Journalism stakeholders increasingly believe that they need to better understand the news audience to accomplish their goals. Our study explores the extent to which this "audience turn" has unfolded in the education of future journalists. Drawing on data collected from course syllabi from leading journalism schools throughout the United…

This article considers research as inquiry and social intervention through the lens of building theatre audiences. Detailing a research and creative collaboration with a Toronto-based theatre company, and their verbatim play Towards Youth: a play on radical hope created from the data of a global ethnographic research project, we extend Schechner's…

Courses: This class activity is suited for the basic course on public speaking (to discuss issues related to identity, privilege, and audience analysis), interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and communication pedagogy. Objectives: By completing this 30- to 45-minute activity, students should be able to: (1) define privilege;…

Communication instructors have long insisted on the importance of audience adaptation. But they have said less about (a) the dimensions along which adaptation might proceed or (b) how a student might learn the art of adapting. In this article, I contribute toward addressing these two deficiencies. I suggest a dimension for adaptation - the value…

Courses: Persuasion, Marketing, Advanced Public Speaking, Argumentation. Objectives: The aims of this assignment are to introduce students to the concept of data mining as a tool for audience analysis and to improve students' ability to adapt a message to a specific audience.

In a rapidly changing world, it is more important than ever for learners of all ages to develop the skills and experiences necessary to succeed in high-wage, high-skilled and high-demand careers of their choosing. Career Technical Education (CTE) is working with every state to help learners succeed, while also providing employers with skilled and…

Courses: Public Speaking, Rhetorical Criticism, Persuasion, Political Communication, and Media Communication. Objectives: By the end of this activity, students should be able to: explain the key components of Lloyd Bitzer's rhetorical situation; assess and navigate various conditions affecting various speaking situations; conduct audience analysis…

Strategic communications is important for building awareness, engagement, and commitment for serving children and youth. When this communication is bidirectional, it also creates avenues for state education agency (SEA) leaders to receive timely, honest feedback from stakeholders about the effectiveness of whole-person initiatives. This guide is…

Speakers in conversation often tailor referring expressions in ways that reflect beliefs about the knowledge and perspectives of specific addressees. In this study we examined whether such audience design can influence speakers' conceptualizations of referents beyond the conversation. In a Wizard-of-Oz paradigm, participants identified novel…

This study analyzes "Act Out Justice" (AOJ), a youth theatre for social change initiative of Orlando Repertory Theatre and the University of Central Florida. Employing AOJ's model of reflective collaborative inquiry (Horn et al., 2020), this article dramatizes the practice of responding to one's own work. Through narrative and dialogical…

This article introduces Q methodology, an idea-sorting activity that can help Extension improve outreach and education on new and contentious issues. Q methodology is a helpful tool when Extension professionals are confronted with controversial or complex resource management challenges. Through the analysis of a simple card-sorting exercise,…

Courses: This activity is designed specifically for public-speaking courses, but it could be used in the general introductory communication course. It also holds potential for use in persuasion, argumentation, or strategic communication courses. Objectives: This activity helps students understand audience as a more complicated concept--one that…

YouTube is the favourite entertainment platform for teens and pre-teens. It is configured as a space for interaction and collaboration that coordinates collective creativity as a generator of meaning. Because of this, nowadays the platform constitutes an enabling environment for subjectivation. Women and men participate by sharing or consuming…

Courses: Science communication courses across course levels. Objective: This activity aims to introduce students to critical thinking concepts and strategies that have applicability and transferability throughout students' academic and professional careers while deepening their understanding of identifying, discussing, and analyzing scientific…

Prior to beginning a basic communication course, students enter with learning expectations and motivations to transfer knowledge outside the classroom. The present study examined 373 qualitative pre- and post-test responses from students enrolled in a basic communication course to assess their self-defined learning and speaking preparation…