing reality, or it may go beyond the existing reality serving as a beginning of
new reality learning. If we do so, we are adding new wisdoms to what we have and grow with
others.
Many may believe that language bestow on us individualistic feelings and thinking by
understanding it in a narrow way. Do you share this idea? Do you agree in instantly deciding
that something is wrong or right? Why is that?

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 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

These and others could be what may ask about the possible understanding of people about the
creation and advancement of language. You may also ask the conscious and/ or the sub
conscious ways of learning target languages. Read language acquisition theories and have as
many points as possible to help yourself develop your independent creativity.

Speech
Brainstorming Individual Task (15 min.)
1. How do you hypothesize the relationship between language and speech? Write as
many as possible of them. Have you ever asked these questions earlier? Now, do you
feel you are ‘new’ to the questions you are asking?
2. Which one do you think emerged first from the two? Why is it so?
3. Do you deliver effective speech? Speak to yourself for one minute and tell your
instructor what you have said.
4. What does dictate speech in your understanding?

Speech is how we say sounds and words. Speech includes articulation, voice, fluency, and
intonation. Articulation is how make speech sounds using mouth, lips, palate, velar, and
tongue. For instance, we have to be able to say “divine” all of the sounds according to the
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norm of the language users of the context if we have to be heard properly and communicate
our message. If this is not the case, we simply say without transferring effective message.
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

From this we can say that speech can be classified as audible and inaudible. Thus, it is a must
to make audible speech to be understood by others and convey our message.

Voice refers to how we use our local folds and breathe to produce sounds. Our voice can be
irritating or soft, high or low- pitched. Voice can be slightly or unsightly depending on how
we say it. We can affect our voice by talking too much, yelling, or coughing a lot.

What we can understand from this picture is that a speech competency can grow as we grow in
age. From this we may say a speech grows in a certain context getting ‘color’ from the same.
Our speech modality can be shaped by where we were born and grow. Thus, like what we
have discussed with language, a speech can be the result of nature and nurture. Here again,
there could be debates among people depending on their thinking and philosophical brands.

Some people say, “I am not meant to speak; rather I am meant to listen only?” This idea is
refuted by people who are expressing their ideas assertively, but the same is approved by those
who shy away from speaking due to their limited exposure to speaking practices and cultural
inhibitions. These people strongly underline the Amharic Saying: “Zim bale afi zinb
aygebam.” Which means “If you do not open your mouth, a fly cannot enter into your
mouth?” This saying discourages people to talk, and claim their needs and or rights.

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Intelligibility a critical factors in our speech and achieve what we need. If people do not
understand what we speak about, they may not grant us with what we need and serve us. Like
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

language, speech intell8igibility and competency grows as age and thinking increase. Let us
see this from a picture taken from www. Google. Intelligible speech.

Fluency is the rhythm of our speech. We sometimes repeat sounds or pause while talking.
People who do this a lot may stutter. Similarly, we cannot generate ideas from people, who
stutter or speak in unclear manner. This is an obstacle to make meaning out of what we listen
to.

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Intonation competence is also crucial for comprehensible speech. It can attract or repel
listeners. This again depends on the mannerism that emanates from the values created by the
native language users. Intonation is the melodic pattern of an utterance. It conveys
differences in meaning (e.g., surprise, anger, question, or delight). It is a variation in
the pitch of the voice. In languages as English, it is often accompanied by stress and rhythm
to produce meaning. (Tone is also a form of pitch modulation, but the term describes the use
of pitch to differentiate meaning and mood of the speaker.

Intonation distinguishes one type of sentence from another in many languages including
English. The different intonations a person can use to say, “The cup of water is over there”
demonstrate this grammatical function: when a person begins with a medium pitch and ends
with a lower one (falling intonation), this sentence is a simple assertion, but when a person
uses a rising intonation (high final pitch), it is a question.

Language versus Speech

Language and speech are two different communicating tools. Language is the tool by which
we write, understand, and speech is the tool of communication which is used to verbally
communicate with others.

Language is the communication of feelings and thoughts through a system of particular

signals, like sounds, voice, written symbols, and gestures. It is considered to be a very

specialized capacity of humans where they use complex systems for communication. The

study of languages is called linguistics.

