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How many times have you been to a meeting where the speaker drones on and on, clicking through endless PowerPoint slides? This style of presentation tends to overload attendees with too much information, while wasting an opportunity for meeting sponsors to share their message in an effective way.
“We know that the average adult attention span is between five and 15 minutes, yet we ask people to sit in these presentations that are 45 to 90 minutes long,” says Ray Hansen, co-founder of Event Camp Twin Cities, one of numerous groups that are working to make meetings more interactive through new communication and collaboration tools.
“Exchanging information is the core of why we meet,” says Hansen. “But people tune out unless you have a dialogue. They get engaged when they can talk, share information, collaborate and give feedback in real-time.”
Going to a conference doesn’t have to mean sitting in rows of uncomfortable chairs and listening passively to talking heads. Read on for suggestions from meeting planners on how to make your next event more lively and productive.
- Break it up. Encourage speakers to incorporate pauses into their talks. For instance, have a speaker present for 10 to 15 minutes, and then ask the audience to break into small groups to discuss the information. Have them answer a couple of questions or work together on a challenge. After this break, the presenter can resume speaking until the next pause. “This lets people exhale and absorb a lot of the information,” says Samuel J. Smith, an interactive meeting technology consultant and blogger. “It helps them connect to each other and the material.”
- Try new formats. A great way for a speaker to distill his or her thoughts is through a Pecha Kucha presentation. The name comes from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation (“chit-chat”). It’s a rapid-fire speaking style in which the presenter shows 20 images, spending 20 seconds on each one. Inviting six or seven speakers to give Pecha Kucha talks rather than having one person fill 45 minutes allows the audience to hear a wider range of perspectives. “People aren’t used to the format, so they pay extra attention because they want to see how it’s done,” says Smith. “It also focuses the content. You get right to the point.”
Want more from FedEx? Check these out: If you’re going to spend the money to host a meeting or conference, you might as well do everything you can to make sure those in attendance truly benefit from what you have to say. Suzy Frisch is a freelance writer based in Apple Valley, Minn. She’s covered business, politics, law and many other topics for a range of publications, including Twin Cities Business magazine, the Star Tribune and the Chicago Tribune. American Express OPEN and FedEx have teamed up to provide discounts and a comprehensive resource for shipping, business and print services. To learn more, go to fedex.com/opensavings.