B. Foundations of Language · Foundations of Language: Listening, Speaking, Words, Fluency and Conventions

Speaking with Purpose: Analyzing Audience and Context, Then Choosing and Adapting Strategies

B1.3 A1.1About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can analyze the purpose, audience and context before I speak.
I can choose a register, structure and examples that fit my audience.
I can organize a talk with a clear main message and signposts so listeners can follow it.
I can adapt my speaking while I talk, based on how my audience is responding.
I can adapt the same message for formal and informal situations.

Words to know

purpose
Why you are speaking: to inform, persuade, instruct, entertain, reflect or build a relationship.

audience
The people listening: what they already know, what they need, and what they care about.

context
The situation: the time, place, occasion and how formal it is.

rhetorical situation
The whole set of things that shape a message: speaker, audience, purpose, context and the message itself.

register
How formal or informal your language is, from slang with friends to careful, precise language in a presentation.

signpost
A phrase that tells listeners where they are in a talk: My first reason is..., Now let's turn to..., To sum up...

coherent
Making sense as a whole: every part connects to one clear main message.

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you analyzed purpose, audience and context before speaking, chose strategies such as register and examples, used ethos, logos and pathos to persuade, and adapted while speaking when you saw puzzled or bored faces. In Grade 9 you speak in more situations: presentations in every course, seminars, group meetings, interviews for part-time jobs or volunteer positions. This lesson puts all of those skills into one planning tool and focuses on speaking clearly and coherently.

Let's start with one message, three audiences

Maya is organizing her school's winter food drive. This week she has to speak about it three times:

In a two-minute announcement at a Grade 9 assembly.
In a phone call to the manager of a local grocery store, asking for a donation of bins.
In a visit to a Grade 2 class at the elementary school next door, asking them to bring canned food.

The main idea is the same each time: please help the food drive. But if Maya gave the same speech three times, it would fail at least twice. The Grade 2 students wouldn't understand words like food insecurity, the store manager wouldn't want a pep rally, and the assembly would be bored by a long list of details.

Good speakers analyze first, then choose their strategies, and adapt as they go.

Step 1: Analyze the rhetorical situation

Ask five questions before you plan a word:

Speaker: Who am I to this audience? (A classmate? A stranger asking for help? An older student they look up to?)
Audience: What do they already know? What do they need? What do they care about? How many are there?
Purpose: What should they think, feel or do when I finish? Inform, persuade, instruct, entertain or reflect?
Context: Where and when? How much time do I have? Formal or informal? In person, on the phone, or on video?
Message: What is my main point in one sentence?

The rhetorical situation: speaker, audience and purpose all shape the message, and the whole thing happens inside a context.

Step 2: Select strategies that fit

Register and words: formal or informal? Should you use technical terms, and if so, define them?
Structure: what order will help this audience? For most talks: a hook, your main message with a preview, your points with signposts, a recap, and a clear call to action or closing thought.
Examples: choose examples your audience can picture. A Grade 2 class can picture a lunchbox; a store manager can picture bins near the checkout.
Length: fit the time. Two minutes is about 250 to 300 spoken words.
Visuals or props: would a slide, a chart or an object help?

A clear structure for most talks. Signposts such as "First", "The last reason" and "To sum up" help listeners follow along, because they can't see your paragraphs.

Clear and coherent

A talk is coherent when everything connects to one main message. Listeners can't reread, so:

Say your main message early and again at the end.
Use signposts so people know when a new point starts.
Keep sentences shorter than you would in writing, with the subject and verb close together.
Cut anything that doesn't serve your purpose, even if it's interesting.

Step 3: Adapt while you speak

Watch your listeners and adjust. If they look puzzled, slow down, give an example or define a term. If they look restless, shorten a section and move to your strongest point. If someone asks a question, answer it briefly, then return to your structure: "Great question. ... Now, back to my second reason."

	Grade 9 assembly	Phone call to store manager	Grade 2 class
Purpose	Persuade students to bring food and volunteer	Persuade the manager to donate bins (a specific request)	Persuade young children to bring a can, and help them understand why
Register	Friendly, energetic, semi-formal	Polite and formal; introduce yourself and the school	Simple, warm, informal
Structure	Hook (a surprising fact from the local food bank), 3 ways to help, recap, deadline	Greeting, who you are, the request, why it helps, thank you, follow-up	Question ("Who likes soup?"), why food banks help families, what to bring, thank you
Words and examples	"Our goal is 1 000 items by December 15."	"Could your store donate four collection bins until December 15?"	"Some families need a little help to fill their cupboards."

