1. art and entertainment

How to
interact
with your
audience
BRÄHLER ICS
ACT 1
Setting the
Scene
An
introduction
Contents
Welcome to “Setting the Scene” the guide to
interaction and the use of audience response
technology from BRÄHLER ICS AG, the world’s
foremost provider and global network of traditional
conference equipment and audience response
systems.
Motivating people, empowering them or simply
involving or entertaining visitors or delegates has
always been the major challenge for most
organisations when planning their events, and we
at BRÄHLER ICS try to embrace all of this and
more in the term interaction. Interaction is a descriptive word for Interactive Communications where,
in the context of a meeting or conference, the
audience can listen to the stage and the stage can
(and does) listen to the audience.
welcome to
successful interaction!
The aim of this guide is to provide an easy to read
reference for the user to explain what interactive
communications are, the processes and outputs of
interaction (with examples) and how audience
response technology can be used to provide real
benefit within and following any meeting or
conference virtually irrespective of content and
environment.
We sincerely hope this “Setting the Scene” guide
will prove a useful assistant to you in delivering
a successful conference.
Act 1 Setting the Scene –
an Introduction
2
Act 2 What is Interaction
4
Act 3 The Power of Interaction
6
Act 4 That’s Entertainment
8
Act 5 Benefits of Interaction
10
Act 6 Audience Response Technology
14
Act 7 The DIGIVOTE®-2000 Solution
16
Act 8 Developing the Questions
(tips and examples)
18
Act 9 The Do-It-Yourself
DIGIVOTE® Solution
35
Act 10 BRÄHLER ICS Konferenztechnik
Act Now Contact your
DIGIVOTE®-2000 Specialist
Neil Mirchandani
BRÄHLER ICS KONFERENZTECHNIK
International Congress Service AG
Network Headquarters – Germany
©2000 BRÄHLER ICS Konferenztechnik
International Congress Service AG, Königswinter
All copyrights are reserved,however permission
to use parts of this document will
not be unreasonably withheld.
This guide would of course be relevant to virtually any
audience response system, however it has been written
with the Brähler ICS range of products and services at
the fore but this by no means implies that other systems
are or are not capable of replicating the scenarios described.
BRÄHLER ICS® and Digivote® are registered
trademarks of BRÄHLER ICS Konferenztechnik
International Congress Service AG, Königswinter, Germany.
2
3
36
38
Act 2:
What is
Interaction?
If you think back to previous events, how often
have you observed or felt an atmosphere of
frustration because the participant’s attention was
no longer focused on the topic under discussion or
the problem in question? How often have you come
across a situation where a question addressed to
the audience appears to be ignored by 50% of the
audience on a rough hand count?
The ability of the speaker to captivate and
fascinate his audience is never easy to
achieve particularly when coupled with the
need to actively involve the listeners or
spectators who are not only the main focus
of attention but also, invariably the most
critical of judges.
Psychologists will bombard you with vastly complex
communication techniques based on behavioural
and psychological studies but all too often what the
audience really wants is to be involved, consulted or
simply just to be recognised as real people rather
than numbers on a delegate list or payroll computer.
In many such cases this is primarily a lack of
insight:The conference organiser may be the one
that everybody looks at if everything falls flat, but
in reality the speaker is the person ultimately
responsible for whether his audience has to endure
one-way communication (i.e. being talked at) or can
enjoy the experience and dynamism of true twoway communications created through Interaction.
Don’t
talk
to your
audience.
Fascinate
it.
Interaction in the context of a conference
or meeting can be described as a two-way
participative process to facilitate
transmission of information, collection of
feedback, action planning and data/
collection through the involvement and
participation of the audience.
● To bring the presenter and the audience closer
together
● To encourage discussion and debate
● To expedite decision making
● To overcome peer pressure
● To lower barriers
● To build team spirit
● To identify differences of opinion
● To entertain or create a sense of fun
● To consult with staff or customers
● To facilitate self-assessment and/or benchmarking
● To encourage brainstorming/sharing of ideas.