There are many languages spoken today by humans. Languages have some rules, and they are

compiled and used according to those rules for communication. Languages can be not only

written, but sometimes some languages are based on signs only. These are called sign

languages. In other cases, some particular codes are used for computers, etc. which are

called computer languages or programming.

Language has four different rules which are shared socially. First, what a word means, the
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meaning of the words which is called vocabulary; second, how to make up new words; third,
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

how to put the words together in a sequence and, finally, how to use the sentence in a

particular situation. Does it need to be a statement, or does it need to be interrogative?

Language can be either receptive, meaning, understanding of a language, and expressive

language, which means the usage of the language either orally or in writing. If we simplify

everything, language expresses an idea communicated in the message.

Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we
want. Language includes:

 What words mean. Some words like “star” can have more than one meaning. “Star”
can be a bright object in the sky or someone famous.
 How to make derivatives of a word. For example, we can say “friend,” “friendly” or
“unfriendly” and mean something different.
 How to chain words meaningfully together. For example, we say, “He ran to the room
upstairs” instead of “He run to the room upstairs.”
 What we may say at different times. For example, we can be polite and say, “Would
you mind leaving the place?” But, if the person does not leave, we may say, “Get out
of my sight!”

Self -Assessment Task (10 minutes)

1. What can you deduce from the four points discussed about language above?
2. What will happen if the user of the language does not abide what have been
mentioned?
3. How do you apply these to your native language? Do you use in the same way
or different ways? If you say that you use in different ways, why does that
happen?

We can have trouble with speech, language, or both. Having trouble understanding
what others say is a receptive language disorder. Having problems
8 sharing our
thoughts, ideas, and feelings is an expressive language disorder. It is possible to have
both a receptive and an expressive language problem.
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

 When we have trouble saying sounds, stutter when we speak, or have voice problems,
we have a speech problem.
 Thomas has a speech problem that makes him hard to understand. So does Stone. The
reason James has trouble is different from the reason Climb does.
 Pretty has a receptive and expressive language problems. She does not understand
what words mean and has trouble using words to talk to others.
 Sweet also has a language problem. She has problems of understanding others and
using words well because of her learning disability.

Self- Assessment Task (10 minutes)

1. Do people with some of the above problems work with you or do you have friends
with these types of problems?
2. How do you manage to deal with them?
3. What do you feel if you cannot make meanings from what people say to you?

One major characteristic that distinguishes humans from other creatures is

language; it is unique to humans. Language, an arbitrary and conventional system
of communication using vocal symbols plays important roles in the existence of
humans. It exists primarily in the spoken form; all languages of the world exist in
this form. It also exists in a secondary form – written. Not all languages exist in
this form. However, the languages that are yet to be reduced to writing are in no
way inferior to those that are in written form. As long as a language satisfies the
communicative needs of its users, it is an authentic language and deserves to be
treated as such.

In a nutshell, language is the communication of feelings and thoughts through a system of

particular signals like sounds, voice, written symbols, and gestures. However, speech is the
act of expressing or the faculty of describing feelings and thoughts or perceptions by words,
something spoken or vocal communication. Languages could be human languages, sign
languages, or computer languages which use codes while speech is a physical process used to
articulate language. Languages express the idea that needs to be communicated while speech
is the process which shows how the message needs to be communicated. 9

Self- Assessment Task (10 minutes)

 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

1. Record what you have gained from language and speech, and share with your
partner in class.
2. What new insight have you gained from the discussion of language and speech?
1.2 Communication

Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fkyrodigital.com%2Feffective-communication

Communication is all about transmitting the needed information to achieve one’s intention in
a meaningful way. Effective communication lubricates relationship between the sender and
the receiver. It can also be defined as a platform where people transact with each other on
win- win basis.

Language and communication are different from each other yet one needs the other and at the
same time exists separately. The Collins Dictionary defines language as a communication
system made up of a group of written and sound symbols that people of a region or country
use for writing or talking. On the other hand, sending as well as receiving messages, either by
verbal or non-verbal methods, equates to communication.

