Book Talk - Audience

Audience

One way to find out which types of booktalks work best is to create an evaluation form for the audience to complete. Some booktalkers may have a natural inclination for first-person booktalks, while others may present typical third-person book talks, or a book talk that's been digitally enhanced to keep the interest of the audience19. The audience will also determine the length of the presentation, how many booktalks are presented, how much information to disclose, and the length of the individual booktalks20. The audiences of booktalks are broken down into the following categories: students (broken down into the sub categories: young children, older children, and teens), adults, senior citizens and professionals (for librarians and educators).

Young children have shorter attention spans so booktalks must be kept brief. Older children and teens are able to focus and sit at attention for longer periods of time and so booktalk presentations can be built in to fit within one class period (30–45 minutes). Within this timeframe 15-20 booktalks that are 2–3 minutes in length can be presented21. The presenter will want to appeal to as many students as possible so the individual booktalks should consist of many genres.

Adult and senior citizen booktalks don’t have to be strictly limited to adult titles. Choosing a children's title that will also pique the interest of adults helps keep this audience aware of current children's literature. The presenter doesn’t need to limit himself/herself to the obvious literary groups and books clubs22. Booktalks for senior citizens that relate to the life experiences or periods of time that the group may have lived during, help keep the audience intrigued and involved. The presenter should also take into consideration books that available in large print or audio format for older audiences23.

Booktalks for professionals, such as librarians and teachers, should generally be up to 5 minutes in length and include plot summary, genre, interest and reading levels, and note controversial issues and curricular interests24. Booktalks of this nature can be presented in a lecture format. The presenter may also consider including critical reviews from reliable publications.