● To gather market research information/conduct
straw polls
● To help an audience retain complex information
● To enable an audience to follow difficult issues
● To gauge if an audience is being convinced or not
● To hold an audiences attention
● To generate instant feedback
● To identify key issues quickly
Participation; Retention; Empowerment;
Entertainment; Motivation; and Data
collection/Analysis; can all be facilitated by introducing Interaction and are described in ACT 3 – The
Power of Interaction. However to illustrate what
this means to the organiser and his audience, listed
alongside are just some of the uses that we at
BRÄHLER ICS have been asked to deliver through
our audience response technology:
Through the use of “Interaction” conference
organisers can help themselves and their speakers
create the type of environment and atmosphere that
customers or management have asked them to
create and to facilitate the delivery and feedback in
a dynamic fashion.
4
There are of course many different forms of
Interaction but the use of audience response
technology has proved extremely versatile.
Interaction is able to combine many of the
necessary elements in single operations and is
a cost-effective solution to a common problem.
5
Act 3:
The Power of
Interaction
But I’m
the speaker...
Often, when an audience is not involved in a
process their mind will wander and their interest
wane, by contrast an involved audience is more
attentive and far more likely to give greater thought
to the information being received and to participate
in the process itself.
Most observers would consider the main focus to be
the speaker and generally identify the listener as
passive. Nothing could be further from the truth,
listening is the real objective. Listening empowers
people to take responsibility, to be more productive,
to influence their environment, and at the end of
the day to increase the bottom line.
As a speaker you talk to your audience – but
are they listening? Consider the last conference
that you attended as a delegate, were you totally
captivated or were you like many other delegates
struggling to keep your mind on what the speaker
was saying or trying to show?
Listening reduces stress. Studies have shown
that improved communication skills can actually
reduce stress! Listening and communication skills
give you the tools to manage conflict and feel a
sense of control in the workplace.
“But I’m the speaker, why do I need to listen?”
Employees, whether on the shop floor or
senior managers, are more productive when
their ideas are listened to and acted upon.
They will go the extra mile when their
feelings are validated in a conference or
meeting environment. This is made possible
through audience response technology.
6
As a speaker, if you use a combination of open
and closed questions and are seen to consider
the responses and reflect feelings and differences of
opinion to show understanding, your audience will
feel that they are being taken seriously and their
opinions valued. Empowerment and motivation are
created through the careful selection and delivery of
the right questions and the right responses, at the
right time.
As a senior manager and conference speaker, it is
always difficult to convince staff, particularly those
with a lesser degree of customer interface, to make
support statements. For example “Service is far
more important than price” or “We must provide
the customer with that that he wants and not just
what we want him to have”.This validates the
customer's concerns and creates empathy and trust.
Through a process of feedback debate is
stimulated, issues examined, employees consulted
and understanding achieved.
As often is the case at meetings and conferences,
you need to relay vast amounts of information in a
limited time scale. How is the audience going to
take it all in and more importantly retain the key
points.The involvement of the audience through
Interaction provides not only the audio and visual
element but also a participative element. As such,
when it comes to recall they will not only remember
the theme of what was being discussed but also
those key points that were highlighted by
involving both the audience as a whole and
them as an individual.
...why are
you talking
about
Entertainment is a powerful tool both from a
motivational and a retention point of view, as well
as being good fun.The effectiveness of your use of
entertainment is of course a combination of the
creativity of the entertainment programme and the
degree that the audience become involved.There are
many forms of entertainment, both passive and
Interactive, but if you are really looking to get your
audience involved you’ll find a few ideas in
ACT 4, “That’s Entertainment”.
listening?
7
Act 4:
That’s
Entertainment
Quiz questions can be general knowledge, company
or industry based or a combination of each (e. g.:
Trivia, Product Knowledge, General Knowledge,
Industry Knowledge or even understanding of
industry regulations or company policy).Whether
the quiz is constructed for individuals or played in
teams to enhance team building within an organisation or networking within an industry, questions
are normally posed on a multiple choice basis with
a number of points being awarded for the correct
answer.This simultaneously creates an environment
of competitiveness, togetherness, learning and fun as
well as giving you the opportunity to gauge the
knowledge, talents and awareness of the participants. Here are just a few examples of the benefits
provided by a well-constructed, well-delivered and
well-designed audience response quiz:
Incorporating an audience response game
into your meeting or conference programme
enables you to really get your audience
involved. This could be to ensure everybody
partakes, to generate involvement between
and with other delegates, ensure
participation in the conference topic or
simply to create a team spirit or a feel
good atmosphere.