In communication, people exchange information or messages through various means. It could

be verbally, non-verbal actions, graphical and written representations like maps, charts,
drawings or info-graphics, or through signals and signs. Language, on the other hand, plays
an essential role in the communication process. People around the world use a specific
language to communicate, exhibiting the fact that language and communication are
intertwined, which is a reason why some people fail to see the difference between the two.

Creatures living on earth developed their own way of imparting their thoughts and emotions
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to other creatures. However, only human beings enjoy the ability to utilize language and
words to provide particular meanings. This is what separates humans from animals.
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

For communication to happen there should be someone to send and another person to receive
a particular message. The sender, as well as the receiver, has to interpret the message to
extract its meaning. Messages are conveyed back and forth through feedback. Feedback can
be through words or through non-verbal actions like various gestures, sighing, looking away
or nodding.
Other factors are considered when communicating. The sender or the receiver of the message
has to consider the message’s context, where the message is given and the possible
intervention when the message is sent or received.
Situations are different if a person can see or hear the sender of the message because the
receiver can immediately hear the response or see the reactions to the message through
emotions, emphasis or tone of voice of the sender.

In written communication, consideration is given on how the specific characteristics of the

text interact with the cognitive facility of the reader to receive the information
comprehensively and coherently. Likewise, the interaction of the language with a person’s
motivation and emotional makeup to persuade or move the reader should be looked into.

Communication is a complex process and involves several variables like situations, different
genre, medium and method of delivery. Language, on the other hand, is affected by personal,
cultural, institution and organizational aims.
For linguists, it is essential to know how the use of language is affected by social context and
how culturally diverse people communicate.

Individual Home- Take Task (Two Days)

1. Go to the library and read how some Ethiopian language groups communicate with people
they know very well, and the people they do not know, and then present to the class. You
may take some 4 languages to do this task.
2. What has surprised you in your survey of the languages?

1.3 Types and Purpose of Communication

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Communication can be verbal, non- verbal, visual, and written. These are utilized as
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

appropriate. To communicate we cannot impose message receivers; we have to use the

accessible media and meaningful model, which is palatable to the receivers according to a
given norm.

A. Verbal Communication: is the communication that relies on the right use words to speak,
pitch, tone of voice, pauses, speed, and structure logic, flow and word choice. Great verbal
communicators do more than get the message across: they inspire and move others. You
can, too, with practice. It is effective when a message is sent and received through words
clearly. But great communication goes further. It helps employees understand what they
should do and why they should care about doing it well. In an ideal environment,
employees communicate well, frequently, efficiently, honestly and with respect. It’s a good
sign when people speak openly and ask questions because it improves empathy, reduces
risks due to miscommunication and helps healthy relationships bloom.

Organizations that invest in effective verbal communication skills can improve individual
skills and uplift the organization. This promotes cohesion, improves standards and can excite
people about learning a new skill.

B. Non-Verbal Communication: Some studies suggest that between 70% and 80% of
communication is non-verbal. Non-verbal communication includes tone and pitch, posture
and body language, eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures and even physical
distance. Non-verbal communication reinforces the words, provides feedback to others and
defines relationships more clearly.

The purpose of non- verbal communication is to augment the verbal communication and
achieve clarity in the messages transferred. Skills to interpret non-verbal communication are
needed to make communication effective. People, who understand non-verbal
communication show empathy, relate with others, engage effectively and interact
meaningfully. Helping your employees understand non-verbal communication can increase
trust, clarity and rapport. But when signals are ignored, it can create tension, mistrust and
confusion.
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C. Visual Communication: A picture is worth a thousand words because every image evokes
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

connotations and deeper meaning. Emojis, for example, can mean completely different things
to different people. Whether you’re using imagery in a presentation, sharing a photograph,
recording or sharing a video, it might mean far more than you think. So, use imagery with
care.

There is no such thing as a perfect speech. However, there are ways to make a presentation
that is closer to perfection. What are they? Simple: Visual aids. Visual aids can bring life
back into a tedious speech, and they take less time to come up with than long notes.

Using the right types of visuals can help you create a perfect picture of what you want your
audience to see in your presentations. Instead of struggling to condense a lot of information
into a long text, you can present your information in one straightforward image or video and
save yourself the stress. Visualize to your audience to make a better meaning from your
presentation.

The following are some of the visual aids that make presentations clear and more meaningful.

