Audience Response Best Practices

ARS Keypad Loss Prevention

2011-08-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

An Audience Response Systems provider renting equipment for a large meeting asked for advice on preventing the loss of the audience response voting devices.

With a little effort almost all loss is preventable. Voting keypads are more likely to be misplaced than stolen, i.e., left under napkins or tables at the venue, or unknowingly kept by the user—meeting attendees sometimes simply forget that the equipment is in their bag or pocket. Most often attendees just need to be reminded to check.

As far as I know, the best and only built-in system for loss prevention comes from the manufacturer CLiKAPAD. They have a credit card-sized voting handset with a built-in buzzer, and they offer a detector that sets off the built-in buzzer in the voting device. It is used after an event to search for missing devices on the floor and hidden under napkins. They also offer a Sentry device for use at venue exits. Unfortunately, these detectors are only available with their system.

It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes more ARS equipment disappears at smaller executive events than larger ones. The difference may be that most of our meetings clients are unwilling to have their attendees be concerned with the equipment. Rather than gently prompt the audience with a reminder to leave them at their seats for collection, the clients prefer to absorb the relatively small loss. Conversely, at the end of the taping of the “Dr. Phil” show, they asked the entire audience to stand, take the Quick Tally voting device and place it in their right hand, turn, and place it on their chair. Then they were thanked and instructed to exit the studio. Lost handsets, none!

The initial thought most often suggested for large venues is to take a driver’s license as security from each attendee. The idea isn’t viable, however, because in addition to the potential refusal to give up the license, it would cause a huge bottleneck at the exit. Instead, we tell the audience that the device is both their ticket in and out of the venue.

Unless, or even if, you have a built-in locator, here are a few loss prevention ideas:

If you are a vendor, build a clause into your contract charging a fee for missing devices. This will encourage the client to remind attendees to return the devices and/or provide staff for collection.
Anticipate the loss of a few devices in your pricing and absorb it as a cost of doing business.
Formalizing both the distribution and collection of the devices strengthens the concept that the attendees will need to return the device.
Attach a lanyard, if possible, to make the device more visible. If there is no place on the device for the attachment, consider putting the device in a plastic name badge holder that allows for the attachment.
Have the distributor of the devices (at the entry) wear the device around their neck as a model. Hand it out holding the lanyard open so they will immediately put it on over their head. This way they’re less likely to end up on the table, in a pocket, etc.
Ask the client to politely have the moderator tell them (even if not true) that there are detectors at the exits. Word it very positively by saying the device is small and people forget they have it -- which happens to be true.

Quick Tally Captures the Audience's Votes on "The Marriage Ref"

2011-07-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

"The Marriage Ref" is a comedy panel show where celebrities help squabbling couples make peace. Created by Jerry Seinfeld, this is relationship advice...with a comic twist. In every episode, the featured spouses who win their arguments will compete for $25,000 and the distinction of being judged the 'most right' of the night by the studio audience.

World’s Top CEOs & Philanthropists Debate Humanity’s Grand Challenges

2011-06-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

The X PRIZE Foundation is one of the most interesting and impressive non-profit organizations Quick Tally® Interactive Systems has worked with in over two decades in the meetings business. They create and decide upon prize competition ideas to spur innovation and accelerate the rate of positive change around the world.

X PRIZE addresses the world's Grand Challenges provoking change through their prize program. They inspire the creation of new industries and of new markets in places that once seemed impossible. Their high profile prize competitions stimulate brilliant innovators from all disciplines, financial and intellectual, to invest in research and development.

The challenge that X Prize faced was how to bring together a large group of highly motivated, skilled leaders and have them quickly land on the set of challenges to recommend. X Prize counted on QT to help drive a non-traditional meeting format that transcended normal boundaries.

To learn more about X PRIZE Foundation and their unusual Visioneering approach to making the impossible possible, see this article.

Hedy Lamarr and Audience Response Radios

2010-01-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

How Hedy Lamarr got us here

Hedy Lammar, the 1940s movie star is in part responsible for the ability to use wireless ARS equipment. It began with Nikola Tesla and related to work that he did around the start of the 20th Century. (Tesla is probably best known for work that formed the basis of modern alternating current.)

Hedy Lamarr and scientist and composer George Antheil co-invented an early form of the spread spectrum technology. It was war time and they were looking for a way to make radio-guided torpedoes harder to detect and jam. If knowing it was Hedy Lamarr was not enough to make this fascinating, the most wonderful part of the story is that they used a player piano roll to change among 88 radio frequencies. So we owe our ability to have wireless ARS systems in part to an actress, a composer-scientist, and a player piano roll.