Maybe, as a Conference Organiser, you’ve been fortunate enough to have been briefed to introduce an
element of fun or to “Entertain the Troops”, but if
not here are a few suggestions that just might help
persuade the CEO or budget holder that spending
part of the budget on entertainment is a good
investment.
1. Breaking the Ice
Gives everyone the opportunity to break out of
traditional roles and express themselves more freely.
A mini quiz, or round one of a larger game can
provide the dynamics and impact needed to get
your conference off to a great start.
2. Involve the Whole Audience
An audience response quiz can call upon everyone
to contribute to achieve a team success. New or quiet
participants quickly become valued members of the
group, irrespective of their role in the workplace.
3. Pinpoint Hidden Issues
What isn't seen, discussed or understood in “real
life” can often be revealed or rise to the surface
through a well-designed conference quiz.
Computerised processing through an audience
response system then helps participants recognise
the real issues and the implications.
Make
them
smile.
4. Bring to light Hidden Talents
Who knows what skills and talents lie just below the
surface of your colleagues? By removing the constraints
of the normal working environment through Quiz/
Game conditions you can generate an environment
that can set people loose to invent, create, design,
negotiate, set targets, take bold actions and succeed.
8
And they
will
listen.
5. Generate that feel good factor
A Conference quiz lets people have some fun. A
good quiz can deliver key learning points with
involvement, excitement and entertainment. A great
way to launch your program, to enliven lunch or
dinner or as the climax to the entire event.
6. Establish or verify a Key Reference Point.
People refer to effective conference Quizzes/games
for years. Let the activity and insights from your
conference become an anchor point for discussion
and recall.
10. Games Add Dynamism
to the Conference Mix
To the Conference Mix Every conference should
boast a mix of interactive methods and techniques:
speeches, workshops, exhibitions, demonstrations,
meals, social gatherings, multi-media presentations.
And, in the right situations, effective and entertaining Conference Games and quizzes to add the
energy and inspiration that helps make conferences
successful and memorable.
7. Highlight a Specific Theme
Whether your focus is teamwork, leadership,
customer service, competition, motivation or
innovation, an effectively designed quiz can bring
that theme to the front of everybody’s mind and
keep it there throughout your event.
8. Harvest New Ideas
Quizzes/Games put participants in a totally
different mind frame and setting. All kinds of new
ideas and insights can grow through the fusion of
different thought processes and by encouraging
lateral thinking.The best ideas can be pursued
long after your conference is over. (For example
a product design award game).
TIP:
To keep the audience motivated and in tune with
what’s going on, reveal the scores periodically (perhaps after every fourth question), enable those further down the scoreboard to catch up (perhaps by
apportioning higher scores to the later rounds or
questions) and vary the questions so that the boffins
or particular departments/sectors are not unduly
advantaged. If you’re pressed for time and looking
for a quick fire quiz, ask your DIGIVOTE®-2000
specialist about “Shoot-out” which eliminates the
participant if they answer a question incorrectly
thus enabling you to achieve a single winner (team
or individual) in a short space of time.Whether
your audience is the company’s sales force or a
group of senior industry executives, everybody likes
to play with money or pit their wits against the
stock market. Ask your DIGIVOTE®-2000 specialist
about their Finance Quiz modules or if your conference is following a particular theme, the customised theme solutions that they offer, for example
The Million Dollar Challenge.
9. Quiz Solutions Can Become Work Solutions
What succeeds in a game can sometimes succeed in
the real world, too. Lessons learned in conference
games and quizzes will be remembered throughout
the year and can give delegates new learning tools
to pass on to their fellow workers (For example a
Marketing Plan created in workgroups and assessed
by everyone using audience response may reveal
avenues previously not considered).