Same message, three different plans. Notice how purpose, register, structure and examples change for each audience.

Worked example

Let's adapt one message

Rewrite this sentence from Maya's assembly speech for the phone call to the store manager: "Okay everyone, let's crush last year's total and pack those bins!"

Analyze: the manager is an adult stranger, busy, at work. Purpose: a specific request. Context: a phone call, so formal and short.
Register: change the slang (crush, pack those bins) to polite, clear language.
Content: the manager needs to know who is calling, what exactly is being asked, and why it matters.
Draft: "Hello, my name is Maya Chen, and I'm a Grade 9 student at Lakeview Secondary. We're running a food drive for the local food bank until December 15. Would your store be able to donate four collection bins?"
Check: clear request, polite, under 20 seconds to say. Coherent: every sentence leads to the request.

"Hello, my name is Maya Chen, and I'm a Grade 9 student at Lakeview Secondary. We're running a food drive for the local food bank until December 15. Would your store be able to donate four collection bins?"

The one-sentence test

Before any talk, try to say your main message in one sentence. If you can't, your audience won't be able to either. Write it at the top of your notes and check that every part of your talk supports it.

Hands-on activity

Same message, three ways

You need: a phone or another device that records sound (or a family member to listen), paper and a pen.

Pick a real message, for example "Our family should go skating at the outdoor rink this weekend" or "People should shovel the sidewalk in front of their homes after a snowfall."
Plan it for three audiences: a friend, a younger child, and a formal one such as a letter read aloud to the city council or a principal.
For each, jot down purpose, register, and one example that fits that audience.
Say each version aloud (about 30 seconds each). Record it if you can.
Listen back or ask your listener: Which version sounded most different? Which was clearest? Write one change you'd make.

Just for fun

Many speakers talk faster when they're nervous, so a talk that took five minutes in practice can turn into a three-minute sprint on stage. That's why experienced speakers write "PAUSE" and "SLOW" right into their notes.

Your turn

Name the five parts of the rhetorical situation.

What is the purpose of a talk that explains how to set up a lab experiment?

Rewrite for a formal context (a job interview): "Yeah, I'm, like, super good with kids."

Write a signpost you could use to move from your first point to your second.

You are presenting to your science class and see several confused faces after you say "photosynthesis." How could you adapt?

Write a one-sentence main message for a two-minute talk asking classmates to join the school's environment club.

Why should you keep spoken sentences shorter than written ones?

More practice: warm-up

Is a chat with your best friend formal or informal?

What is a hook?

About how many words fit in a two-minute talk?

Which register suits a speech at a Remembrance Day assembly: formal or informal?

What should come at the very end of a persuasive talk?

More practice: on your own

Analyze this situation: you have 3 minutes to tell the student council why the school needs a bike rack. Give the audience, purpose, context and register.

Plan the structure (hook, main message, three points, recap, action) for the bike rack talk.

Explain why the assembly line "Let's crush last year's total!" works for students but not for a store manager.

A Grade 2 student asks during Maya's talk, "Can I bring candy?" How should Maya answer and get back on track?

Rewrite this rambling opening so the main message comes early: "So, um, I was thinking about stuff, and then last week I saw something, and it got me thinking about recycling, which is why today I want to talk about how our school should have more recycling bins."

Challenge

Choose one topic and write two 2 to 3 sentence openings: one for a Grade 9 class presentation and one for a presentation to parents at a school council meeting. Explain one difference.

Explain how the skills of this lesson apply to an oral report in another Grade 9 course.

A speaker plans a perfect talk, but on the day the projector breaks and they have half the time. Describe how they should adapt, using ideas from this lesson.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which question is about audience?

A signpost is:

Which register best suits a phone call asking a business for a donation?

A talk is coherent when:

You see puzzled faces after using a technical term. The best adaptation is to:

What is the purpose of the one-sentence test?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation B1.3 asks students to analyze the purpose and audience for speaking in formal and informal contexts, and to select and adapt speaking strategies to communicate clearly and coherently.

How to help at home: Before your teen gives a presentation, ask the five rhetorical-situation questions and the one-sentence test. Be a practice audience and react honestly (look confused when something is unclear) so they can practise adapting.

Common difficulties:

Writing a talk like an essay with long sentences and no signposts.
Burying the main message at the end.
One register for everything, too casual for formal settings or too stiff with friends.
Running out of time. Timing a practice run and cutting to the strongest points helps.