Who could make up such a story? Hollywood only got as far as having Don Ameche invent the telephone. In 1939 Don Ameche portrayed Alexander Graham Bell in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell. Calling the telephone the "Don Ameche" became popular American Slang in the 1930s and '40s. Although Hedy did not have a movie made about her scientific work, in fairness to her we should call audience response systems the “Hedy Lamarr”.

Perhaps someday a meeting planner will get on the Don Ameche and order a Hedy Lamarr for their seminar in Cincinnati.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

To buy, or not to buy: that is the question

2009-12-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

Question:

We are considering purchasing equipment and running it ourselves any advice?

Answer:

Now that ARS equipment is inexpensive to own, or rent and relatively simple to run, purchasing equipment has become a very popular cost effective solution for education and training.

Purchasing makes sense on a cost analysis basis and works very well for most systems owners. It is a mistake for others. This is because the new paradigm of equipment ownership and self-operation has created a disconnect between the end user and the professionals. Interactive events formerly run by professional ARS service providers, consultants and moderators now merely contain ARS as another available piece of available audio visual equipment.

There are several factors to consider when purchasing an audience response system. Some are obvious and some are rarely considered. If the system has a single purpose such as education, training, meetings, or HR and there are personnel and programs in place, then the decision to purchase is simplified. Advance knowledge of the purpose and functionality required is helpful. Once that is known the cost and return on investment are simpler to deal with. (By the way, ROI is greatly increased by using the technology for company wide solutions rather than a single use, which is one of the reasons for starting this blog and QT Consulting.)

Here are a few tips prior to purchase:

Speak to someone who is currently using their technology. Ask the manufacturer for another customer to speak to that is using the technology for a similar purpose.

Ask what kind of training is offered after purchase? Do they offer training classes, online training by phone and WebEx?

Prior to making a purchase, ask for access to their customer support center. Call them and evaluate their responsiveness, knowledge and service.

If the purchase is a substantial investment, consider a real test of the system. Pay the company to provide a turnkey rental (equipment and an operator) for your first use of the system. This serves four important functions: firsthand evaluation of the system, valuable hands-on training experience for your own operator, it provides a keen observer with tips and tricks into how professionals operate, and it insures that the first use of the technology will be seamless.

While doing your due diligence in the purchase process, note the overall commitment the company has to service. Note the attitude and the empowerment of the salesperson to offer assistance and the responsiveness and knowledge of the support staff.

After purchase tips:

In addition to understanding the best practices for your interactive events, it is necessary to set up the right conditions for best use of the technology. For reasons that may not be very apparent, picking the right systems operator and the person responsible for the event content is very important.

Just as many people at meetings and seminars attend to be seen and impress their piers and boss, working toward a promotion, the person running the technology or the interactive program is no different. If the designated ARS person is fearful of actively encouraging use of the system, it may not get used.

Under use could be due to lack of knowledge about the interactive process, or running the technology, or not wanting the additional work load, or fear of being seen as incompetent. Some of the skills we look for when we hire professional ARS operators are technical skills, literacy (including spelling) and being comfortable in public situations. We have found that musicians and people with experience in front of audiences make better operators.

Success may also depend upon the rank of the moderator, or the person planning the program and its content. Sometimes it takes a person with enough power to get the rest of the team to do their work.

Remember that ownership of the equipment does not preclude bring in experts to provide content and design or run events using your equipment.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

I don’t mean to rush you…

2009-10-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

How long does it take to ask a question using the interactive process? In this article, you’ll learn some time management tips to help you get the answers you really need.

The question most frequently asked by our new clients is:

How many questions should I ask?

The response to that question appears in my previous piece:

How much is enough?

The second most frequently asked question is:

How long does it take to ask a question?

The simplistic response is that it takes as long as you need to read the question aloud, plus 10-15 seconds for the audience to respond. (Although I do not recommend it, a countdown clock may be inserted into the question screen to speed up the process.) Once the voting is closed, it takes about 2 seconds to tabulate and send the response to projection. So, there is no mystery in timing your questions. Just read them aloud and add 15-20 seconds.

The most important consideration is what comes after asking the questions.

First, consider how much time it will take the audience to think of the correct response.

If it is an important and though provoking question (hopefully that’s what most of your questions will be), decide if they might need more than 10-15 seconds. Perhaps allow 30 seconds, or in really highly unusual instances allow a minute.

Quick Tally operators have a good feel for this process. They generally wait until about 80% of the audience has voted and the votes start to slowly trickle in at the end of the bell curve, or the moderator calls for the vote to be shown, signaling that enough time has elapsed. This should be arranged in advance with the operator during the on site rehearsal.

