Using Audience Response Keypads For Greater Impact. Facilitator s Guide

Transcription

1 Using Audience Response Keypads For Greater Impact Facilitator s Guide

2 Description RSi s Audience Response System consists of hand-held response pads that are linked to a PC based computer system and an audiovisual display. The keypads allow audience members to respond, in real time, to questions and/or statements posed by a moderator. The resulting graphic display represents the audience s opinion and allows for an anonymous and immediate exchange of ideas in groups of any size. Procedure A question is displayed to the audience with up to ten possible answers. The speaker reads the question aloud and asks members of the audience to respond using the keypad in front of them. The results tally instantaneously and may be displayed in a variety of graphic formats. The graphic results represent the audience s view on questions posed and serve as a communication vehicle between speaker and audience. It is therefore important for the moderator to comment on the collected responses shown in the chart. Overview The Audience Response System is a versatile communications tool and, when used effectively, can yield substantial data for real-time discussions and post meeting evaluation. The effective use of audience response requires careful planning and attention to the meeting objectives. The outline below will assist in organizing the interactive meeting content. DEFINE MEETING OBJECTIVES DEVELOP QUESTIONS FOR AN ENGAGING EXPERIENCE INTRODUCE THE SYSTEM SPEAKER SUPPORT SUBMITTING QUESTIONS REPORTS/DATA 2

3 Define Meeting Objectives Each meeting has its own objectives, whether to identify areas of necessary change, develop strategies for success, motivate and educate a sales force, or to gain support for already defined plans. Whatever the goal, be sure to use the system in a way that supports these objectives. Develop Questions for an Engaging Experience Questions may have up to 10 multiple-choice options including: True/False, Yes/No, Scalar (e.g., strongly agree strongly disagree) and Incremental Continuum (e.g.,1. 10% 2. 20% 3. 30% 4. 40%, etc.). It is also possible to designate a correct answer for educational presentations. Effective questions challenge each member of the audience in terms of his/her own experience or practical application of knowledge. The deliberate wording of audience participation questions will ensure meaningful results. Hints: Keep questions concise and include only one event or happening. Engage the audience by creating legitimate and controversial questions. Keep in mind there need not be a correct answer. Bring out the audience s diversity of opinion. Use positive phrasing. Include specific time frames when possible. Acknowledge results if the question is important enough to ask, the results should be worthy of comment. Expect the unexpected be prepared for follow-up questions. Question Types Pre-planned These questions are developed prior to the meeting by the moderator or facilitator with guidance, if desired, from an RSi consultant. They may be displayed through the response system, overhead projector, 35mm slides or other appropriate methods for the audience to evaluate. Spontaneous/Impromptu Questions arising out of discussion may be verbalized to the audience or typed in through the system for immediate display and evaluation. It is important, however, that the moderator be comfortable with this style of interaction. 3

4 Examples: Standard A standard question simply asks the opinion of or reaction to a question or statement. What percentage of U.S. households choose an information source other than their physician as the primary resource for health care information? % % % % 5. >50% Demographic Determine the major characteristics of the audience by posing questions containing categorical or demographic information. What is your main functional area? 1. President/CEO 2. CIO 3. Management 4. Sales & Marketing 5. Administrative 6. Other Note: Results collected from any question may be crossreferenced by category or demographic group. Commitment Questions may be asked before a lecture to provoke members of the audience to examine their experience. Is your organization purchasing or selling data, products, or services using electronic networks (e.g., the Internet)? 1. Yes, Currently 2. No, but will within 6 months 3. No, but will within 12 months 4. No current plans Case Presentations Describe a case and ask the audience to answer questions at various decision points. Based on what you know about this Human Resources (HR) scenario, what action would you recommend the CEO take? 1. Reprimand the employee 2. Reassign the employee 3. Terminate the employee 4. Ignore the situation 4

5 Pre-Post Ask a question at the beginning of a presentation. Then, after the introduction of new information ask the same question again. This will demonstrate whether learning has taken place or if the presentation influenced the audience to change its opinion. "I feel I have enough information to understand my role and responsibility in the organization." 1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree Surveys Toss away the standard fill-in-the-blank surveys. Receive immediate, anonymous feedback regarding the quality of the speakers, meeting content, meeting site, etc. with much higher response rates than traditional paper surveys. How would you rate the content of Pat s opening remarks? 1. Excellent 2. Very good 3. Good 4. Fair 5. Poor Priority Voting Participants can make multiple selections from the list of choices. This is done in rounds of voting. The group makes a selection for round one, then round two, then round three, and so on. This method effectively force ranks the items on the list by applying a weighting system to each round of voting. The system safeguards against multiple votes for the same item by automatically discarding duplicate votes from one user. Please rank the following characteristics of a successful product launch 1. Marketing 2. Packaging 3. Timing 4. Quality of Product 5. Demand 6. Advertising 7. Luck 5

6 Introduce the System It is important for the participants to feel comfortable with the interactive technology to ensure maximum response rates. For this reason, the moderator should provide a brief explanation of the system and prepare the audience with a warm up question or two. The moderator may say: The keypad placed in front of you represents your opportunity to take part in this meeting. The keypad will allow you to respond to questions/statements presented throughout the day. Your responses will be summarized in graphic format for us to review. The system is anonymous, so please offer your honest opinions. Questions will be presented with a numbered range of choices at which time you may press the number on the keypad associated with your choice. The number will appear in the keypad s display for a few seconds, then extinguish. The system will only accept one response per question; however, if you change your mind, you may simply respond again. The computer will record only your last response, until the results are displayed. 6

7 Speaker Support We encourage speakers to call us months or weeks in advance so we may suggest helpful ideas and review questions for content, clarity and formatting. Although it is important to submit and thoroughly review all interactive questions prior to the meeting, RSi consultants are always available on-site for editing changes and additions or deletions of interactive questions. RSi consultants will also be available for keypad rehearsals and speaker training to ensure that all presenters are at ease with the polling procedure. Submitting Questions Polling questions may be created using any popular word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Lotus WordPro, etc.) so long as the formatting conforms to this example: Type only what is to appear on the polling screen, using carriage returns to designate the end of the question and the beginning of the response options. 1. Do not insert a blank line between the question text and response options 2. Use Arabic numbers (as opposed to letters A. B. C. D.) 3. Follow with a period and at least one space 4. Follow each option with a carriage return 5. Separate each consecutive question by 2 carriage returns 6. *Indicate a correct response with an asterisk Reports/Data RSi s keypad system software stores responses by individual keypad. If anonymity is not desired, each keypad may be linked to a specific individual in the audience, allowing for highly detailed reports. Reports may be: displayed as an aggregate of the total audience responses tabulated by demographic group or individual keypad cross-referenced with other questions summarized by mean (average) shown in comparison with other questions provided in ASCII text format for spreadsheet or database importation printed and bound delivered as a PowerPoint presentation or Excel spreadsheet posted on the Web 7

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