-2 Table 5.1 Tailoring a Speech to

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Table 5.1 Tailoring a Speech to
Demographic Characteristics
Demographic Characteristics
Do’s and Don’ts
Ethnicity
Don’t try to use words or phrases to “
cuddle up” to one race or another.
You would lose some credibility if you
made a point in your speech and
then said, “So get jiggy with it” or “
You could enjoy that with your
afternoon tea ceremony” (Pearson,
et al, 2011).
Age
Stay away from jargon from one age
range or another, like “OMG” or “the
cat’s pajamas” (Gamble & Gamble,
2013).
Sex/Gender
Use words that are not sex/gender-
specific. Instead of policeman,
fireman, and stewardess, use police
officer, firefighter, and flight
attendant. Do not use onesex/
gender pronouns, like assuming a
teacher is a “she” and a dentist is a “
he” (Eisenberg & Wynn, 2013).
Income
Some people in your audience will
have more money than others. So if
you keep fit by maintaining
membership in a prominent gym and
you take classes there also, don’t
assume everyone else can afford to
do so. You can tell your audience
what you do, but give them options
like parking far from the store and
working out with a yoga or Pilates CD
at home.
Occupation
Unless you are speaking at a
convention where
everyone in your audience works in
the same field, make your speech
more explanatory. Your audience
has not had extensive training in
medical terms nor legal terms. So you
need to explain what you are talking about, without using the big words
which would make your audience
feel confused, stupid, and put down.
Religion
Realize that your audience will likely
have a wide variety of religions
represented, and some people may
have no religious or spiritual beliefs.
So you can say that YOU read the
Bible every night for 10 minutes, but
that you are suggesting that
everyone choose a religious or
inspirational reading for pre-sleep
relaxation (Gamble & Gamble, 2013).
Education Level
Even if you are speaking to an
audience of college freshman, not everyone has had the same
educational experiences. For
example, some of the people in your
class may have completed a high
school equivalency program like the
GED, some may be high school
students who are taking a college
class, some may have gone to
secondary school in another country,
some may be home-schooled, and
some may have gone to a private
honors-based prep school. You need
to be careful not to talk down to your
audience and not to use fancy
sentences and words to try to impress
your audience. Gauging the right
level of communication for your speech is an important challenge.