It’s not easy to jump in on new technology, especially when it comes to something nerve-wracking like public speaking. When you’re on the stage and hundreds of eyes and ears are focused on you, the last thing you want to do is trying to figure out how an app works. We saw this happen too many times and we’ve made the MeetingPulse audience response system as simple as it gets. But there are still a few things you need to do in order to get the most out of MeetingPulse during your talks:
1. Onboard
Inform your audience in advance. Put your meeting link in the invitation e-mail. Put a big link on the first slide and in the footer of every slide. Give them an easy way to find the link. You want to keep the energy especially high in the beginning of your talk, any second of delay will drop the energy level of the room.
2. Before you start
In the very beginning of the presentation, tell the audience that you’ll be collecting their questions, votes and answers during your talk via an audience response system. Invite them to open MeetingPulse on their phones or laptops; If you like to use the Live Pulse feature, spend a moment to explain that they can vote at any moment of the talk.
3. Be responsive
You can set up and use polls to profile and segment your audience; be prepared to react to different results and have a few scenarios ready; i.e. if you poll “Do you consider yourself a techie?” and it turns out that your audience are mostly tech experts, consider skipping explaining the basics that they already know. Tailor your talk’s content for the audience that’s in front of you.
4. What’s in it for them?
To get the most value for yourself, you should think about the value you can give to your audience. Use the Follow-up screen options (edit settings before the meeting) to set up a special offer, and let them know about it in the beginning of your talk. This will motivate them to join the MeetingPulse meeting and you’ll collect more data.
Do a give-away using a raffle function. Give away a real book or a digital product. If you provide a valuable offer, they will be happy to leave their e-mail and you will collect more leads.
5. Keep the engagement high
From time to time, comment on the feedback they are giving: otherwise they won’t feel listened to. Ask their opinion on the things you’re talking about. For example, say “if you agree with what I just said, give me a thumbs up”. Remind them to submit comments or questions. Remember – talk as if you’re talking to every single person. In fact, talk with them, not to them.
6. Be a rockstar!
MeetingPulse is a flexible way to interact with your audience, with many features you could use in many ways. But ultimately, it is only a tool‚ and it’s effectiveness depends on you. Send us tips on how you used it successfully and we’ll publish your story on our blog.
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