There are a few other options:

introduce the systems operator to the audience and speak to him/her during the voting, or establish eye contact for signals about when to close the vote

if your voting system has the option of projecting the number of votes as they come in, decide if you want to see that information on screen

simply ask the audience if they have had enough time to consider the question

Second, the bulk of most session time is generally spent after the question is asked, so make decisions about the process in advance.

Are you merely reading the responses back, or are you doing color commentary and explaining the meaning of the response?

At an educational session, are you going to explain the correct answer, or deal with reinforcing learning later?

If the response is important to the progress of your talk, will you discuss it in depth?

Will there be follow up questions?

Quick Tips

Arrange the question list in descending order of importance, so that if the session runs long, the least important questions are not asked. Do this with each topic if there are multiple topics in the session.

Eliminate all but the few most basic, meaningful questions.

Keep it simple:

The question on screen is merely a brief prompt of the spoken question.

Do not repeat redundant elements of the question in each of the choices.

Where should we meet next year?

1. Should we meet in Chicago

2. Should we meet in New York

3. Should we meet in Florida

Do not have unnecessary choices that take time to read and fill the screen.

Usually about four choices are enough.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

Getting There First

2009-09-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone's looking for an edge, in this economy. By having an interactive event, you'll be able to gauge your client’s response in seconds – not months. Information and timing are always critical. Bringing any group together and empowering them to anonymously voice their opinions about products and services brings much more truthful responses than raising hands in public and results are available in an instant.

Here is an example of a product launch based upon asking one question

We were hired by a large networking company to provide ARS services at their client seminars. The only difficulty was that the seminar attendees were the company's guests in Paris and as guests, might understandably give us polite valueless responses. Without the ability of being anonymous at an interactive event, many factors might make a public show of hands unreliable. People are more concerned about not offending, or publicly disagreeing with peers, or the boss, than being forthright.

We asked the basic demographics, so we knew the geographic location, size and type of company they each represented. After going through the series of foundational questions, we were able to discover the most important question, ask it in an ad hoc manner and capture the real-time feedback – this is the inherent power of our approach to ARS.

The product line in question wasn’t even being considered by the company. It worked in conjunction with a product made by the client. We added one impromptu question: "If we made the companion product, would you buy it from us, or continue to buy from your current supplier?” The response happily was that they would prefer to buy both devices from their host.

In a few seconds – not months, with one question a new product was launched. Armed with the demographics, we also knew by cross-tabulating several factors (geography, size and type of business) who would buy the product. Good information in real time allowed the company to bring a new product to market.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

Seeing Double

2009-09-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Is there a way to display two images on one screen? Your presentation might require informational slides to be shown along with ARS slides…but how is that possible?

Question:

My event has one projector. Can I show the ARS voting question and a different image on screen at the same time? I want to show my PowerPoint slides and the voting slides at the same time, on the same screen.

Answer:

It can’t be done with one screen and one projector.

Here is how presenting one image at a time works. The presenters PowerPoint program and the Quick Tally® questions are either run from separate sources (computers), or the combined presentation is run by the ARS operator on one computer. If there are two separate image sources (computers), they are simply run through a switch putting each image on screen in its turn.

The Switch has input plugs for various sources and a dial marked A&B. Each computer’s output is sent through the device and seamlessly sent (switched) to projection. This puts one image at a time on screen. At its simplest and for obvious reasons the device is usually called an A/B Switch.

In order to get two different images simultaneously on a screen, or screens it takes two different projectors and computers. For example, the presenters PowerPoint may be hooked up directly to its own projector and screen, while the other projector and screen are dedicated to the Quick Tally voting screen images.

The reader might reasonably ask why there would be any need for different images on screen at the same time. There are two reasons. The first reason may be aesthetic, or have entertainment and production value, which we will not discuss here. The second reason is to present an informational screen that should be seen continually for study, or to clarify the interactive voting choices. It’s common in medical and technical presentations to simultaneously project a slide, or video for study along side the voting choices.

Another use is for amending text. The American Dental Association, House of Delegates needed to show the existing bylaws along site the proposed changes. Thousands of delegates in the audience representing their state chapters were charged with approving changes. In order to fully understand both the wording of the existing statute and the precise proposed changed wording the text was presented side-by-side on multiple screens.

Quick Tips:

Toggle

The next best way to present different images without spending the money for a second projection system is to toggle. The option of quickly toggling back and forth between the different images is a simple solution.