Acknowledgement:
The examples within this Act have been adapted from an article written
by Ron Kaufmann Copyright, Ron Kaufman. For FREE newsletter,
visit www.RonKaufman.com
9
Act 5:
Benefits Of
Interaction
Benefits:
Take Home
On The Day
Motivation as a group
Delegates will have retained more of the
information imparted
Delegates will appreciate and acknowledge the
consultation enabled by the methods used
Provides clear direction/priorities for future actions
A deeper understanding of Senior Management
objectives
Builds team spirit, confidence and self-esteem
Breaking the Ice
Building Teamwork
Entertainment
Involvement/participation
for each and every delegate
As an individual
Delegates will have retained more of the
information transmitted
Delegates will appreciate and acknowledge the
consultation enabled through interaction
Imparts clear direction/priorities for future actions
Instils a deeper understanding of Senior
Management objectives
Gives a deeper understanding of peer
opinion/thought processes
Builds team spirit, confidence and self-esteem
Enhanced presentations
A powerful linking medium
for the facilitator
An effective tool to aid discussion
Knowledge / Data / Information
Market survey versus on the day survey
comparisons
Conference evaluation
Clear direction/priorities for future actions
Data will have been gathered which can be used
for more in-depth analysis
Detailed (demographic) profiles of delegate/
employee opinions/differences of opinion
Benchmarking
Real gut reaction feedback/evaluation of the event
itself (subject to questions posed)
Ask
questions...
10
Example 1 Statement
The vast majority of industry pundits state
that the current boom will continue for
several years to come?
1. Strongly agree
2. Agree
3. No opinion or Unsure
4. Disagree
5. Strongly disagree
...they will
remember
their
answers.
This format can be used for any number of
questions to gather opinions from the audience in
order that the facilitator/presenter can gauge “the
lie of the land” as far as the audience is concerned
and sometimes is used both before and after a
presentation to measure changes of opinion/impact
and affect of the presentation.This format is also
often used for organisational evaluation e.g.
Example 2 Statement
The board believe that over the past 12
months satisfaction level of the majority of
our customers has increased.
1. Strongly agree
2. Agree
3. No opinion or Unsure
4. Disagree
5. Strongly disagree
Cost Savings / Benefits
A cost effective survey (e.g. self-assessment
programme or employee survey)
Targeted and precise follow-ups enable savings
over more time consuming methodologies.
A motivated workforce
Cost effective training
Cost effective communication (Keeps you in touch
with your staff and your staff in touch with you)
Builds team spirit, confidence and self-esteem
This enables senior management to evaluate
differences in perception between senior/middle
management and staff.This format is used with
greater effect, when discussing customer and
employee issues, if the audience are not individually
identified. However when the audience is identified
the third option allows for an escape route for those
in the audience that may fear repercussions.The
same could be said of the next example when
looking for a straightforward answer.
The interactive loop (Transmission of Information;
Feedback; Data Analysis; and Action Planning)
is often significantly advanced through the use of
interactive voting techniques.
11
Act 5:
Benefits Of
Interaction
Example 3 Question
Example 5 Competition
Do you believe that the introduction of the
Euro will change the buying behaviour of
your key customers?
1.Yes
2. No
3. Don’t Know
Our main competitor will shortly announce
the launch of ABC drug in direct competition
to our own XYZ drug - On a scale of 1 to 9
what impact do you think ABC will have on
sales of XYZ.
...is
the
answer.
Please enter a single number between 1 and 9
with 1 being no impact through to 9 being a
dramatic impact.
Example 4 Probe
Of those of you that answered yes to the
previous question please indicate the most
likely effect of the introduction of the Euro
on your key customers.
1. Customers will be keen to deal in Euros.
2. Customers will resist dealing in Euros.
3. Customers will believe that companies offering products in Euros are more up to date.
4. Customers will perceive Euro priced
products as more expensive than local priced
products.
5. Customers will perceive Euro priced
products as less expensive than local priced
products.
6. Customers will be confused by the Euro.
7. Customers will be more likely to purchase
European products because of the Euro than
non-European products (e.g. those priced in
US $´s or Japanese Yen).
Example 6 Competition-Probe
In order of priority (select up to 3 options)
which of these elements will cause such an
impact.
1. The competitor’s branding is stronger than
our own.
2. The competitor’s product is more effective
than our own.
3. The competitor’s product produces less
side effects than our own.
4. The competitor’s product is less expensive
than our own.
5. The competitor’s marketing is stronger than
our own.
6. The competitor’s sales force is larger than
our own.
7. The competitor is able to offer a better
combination of products than we are.
8. Our product is better placed than that of
the competitor.
The
question...
This format allows for options to be weighted and
thus more accurately reflect opinions or concerns,
which then enables a presenter (or facilitator) to
pick up on the issues for further explanation or
discussion.
