Finding Common Ground
Learning how to address multicultural audiences in public speaking

It takes only a quick glance around our neighborhoods, workplaces and circle of friends to tell us that we live in a diverse society. Most public speakers will eventually find themselves addressing a multicultural audience. It can be daunting to speak to people who seem so different from ourselves, but there is no reason to be nervous. In order to effectively and respectfully address a multicultural audience, you must first determine your common ground with them. The world is really not such a vast place; at our core, we are all human. All of us have the same goals and dreams in life. Tapping into our humanity is at the root of successful public speaking in a multicultural world.

Part of public speaking is audience analysis. It is important that you take steps to learn as much as you can about your audience before you go into your speech. Even still, effective public speaking has little to do with emphasizing differences. You will win over your audience and endear them to your central message if you focus on the ways in which you are alike. Speaking to a group is a very personal activity. You will need to reach your audience on a personal level if you want them to think of you as knowledgeable and, most importantly, credible.

Imagine that you are a young, Jewish, female college student from the suburbs of Connecticut planning a fun activity during the week of finals to help your fellow classmates blow off some steam. You decide that you would like to have a daily coffee hour in one of the residence halls with food, music and conversation. You prepare for your speech for a week, carefully noting all of the points you want to make to your classmates. Five minutes before you're about to address the group, you learn that most of the people who have come to listen to you are male, African-American, Christian and from urban areas on the west coast.

Panic sets in - what do you have in common with these people? You didn't grow up in the same part of the country, or even in similar neighborhoods. Your family traditions and religious backgrounds are different. Your taste in music and food is most likely different. How will you convince them that a coffee hour will be fun and worth attending?

You'll convince them because at the heart of all of your differences lies a network of common threads. You're all students. You're all within the same age range. You may all come from different parts of the country but for the next four years, you're all sharing the same home. You're all dealing with the stress of finals, the struggle to make plans to go home for break, and the newness of being away from your families. These are the points you'll cover in your speech to let your audience know that you are one of them, and that your ideas are valid and deserving of attention.

With a little bit of imagination, you can determine your common ground with just about everyone. We've all had love in our lives as well as loss, we've all had an impossible boss, and we've all battled rush hour traffic on a morning when we just had to be somewhere on time! There is humor in all of our lives as well as passion, imagination and heart. Find the heart of your audience and you will find success as their speaker.