ARS “Before and After” Combined Voting Screens

When dealing with ARS voting results of the same question (for example, one asked at last years meeting and again at the current meeting), many ARS companies software now have the ability to internally combine both votes into a single response slide. This only works with the results of a previously asked question combined with the current response to the exact same question. The software creates one combined slide of both results.

Additional Monitors

Always remember that as a speaker, you need a monitor in front of you to see the Qs and As without turning your back to the audience. Nothing looks more foolish than a speaker asking for the question or the result when it’s in full view of the audience behind the speaker.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

Interactive Mini-consensus

2009-09-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

How can you get an audience to take an active part in the decision-making process? Is there a way to shift your presentation from passive presentation to an active discussion?

Question:

How can the ARS process be used to gain consensus quickly?

Answer:

Consensual decision making takes the longest of the various decision making processes, but is also typically the best way to launch high-impact organizational changes because people have an investment in both the process and the outcome.

We were called upon by an association that wanted their members to actively work on a major decision. They needed to decide whether or not to allow another group to join their association. The client didn’t want passive members just listening to two speakers present opposing positions and then take a vote. They wanted active discussion groups to talk out the pros and cons and really comprehend the issues. How is that accomplished? How do you create an environment that encourages people to discuss a topic and come to consensus?

Solution:

Interactive Mini-consensus

We solved this challenge by giving one voting device to every third person. The rule is that each mini-group group gets only one vote. Three people, one vote. This process forces the discussion to get an odd number of people to reach a mini-consensus. In this case, when all of the votes of all of the groups were tabulated, the association decided to expand their membership. This same solution can be applied to larger mini-groups such as one vote per table.

The combined instantaneous Quick Tally® voting and the process of visualizing the results on projection creates unquestioned buy-in and ownership of the results. The instant the vote is projected on the large screen, the decision is accepted and the discussion is concluded.

It is a wonderfully elegant, yet simple solution. The client was very pleased that their goal had been met and their membership was able to achieve a consensual, well thought-out decision.

Quick Tip:

Sometimes there is consensus from the beginning, so it’s important to ask the key question immediately. Another technique is to ask the single key question before a discussion begins, just to gauge the opening position, and then again after the discussion ends for the informed position. The second vote will gauge the audience’s position and by asking the right questions will expose any areas that need discussion. Often breakout discussions groups are formed to discuss topics or the general session may just continue until a final vote is taken.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

How Much is Enough?

2009-09-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

The following case history might be helpful to you, if you're trying to develop a questionnaire for your next event.

Question:

How many questions should I ask in a session?

Answer:

Ask only the ones that are most critical to you achieving your goals for the session – insights that drive actions! Less is generally more!

The goal is to ask only the most important, questions that are catalysts for thought and action. Once you have established your requisite baseline data, move up to questions that would not normally be asked without the response being anonymous. Or, it might be the follow-up “Why” questions that provide the deep insights you seek. Or, it may be that there is one truly important question. If so, ask it prior to any discussion and ask it again at the end of the session.

For example, we were hired by a large networking company to provide ARS services at their client seminars in Paris and Munich. They brought together their European clients. They wined and dined them in their typically gracious and wonderful style. The way they treated their audience was important to the audience’s performance within the ARS process (the principle of reciprocity is a powerful one which I will cover in a future article). The good news is that the host could rightfully expect the beautifully treated guests to sit through a lot of questions. The really bad news is they could expect them to be equally polite and give their host company the valueless polite responses that they believed the host was looking for.

The client was new at ARS, but understood the value of using the technology to gather instantaneous responses from their customers. What they didn’t realize was that the interactive process itself, empowering their customers to be heard and having their opinions valued, actually creates customer satisfaction.

They had a really hefty eighty (80) questions to ask. I was fearful that even in an extended session that the audience would simply loose interest and stop responding, so the questions had to continue to be relevant and of interest to the audience in order to provide any mutual value and enable success. If the questions did not teach them anything about themselves, they would simply stop responding. So, in part the questions were a discovery process for the audience. It is vital to keep the audience engaged throughout the process and interested in its progression.

We handled this by asking the basic demographics, so we knew the geographic location, size and type of company they each represented. There was almost no discussion planned after the question was asked, so we timed the questions (simply by reading them aloud) and added 15 seconds for the audience to respond.

A key piece of advice is to group questions by topic and then organize them from the most important topic to least important topic. This insures inclusion of the most important questions and allows the least important questions at the end of any topic to be dropped if we are lagging behind and need to make up time.

