Hands Down

None of the doctors saw it coming. Upon entering the conference room, each member of the group came face to face with an FDA official. And then the interrogation began.

It was serious business. But not because the subjects of the interrogation were under government scrutiny — because the session was part of a training program, and the “interrogation” (performed by an actor) assessed their knowledge of the presented material.

The ruse was all part of a plan to turn passive learners into active learners, according to Shawn Boeckman, creative director for audience response systems (ARS) provider Interactive Meetings and Learning (IML).

Boeckman’s group isn’t alone. In an effort to engage audience members, gather data for reporting and analysis, and ultimately improve event ROI, planners are increasingly turning to ARS.

While the use of basic ARS is nothing new — hand raising or verbal responses to questions have been around for centuries — today’s ARS are far more advanced. These systems allow audience members to actively participate in presentations by submitting responses via audience response cards — wireless, hand-held keypad devices. The data is immediately collected by the system’s software, turned into readable tables and made available for the presenter to project results on-screen and formulate a discussions.

“Organizations and attendees spend a large amount of time and money attending meetings, conferences and other events,” says Stan Hawley, marketing manager for Option Technologies Interactive, an ARS provider. “Too often the presentations and sessions turn into one-way monologues with disengaged audiences. Adding interactivity is a way to grab the audience’s attention and make them a part of the program.”

In other words, in this age of interactivity, ARS may be just what your next meeting needs.

More than Q&A

Depending on your group, your use of ARS will vary. Any size group can benefit from ARS, but if you want more than just a Q&A session, careful evaluation needs to be done to decide what you want
to accomplish.

“Audience response does a good job keeping the attention of the audience, but it has much greater potential,” says Anthony Cosimano, director of sales and marketing for Ubiqus, a meeting services agency.

If used correctly, ARS can gather valuable statistics and information about your group or industry.

Butch Roy, senior interactive producer for IML suggests offering before and after comparison questions during training sessions to help gauge the success of the training.

Sheila Hura, events manager for audience response provider Turning Technologies LLC, suggests integrating the audience response cards into the registration process. Each person can be assigned a card for use throughout the event, allowing you to track responses based on a number of demographics. You can then integrate that information into group discussions in the classroom, or simply save it for future reference.

What You May Be Missing

First-time ARS users often miss out on helpful elements of the system.

“People take the technology to ask a few questions but don’t take advantage of the full capabilities,” says Hura. “They could have used it for evaluations, to engage the audience and track program effectiveness. The valuable information gathered could then be pushed to the press later.”

Hura suggests looking at your event program holistically beforehand and deciding what information you’d like to obtain.

Also, decide what your purpose for using ARS is. Is it to aid in education? Engage the audience? Create team-building opportunities? A variety of options are available depending on your needs, and you can get as creative as you want. For example, Game Show America (GSA), a game show production company, offers audience response in the form of Jeopardy, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and other popular game show programs into which you can integrate your own questions.

Enabling Retention

Because ARS give results within seconds, some of the responses may surprise presenters.

“Be prepared to respond to any answers that may come up,” suggests Cam Marston, president of Generational Insight, a generational-focused consultancy that has used ARS several times in the past with GSA. Anticipate any answer so you’re not left stumbling for words.

Keep in mind that ARS may be new to your audience. Debbie Minor, vice president of sales for Audience Response Systems Inc. recommends asking a fun question at the beginning of a session to help familiarize audience members with the system. Otherwise, confusion may lead to inaccurate results.

There is a fine line between fully utilizing the system and inundating your audience. Marston suggests limiting questions to eight to 10 during a one-hour session.

So the next time you think about passing out notepads and pens to help attendees retain information, consider giving them a response card instead.

“Learners must actively pursue knowledge in order to retain
it, so why do we keep passively dumping information on them?” asks Boeckman.

Why indeed.

Courtesy: Turning Technologies LLC

New Product Alert

Now your ARS is no longer limited to the conference center. Turning Technologies LLC (turningtechnologies.com) has just launched Response Card Anywhere, a device that allows all the benefits of ARS without the need for a projector screen or electricity, as audience input shows up on the presenter’s handheld device. Use it to gather information during a long bus ride, poll people on the street, or use it during an interactive, outdoor mountaintop experience. www.turningtechnologies.com