9 Factors That May Influence the Audience Other Than The Speaker

An effective speech is the one that gives you results; however, we should recognize that there are other important factors that may enhance or, if lacking, may hurt your speech. Giving a great speech or being a great speaker, sometimes, is not enough. Sorry Toastmasters, Zig Ziglar, Carnegie, Rodham and others who may think that a good speaker is all that it takes to have an effective outcome.

The title of the speaker or credentials
Many times, the audience may be influenced by the title of the speaker (executive director/ doctor/ celebrity). For instance, when it comes to medical information, the audience may believe a boring doctor more than an experienced & well-spoken speaker. The audience may be bored to death but they will still be more influenced by the doctor, instead.

The topic
The topic of the speech is the reason why the audience may be present in the first place. It may be a topic that affects their lives or it may be a topic of general interest. The topic may also be controversial.

The audience
The audience knows how to influence itself. The audience may help the speaker be a great deliverer or may destroy his/her credibility on the spot. They may even forgive mistakes made by the speaker. If the speaker ignores what the audience wants, he/she may fail.

The location where the speech is made
The audience may ignore the speech if the site, where the speech takes place, is uncomfortable. They may be more influenced by the fact that the site is “too hot” or “too cold” or “too small.” On the other hand, if the site is acceptable, the audience may become even more involved.

The visual aides
The audience may be more influenced by the material presented than the speech itself. The speaker should recognize that materials used during a speech are needed to ENHANCE or illustrate a point made by the speaker only. The material should never be used to substitute a speech or portions of a speech.

The agency being represented
Many times, the audience is influenced more by the type of organization that is providing the speech than by the speaker himself. The audience may attend and respond more based on their views on that particular organization. On the other hand, they may reject and be influenced to not accept the credibility of an organization that, in their view, is negative and controversial.

The disruptive speaker/ argumentative speaker
There is always one of those. An audience may begin to turn their attention to the audience member that causes the most distraction. This audience member may influence the decision or point-of-view of the audience. He/she may challenge the topic addressed by the speaker and may turn the audience to agree with him/her, instead. A speaker should always be on the alert for this.

The giveaway
If the presentation has been promoted with a giveaway, the audience may be more interested in attending and be more influenced by the gift than the speaker himself.

The request made to the audience by the speaker or topic
When a topic ends with a request to the audience, which may demand an immediate reaction or immediate decision, the audience may be turned off. If the audience knows that, at some point, during the presentation, they will be required to make a potential, immediate decision, they may react accordingly. These types of presentations, many times, involve monetary commitment. The audience many times, once they know they will be asked for money, walk away before the end of the presentation or forget about the presentation entirely and focus more on thinking “How will they say NO” to any immediate commitment.