After going through the series of foundational questions, we were able to discover the most important question, ask it in an ad hoc manner and capture the real-time feedback – this is the inherent power of our approach to ARS.

The client was trying to discover ways to increase customer satisfaction as well as wallet-share of their annual IT spend. They decided to focus on a specific product line that was enjoying success. The product line in question worked in conjunction with a product not made by the client. We added one impromptu question:” If we made the companion product, would you buy it from us, or continue to buy from your current supplier?” The response happily was that they would prefer to buy both devices from their host.

By leveraging the power of a highly interactive session with facilitation and ARS at the core, the client launched a new product. Further, armed with the demographics, we also knew by cross-tabulating several factors (geography, size and type of business) who would buy the product – a process that would normally be a multi-month and very costly exercise. This was a slam dunk for the client and they clearly saw the benefits of laying the foundation quickly and then moving quickly and dynamically to the most important questions.

How many questions should I ask in a session?

There is no correct number of questions to ask — as long as the most meaningful one is found. The key to the interactive question process lies in understanding the new expanded boundaries of what each audience may be asked and answered truthfully. In this case it was exactly eighty one.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

Size Matters

2009-09-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Don't take a chance with visibility issues on your next audience response system event.
Make sure your screen is the right size for your audience.

Question:

What size screen do I need for the audience to be able to read the question and answer text?

Answer:

Follow the 2-and-6 rule to ensure the screen image is readable:

Optimum screen size as determined by The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) is known as the 2-and-6 rule:

Screen width should equal (and not exceed) one-half the distance from the screen to the first row of seats.

Screen width should equal or exceed the distance from the screen to the last row of seats divided by six.

In case of a difference between the two guidelines, the one yielding the larder screen should prevail.

Screen height should equal or exceed the distance from the screen to the last row of seats, divided by eight.

Quick Tips:

Keep the screen image uncluttered. Keep it simple! Don’t use busy backgrounds, or light colored logos as a background with light colored text. Keep the background dark and the text in light colors with easy to read fonts.

The question as it appears on screen should be just a prompt of the entire text of the question.

The presenter may read the entire question while the audience views a simple prompt.

If you must show a lot of text or keep a document, or image on screen while the voting is in progress, consider multiple projection screens.

Don’t have unnecessary multiple choices within a question. If there is one correct choice you don’t need more than 3-4 choices to choose from.

In rooms with round tables consider eliminating the two seats that face away from the front of the room.

Consider large monitors, or secondary projection on the sides of the room.

Always place a monitor in front of the speaker, or panel so that they can see the screens without turning their backs to the audience, or look foolish by not being aware that the question or response is on screen.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com

Don't Lose Control

2009-08-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Want to learn how to have an interactive discussion at your next meeting without loosing control?

This helpful Q&A addresses ways to keep things on track.

Question:

How do I have an interactive discussion using my audience response system at my session without loosing control? I have an agenda and only a limited time.

Answer:

Impromptu Questions

Normally, a mix of prepared questions is peppered with impromptu (on-the-fly) questions and cross-tabulations that present themselves during the course of the session. They bubble up to the surface and are grasped and presented as they appear, or may be dealt with at a block of time at the end of the session. That is a decision that needs to be made in advance and relates directly to your culture and willingness to be interactive.

Questions from the floor are handled by the speaker and may or may not, become a part of the session at the speaker's discretion. Control always remains with the speaker/moderator. You decide which questions pertain to the work at hand, and you may tactfully delay other queries to be dealt with after the session.

The presenter’s choices are that impromptu questions may be presented verbally and freely from the floor, or presented on index cards, or both.

Quick Tips:

Open the session by beginning with a “laundry list” of the topics you will be discussing. Ask the audience to express their interest (by choosing just one, or prioritizing them in order: 1-2-3). This will create a ranking of the audience's LEVEL OF INTEREST. It eliminates guessing about what is important to the attendees. It’s a great time saver and aid to both the presenter and the audience. Go back to this list when a new off center topic is proposed and comment that you will be discussing items of most interest. If need be, show the laundry list again. Perhaps offer to respond to the new topic after the session.

To be slightly less interactive than having an “open mike” Q&A session from the floor, hand out 5”x7” index cards. Assign people to collect them. A great collection technique is to have a few people roam the floor with question marks (?) on tennis paddles. Have someone organize, select and from a second podium read the Qs to the group.

With over twenty years of experience in helping clients achieve their business goals, I am passionate about the power of insight. If I can help your firm discover this power, please contact me.

Alan Warshaw
President
Quick Tally® Interactive Systems, Inc.
Direct Dial: 310.306.4930
alanw@quicktally.com