Shaping Audience Perceptions
When speakers share information with audiences, they also share their points of view. It is virtually impossible to cover everything there is to know about any important subject in a short message. Therefore, speakers are always selective with regard to what information they communicate, highlighting the ideas and material that they believe best represent the subject. When we see the subject through their eyes, we really see their interpretations of it. The images they provide are often colored by their feelings. This selective exposure can influence the way we respond to later communications on the subject, especially when this is our first exposure to it.
This power of informative speaking to influence our perceptions can serve a persuasiveness function, preparing us for later persuasive speaking. Suppose, for example, you heard one of two speeches on teaching as a career choice. One was presented by an enthusiastic teacher who described the personal rewards he obtained from teaching and stressed the joys of helping children learn. The other was presented by a teacher suffering from “burnout” who focused on classroom discipline problems and administrative red tape. Neither speaker suggested that you should or should not become a teacher. Each provided what he or she believed was an accurate picture of teaching as a profession. But each created a different predisposition. If you heard only the first speaker, you might be more inclined to consider a message urging you to become a teacher than if you heard only the second speaker.
If you have strong feelings about your subject, you must work hard not to present a distorted perspective. If listeners feel you are blurring the truth or displaying a bias, they will dismiss your message as unreliable and lower their estimation of your character and competence.