Shareyourmeal: Go ahead and ask. The audience asks questions to the speaker.

## For learning and inspiration

A speaker’s story quickly raises questions. How do you make sure those questions are really asked rather than suppressed? And how do you do this with a large group of people? It’s impossible to discuss everyone’s questions; still you can easily facilitate the process by discussing a number of anonymous questions.

## Founder of Shareyourmeal.net received great ideas from the audience.

During the annual “Food Inspiration” event, the hospitality industry is updated on the latest trends and developments in the food sector. The audience was able to ask questions and comment during the presentations. One of the speakers was the founder of Shareyourmeal.net, Marieke Hart.

The audience, mainly entrepreneurs, responded enthusiastically and a lively interplay ensued between the Sidekick and the speaker. Throughout her presentation, provocative questions were thrown out to her. This resulted in some great new ideas for the company.

After the presentation, the audience remarked how they loved that they could participate directly in the presentation. The speaker stated that she would use the responses to improve her next presentation.

Effect

During an Interactive Presentation the founder of Shareyourmeal received ideas from the audience, which were send via Sendsteps Audience Response System.

Shareyourmeal: the Audience Asks Questions to the Speaker

NBA: Mirror, mirror on the wall. Get to know what the audience thinks about itself.

## For learning and change

Wouldn’t it be nice to hear how the audience  collectively views itself? In only a short time frame, a series of questions will help you sketch a profile of your audience. Ask questions about the image of a profession or reveal a different side of your audience by asking them unexpected questions. It’s a nice way to start the day, a rejuvenating break during a long meeting and an exciting finale to your presentation.

## NBA live reputation study with 1,300 accountants.

During the 2013 NBA Accountant’s Day, Cees van Riel, Professor of Corporate Communications at Erasmus University Rotterdam, presented a reputation study on accountants for an audience of 1,300 accountants.

Van Riel tested his findings to the audience by asking them questions about how they see themselves. These questions could be answered via mobile phone and tablet. Since the audience was the subject of the study, the response rate was high.

Although accountants have an image of not being very outspoken, it was nice to see how many comments came about from the questions. The session brought up a sense of belonging, not to mention, a lot of laughs. At the reception following the presentation, there was an extensive talk about the findings. Van Riel said that through the audience interaction the study came to life.

A professor in reputation management conducted a live reputation study during an interactive presentation from NBA. How? They used Sendsteps.

NBA: Get to Know What the Audience Thinks About Itself

Libra: Show all you’ve got. Analyze and answer questions together.

How do you find out what your audience really thinks? Sure, you can walk through the audience offering up a microphone for responses and questions, but you never know what you’ll get – not to mention you’ll lose out on valuable opinions and questions from those that aren’t comfortable enough to step up to the microphone. Instead, you can give the audience an opportunity to respond anonymously via mobile phone. By openly discussing the responses with team members or stakeholders together, you’ll quickly get right to the heart of the matter.

For change and inspiration

The Board of Directors of Libra Rehabilitation & Audiology had already spoken with their team about changes within the organization.
However, the board wondered why the team wasn’t acting like a cohesive team. Were the changes clear?
In alignment with the organization, ten statements were presented to the team and discussed under the guidance of an independent moderator.

Employees speak out about changes.

The employees felt encouraged by the results on the screen. After a while they began to realize it was a safe environment to discuss some sensitive topics. They shared, “Things must change, but often there’s so little acknowledgment paid to the things that already work well”. At the end of the session, the board not only received the voting results, but also gained a valuable insight from the employees. This allowed them to adjust company policy and communications, and create a more supportive direction for the organization.

An employee of Libra was able to discuss sensitive subjects during an interactive presentation. How? They used Sendsteps.

Show all you’ve got. Analyze and answer questions together.

Conjugo: Follow suit. Vote on statements during a debate.

## For learning and involvement

“What do you actually think about this?” A debate can help to form a clearer opinion. A subject can be fiercely defended, but what does the audience actually think about it? Will they let themselves be convinced or will it confirm what they already thought? Comments from the audience can help the debaters sharpen their points.

## IT students ask questions to prospective employers.

Ten student associations, along with event agency Conjugo, organized a career event. During brief debates, proponents and opponents of various companies discussed a statement. After each debate, the same statement was also presented to the students.

The speakers then gave a brief response to the audience with the outcome. During the debate ongoing questions and responses were submitted from the audience. The input was regularly delivered from the audience to the stage by the Sendsteps Sidekick.

The debates kept the students engaged and thinking, partly because their own questions were constantly being discussed. The participating companies felt challenged and were pleased with the refreshing approach to the career event. After each debate, the students became more confident to approach, and talk with, the professionals. They also expressed that the event gave them a much better picture of their future fields.

200 IT students contributed through our Audience Response System in a live debate about IT careers during a presentation from Conjugo events.

Conjugo Events: Vote on Statements During a Debate

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KLM: Engage your audience from the start. Involve your audience during your presentation.

## For learning and involvement

No matter how interesting your story is, after a certain amount of time your audience will begin to lose focus. Engage your audience right from the start by asking a question and then keep the questions coming. The result is two-fold: you keep your audience’s energy up and you receive concrete input that allows you to alter your presentation to suit your audience’s interests.


## KLM CFO discusses the annual figures with the audience.

During an annual KLM meeting of financial controllers, the CFO discussed the annual figures. Before he started his presentation, he asked his audience to answer a multiple-choice question via mobile phone.

During his presentation he also asked them questions about company culture. By asking both substantial and practical questions, a fairly long presentation remained engaging to listen to.