12
The system is also used to undertake Employee
Surveys, Conference Evaluation, Importance v.
Performance Evaluation, Decision Making
(extremely powerful when employees are asked to
partake in a policy decision which is subsequently
carried through by the company) and also for
entertainment purposes in the form of a quiz.
These above are just a few examples, which can be
further strengthened by utilising Demographic
groupings. E.G. UK personnel may feel that the
impact of the Euro will be detrimental whilst their
French counterparts may feel that the introduction
of the Euro may have an advantageous effect.
If during the conference you are planning to use a
facilitator/link man the benefits from utilising the
DIGIVOTE®-2000 system can be further enhanced.
For example the facilitator can pick out points from
a presentation to put to the audience or directly ask
the audience whether they agree or not with the
comments made by the previous speaker. He can
also challenge the audience to see whether
information transmitted during earlier presentations
has been retained or put conflicting opinions
between presenters to the audience to see what
they think.
The actual use of the system will of course be
dependent on the content and aims of the conference
but in most cases can be extremely powerful if built
in at an early stage.
For further examples of how to use and benefit
from audience response technology please refer to
Developing the Questions (tips and examples) in
ACT 8.
In recent years many companies (including IT
and Financial) have used the system to facilitate/
support self-assessment or benchmarking
programmes (for example EFQM) by asking the
audience to assess areas such as Leadership, Policy,
People Management, Processes, Customer
Satisfaction, Business Performance etc.
13
Act 6:
Audience
Response
Technology
Conference organisers and meeting planners are
choosing such technology to collect data or survey
members, customers, clients, or employees on safety,
product preference, and delivery performance issues
and more recently for self-assessment programmes
advocated by the various quality foundations around
the world. For example, BRÄHLER ICS AG has
recently launched a version of their software that
enables organisations to obtain instant feedback to
the European Foundation for Quality Management’s,
“Determining Business Excellence” programme.The
technology is also being employed to enable audiences to participate actively in what’s being talked
about; the focus here is not information collection,
but the learning process.
Audience response systems, group response
systems, voting systems, opinion polling
systems or decision support systems. No
matter what name it comes under, interactive technology has caught the attention
and the imagination of meeting planners
and conference organisers right across the
globe.
The first computerised system was launched by
BRÄHLER Konferenztechnik in 1976 and in
recent years the market has exploded with a proliferation of different suppliers offering a number of
hardware and software solutions.
Utilising the technology merely as a convenient
survey tool means that you miss out on 90% of
its capabilities but pay 100% of the costs. Don’t
forget, audience response technology can and is
used for a number of reasons. For example:
At first glance, you may not identify the full range
of benefits – but take a deeper look. Such systems
can save you time and money: For example, an
organisation required to deliver lengthy delegate
voting sessions at their annual conference can save
days (and all the associated costs) by using audience
response technology.The collection of feedback or
market research can be facilitated at a fraction of
more traditional and labour intensive methods.The
same can also be said for using audience response
technology in place of other entertainment or motivational programmes. In fact the list of uses, savings
and benefits is virtually endless once you grasp the
full concept and let imagination and creativity do
the rest. Even if you consider the initial costs high
for single-day or single-session use, the cost of
incorporating audience response rapidly plummets
when calculated on extended or additional use.
Participation – to involve the audience
Whilst cable systems (closed systems) can still boast
the greatest reliability, wireless systems based on
radio-frequency technology boast the advantage of
fast set-up. New technology has proved radiofrequency based wireless systems to be extremely
efficient and in general more cost effective and less
hassle for both organisers and participants alike.
Information Retention
100%
Participating
90
80
Seeing
70
and
60
Hearing
50
40
Seeing
30
Listening
20
Reading
10
Many organisations, particularly the pharmaceutical
companies, who embraced audience response
technology several years ago now use it extensively,
often over several days, several sessions and several
different types of use, even on occasion spreading
the cost over two or more organisations, thus
enabling effective amortisation of the costs over
a broad area.
The above chart illustrates one powerful effect that
can be achieved through effective use of an audience
response system, there are many others, for instance:
The use of audience response technology can at
least halve the time it takes to do delegate voting.