Videos: Videos emerged as the clear winner in all our surveys. We ran these surveys on all
our social handles and reached out to successful speakers. 27.14% of all respondents prefer
visual aids because they are easy to understand, can be paused during a presentation, and can
trigger all sorts of emotions. That being said, it is also very tough to create good videos.
However, there are more and more tools available to help you create amazing videos without
professional help.

Demonstrations: Demonstrations, also known as demos, are undoubtedly among

the most effective visual aids available to you for communication. You can use
demonstrations in two ways. In his most famous lecture, he puts his life in danger
by releasing a heavy pendulum to show that a pendulum’s period remains constant
despite the mass. 

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Role-plays: Jokes aside, why do you think comedy shows are memorable? You
guessed it right. Role-plays! Role–play is any speaking activity when you either put
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

yourself into somebody else’s shoes or when you stay in your shoes but put yourself
into an imaginary situation! 

1.4 Types of Speech in Terms of their Purposes

A speech can be divided depending on its purposes. There are four major types of speech.
These include informing, demonstrating, entertaining, and persuading. These are not mutually
exclusive of one another. You may have different intentions while delivering your
presentation. You may inform by entertaining, and by persuading
A. Informative: This speech affords interesting and useful information to your audience. Some
examples of informative speeches include teacher telling students about media management,
students talking about tests, journalists taking about social media, and the like.

B. Demonstrative: This has similarities with an informative speech. It informs through

demonstration of the issue you are delivering. The main difference lies in including a
demonstration of how to do the thing you’re presenting. In brief, this presentation is based on
aids to explain and inform the listeners.

C. Persuasive: This speech works to convince people to change the way people do,
think, and behave. : Some examples of persuasive speeches:
 Become an organ donor
 Improve your health through better eating
 Television violence is negatively influencing our children
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 Become a volunteer and change the world.
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

D. Entertaining: The after-dinner speech is a typical example of an entertaining speech. The

speaker provides pleasure and enjoyment that make the audience laughs or identify with
anecdotal information. Some examples of entertaining speeches include excuses for any
occasion, explaining marathon race to Ethiopians, events you may not understand well
without amusement.

To conclude, speech styles are dictated by the purpose and context in which the speech is
delivered. It will be like a fiction if you make a speech out of contexts and if you do not
target the purpose it is meant for.
Individual Self- Check Task (15 minutes)
1. Now it is your turn to create some situations for the four speech types and reflect to
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the class.
2. Which speech style is more meaningful for you” Why is that?
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

1.5 Audience Analysis

To effectively deliver speeches, first of all, you have to know who the attendees are. This
knowledge helps you to plan your speech and make it attractive, authentic, and productive.
Using an audience-centered approach is important because a speaker's effectiveness will be
improved if the presentation is created and delivered in an appropriate manner. In brief,
audience analysis entails identifying the audience and adapting a speech to their interests,
level of understanding, attitudes, and beliefs. 

There are three types of audience analysis, which include demographic analysis,
psychographic analysis, and situational analysis.

A. Demographic data analysis

Demographic data analysis deals with gender, age range, marital status, race and ethnicity,
and socioeconomic status. You probably already know how many male and female students
are in your public speaking class, how old they are roughly, and so on.

But how can you figure out who will be in an audience if you have never talked to them?
Most of the time, you can ask the person or group that asked you to speak. They can probably
tell you a lot about the types of people who are expected to come to hear you.

No matter what method you use to collect demographic information, be respectful from the
start. For example, if you want to know if people in the audience have ever been divorced,
you should know that not everyone will want to answer your questions. You can’t demand
that they do it. And you can’t just guess why they don’t want to talk about it. You have to
give them some space. 16
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

 Age is not just a number, as it can tell a lot about a person. For example, teens and
people in their 20s have no memory of wars or living under a totalitarian regime.
 Even in the same culture, women and men have different experiences based on their
gender. For instance, women are often kept out of jobs that are thought to be better
suited for men.
 Religions are also very different: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism,
and many more. Even within Christianity, there are Roman Catholic, Mormon,
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Orthodox (Greek and Russian), and many Protestant
denominations.
 In the demographic analysis, the level and type of education are also essential factors.
An airplane mechanic gets a very different education and training than an accountant,
musician, or software engineer. Fraternities and sororities, sports teams, campus
organizations, political parties, volunteer work, and cultural communities all shape
how we see the world.
 Lastly, their jobs affect people’s ideas and interests because most appointments are
misunderstood in many ways. For example, many think teachers work eight hours a
day and get the summer off.