By asking the controllers questions about their own work, their attention was instantly peaked. And since questions were asked throughout the presentation, they remained engaged. Both the speaker and the controllers benefited: The speaker gained insight into the thoughts of his team, which helped him during the afternoon discussions. The controllers became more aware of how their fellow team members experience actual topics within the team.

During an interactive presentation the KLM airline' CFO asked his team questions about the company results. The audience participated through smartphone.

Engage your audience from the start. Involve your audience during your presentation.

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Ahold: Many hands make light work. Let the audience work together on a solution.

How do you create ownership over an issue? And how do you make one person’s issue relevant to the whole group? By presenting the issue to the audience they can discuss it as a group first to gain a better understanding of the matter. The comments that are sent in, give a broad insight. Discussing the input during a plenary discussion allows you to get the issue solved together!

For involvement and inspiration

Supermarket chain AHOLD invited its European HR Managers to an annual meeting. During this meeting the success and challenges of the previous year were discussed, as well as what to focus on in the new year. The morning program was planned, but the organization had deliberately left the afternoon session open.

During sub sessions in the morning, the discussion groups were each given three questions to discuss. The leader summarized each answer in a brief text message and sent it to the organization. Based on those messages, the agenda for the afternoon was created. This was done by a separate team, supported by Sendsteps.

AHOLD HR managers determine the agenda.

By using the input of the morning session during the plenary afternoon session, the theme could be tackled from different angles. “By discussing the themes in smaller groups, I noticed that it was much easier for me to listen and respond with more detail and nuance during the follow-up session”, said one of the managers. The audience said that everything discussed that day was actually used to find solutions.

During an interactive presentation from Ahold, attendees of a HR conference were able to attend a co-creation session via Sendsteps.

Ahold let the audience work together | Sendsteps

Is it possible to involve your audience before they come to your meeting? And what about the day after your meeting? Will everyone simply go back to their day to day routine? During the meeting there are several opportunities to connect with your audience. However, by asking your audience to think about a topic prior to, and after the meeting, they become more engaged with the message you are trying to get across.

Achmea: From A to Z. The audience is thinking throughout: during, before, and after.

## For learning and involvement

Is it possible to involve your audience before they come to your meeting? And what about the day after your meeting? Will everyone simply go back to their day to day routine? During the meeting there are several opportunities to connect with your audience. However, by asking your audience to think about a topic prior to, and after the meeting, they become more engaged with the message you are trying to get across.

## Achmea’s Top 300 are involved before, during and after the meeting.

The meeting “Achmea 2020 – Accelerating and Refresh” was about the future of the insurance company. Two days prior to the meeting the audience was asked a question by SMS. Then, during the meeting, questions were asked again. Some of the answers to the questions were summarized in a word cloud – a dynamic image in which the most common responses are displayed largest and boldest.

As such the audience could visualize what topics were discussed most. The morning after the meeting, the audience was asked one last question: “What am I going to do differently as a result of yesterday?”. The reactions to this question were used as input for a follow-up meeting.

An interview with several guests at a panel is a common format for an audience to take in information. But why limit the conversation to the information coming from the panel, when there is much more information to be had from the audience? By allowing the audience to react to a number of multiple-choice questions on a screen throughout the panel, and then showing the results, you can gain valuable input for the discussion. The discussion can also be stimulated by the Sendsteps Sidekick, who’ll regularly bring up real-time audience comments.

 During an Interactive Presentation, top professionals from Achmea insurance company, were able to particpate before, during and after a conference.

From A to Z. The audience is thinking throughout: during, before, and after.

Fresh: Any other business? The audience provides live input during a panel discussion.

## For learning and involvement

An interview with several guests at a panel is a common format for an audience to take in information. But why limit the conversation to the information coming from the panel, when there is much more information to be had from the audience? By allowing the audience to react to a number of multiple-choice questions on a screen throughout the panel, and then showing the results, you can gain valuable input for the discussion. The discussion can also be stimulated by the Sendsteps Sidekick, who’ll regularly bring up real-time audience comments

## App builders receive input from their customers during a panel interview.

An interview with several guests at a panel is a common format for an audience to take in information. But why limit the conversation to the information coming from the panel, when there is much more information to be had from the audience? By allowing the audience to react to a number of multiple-choice questions on a screen throughout the panel, and then showing the results, you can gain valuable input for the discussion. The discussion can also be stimulated by the Sendsteps Sidekick, who’ll regularly bring up real-time audience comments.

Six event app developers from Fresh discussed live audience input during an interactive presentation. The content was send via Sendsteps.

Fresh: Any other business? | Sendsteps

AFAS: Want to play a game? Let the audience think playfully.

## For learning and inspiration

“Name all of the countries our company has offices in?”, “How often has the Dutch national soccer team lost the World Cup finals?” During a meeting, playing a quiz can offer up a nice break. While they are answering, you can assess the audience’s knowledge level of the subject and gain a better understanding of what still needs to be taught. At the end of the quiz, announce the winner and put him or her in the spotlight!

## Knowledge tested by the public during the AFAS Tennis Classics

During the break between tennis matches, the audience was asked eight questions by former professional tennis player Jacco Eltingh. These questions were answered via mobile phone via SMS, internet and Twitter.

After the audience answered all of the questions, the one with the most correct answers, and fastest response time, was called on his mobile phone and could be heard live in the stadium. He was invited down to the tennis court where he received an award from Jacco Eltingh. The audience participated enthusiastically and had fun during the breaks. The lucky winner went home with a travel voucher for a weekend in Barcelona!

During a tennis tournament AFAS made the audience particpate through Sendsteps audience response system in an interactive quiz.

Customer Stories