By doing demographic data analysis, you can find out a lot about your customers, as you can
see. The best part is that many tools make it easy to do this analysis. For example, if you run
ads on Facebook or Google, these platforms already have a way for you to study your
audience that you can use.

B. Psychographic analysis

Demographic information is pretty clear and easy to check, but psychographic information is
not that easy to understand. A psychographic analysis looks at things like values, beliefs,
opinions, and attitudes. Even though two people say they don’t buy junk food, they might
have very different ideas about what foods are “junk food.”

Audiences will likely already know two main things: what you’re talking about and your
brand. Psychographic segmentation can show how your audience is limited by the ideas they
already have. If you know about these ideas ahead of time, you can write 17
your message in a
way that fits them.
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

 There may be misconceptions or stereotypes about your topic that people already
know. When you do your audience analysis, include questions that show how much
your audience already knows about your case. Try to find out if they have any
stereotypes, oversimplified ideas, or biased beliefs about it. This could change the
message you want to send and how you want to send it.
 On the other hand, pre-existing ideas about your brand are more about how customers
see you at first. But it would be best if you focused on meeting the needs and interests
of your audience, not on changing their minds about you or managing your image.

Google Trends is one way to do a psychographic analysis. Google Trends can be used to find
the latest trends, but it can also be used to track marketing performance.

C. Situational analysis

In the realm of more traditional forms of speech, situational aspects of an audience include
the audience’s size, attitude toward the speaker, prior knowledge of the topic, and occasion.

In the world of digital marketing and media, this refers to the size of your preferred audience,
their attitude towards your product/company, their prior knowledge, and the websites or
social media channels. They view your advertisements or interact with your products and
services by this.

It is more challenging to collect this information when your audience is geographically

dispersed because you are not addressing the audience directly at this time. But, similar to a
world leader delivering a speech, it is essential to learn how to engage potential customers
online, especially in a world of limitless options and audience information.

Any successful marketing campaign must analyse audience data. Even creating your target
audience teaches you about yourself and your organizational goals. Through the
understanding of your target audience, you can adjust your messaging to meet their needs
and analyse a product’s flexibility in different contexts. Audience analysis has the following
two major advantages.
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A. Customer behaviour
 DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

By doing audience analysis, you’ll learn how your customers act offline and online. With
audience data from social media, you can see what other products and personalities of people
like. That will help you figure out what they want and what they do not want.

For example, instead of just figuring out who is most likely to listen local media, analysis
tells you what kinds of programs people most likely want to attend based on their intentions.
Once you have this information, you’ll be able to predict better what services to promote to
which groups. This will help you be more successful in the long run by speaking to each
person’s needs instead of painting with general blows.

B. Taking risks

There is always a time when an organization must decide to grow. Taking risks is an acute
component of this growth process. But you shouldn’t take uninformed risks. With the right
audience analysis questions, you can determine what risks are likely to pay off.

For example, if your audience data show that most of your customers are younger, making
changes to fit the needs of that group (like creating a product that is cheaper, more eco-
friendly, etc.) helps ensure growth. On the other hand, if the people you want to reach are less
technology- friendly, a preferable way can be sending newsletter either in hard or soft copies.
Especially, traditional people are not comfortable with social media.

In conclusion, as our global and online communities, your audience may be spread out
around the world. This connected world has lots of audience data. It can be hard to determine
customer beliefs and preferences without immediate crowd feedback.

Using social media sites, audience profiles, and understanding where your purchases come
from can help with audience analysis. Knowing your audience enables you to make smart
choices and save money.

Individual Unit Summary Writing (30 minutes)

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1. Write briefly what you have achieved from this unit in halp a page and share with
your instructor.
DCOM 612 Advanced Speaking and Writing Competencies

2. What new additions have you gained from this unit? For what purpose will you use
the new knowledge and skills you have gained?

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