Dependent on the complexity of the vote and the
size of the audience, it can take just 30 seconds to
ask the question, get the responses, tabulate, provide
data, comment on it, and produce a demographic
(results by audience profiles) response.
Audience response or interactive technology
can be the driving force for the organisation
and delivery of effective presentations and more
importantly, how it is received. It can lift and
invigorate most conferences, but when considering
using the technology, don’t forget to ask service
providers what else you might have to pay for.
For example, additional labour, back-up equipment,
charge per question and per report, reports generated
after the fact, and consultation on how to use the
system. Also, don’t forget the audio-visual needs for
appropriately displaying the data during the meeting
session.
Learning – as a teaching or training aid
Retention – people remember more when they
are involved (See the Information Retention Chart
opposite)
Empowerment – to facilitate consultation
amongst groups
Motivation – to hear and react to the
audience’s opinions
Don’t use
your imagination.
Entertainment – through quizzes and games
Data Collection – Surveys or questionnaires
Evaluation – consensus or divergence of opinion
14
Use
theirs.
15
Act 7:
The DIGIVOTE®-2000
Solution
DIGIVOTE®-2000 offers some of the most complete,
the most customised and the most complex
solutions on the market but in its simplest form
the process can be described as:
Display the question and the answer options on
screen
Open the vote
The audience responds (The number of votes
received can be displayed on screen)
The vote is closed
The results displayed (By number or percentage)
What is DIGIVOTE®-2000 ?
DIGIVOTE®-2000 is a wireless based interactive
communications and audience response/voting
system offering reliability, accuracy and simplicity
of installation.
Excluding time for explaining the question and
commenting on the results this cycle can take as
little as 10 seconds but more commonly 20 seconds
or more is allocated or more for larger audiences.
What differentiates DIGIVOTE®-2000 from
other systems on the market?
The DIGIVOTE®-2000 handset has a full 10
button/10 option capability and is powered by
batteries, which can, and are, tested prior to every
show either individually on each handset or all
together through a battery meter application in
the software.
DIGIVOTE®-2000 has many differentiating features
notably its simplicity of use and its versatility but
perhaps the best known is that it is the world’s first
such system to offer ChipCard (Smart Card)
technology.
What can you do with DIGIVOTE®-2000?
BRÄHLER ICS AG, manufacture and supply the
DIGIVOTE®-2000 products and services directly
and through a worldwide network of subsidiary and
partner companies.
DIGIVOTE®-2000 offers some of the most advanced
software on the market, particularly following the
introduction of a 32 bit version of the DIGIVOTE®
software and a number of stand-alone programs for
quizzes and self-assessment.There is little limitation on what can be achieved through the software
and expertise of its highly experienced programmers
and operators and therefore applications, are in the
main, only limited by the imagination...
The use of the DIGIVOTE®-2000 audience
response system offers the opportunity to transform
any meeting or conference through not only the
creative use of questions but also its ability to:
Show your company’s Logos and Graphics within
the question and result slides or stand-alone slides
(particularly useful where a conference or part
conference or even a question is being sponsored).
Show up to four result screens in a single screen
(often used for showing the results of different
demographic or profile groups).
16
DIGIVOTE®-2000 offers the standard open voting
option or closed voting when a secure secret ballot is
required.
The System is used in virtually every
meeting type including:
Conferences
Congresses
Road Shows
Workshops
Exhibitions
AGM’s
Seminars
Focus Groups
Gala Dinners
TV Shows
Parliamentary meetings
Union meetings
In-house or External training
Interactive Distance Learning/Multi-site
applications*
Through the use of the DIGIVOTE®-2000
ChipCards individual identification is possible.
This feature is used in many applications but
particularly for quizzes or where voting weights or
rights are required through the ability to allocate
any number of votes to individual ChipCards and
to grant or refuse a voting right for any individual
on any vote.
The DIGIVOTE®-2000 system (sometimes in
conjunction with its sister CDS-Congress Data
System) also offers a microphone handling/queuing
system, a registration system and a lead or delegate
tracking system.
Should I rent or should I buy?
The DIGIVOTE® family of hardware and software
is extensive and includes a simple Do-It-Yourself
solution for regular small internal meetings where
buying a system may make more sense than
renting 10 to 15 times a year (See page 35).
*Multi-Site (e.g. the linking of several meetings) is
offered to facilitate simultaneous voting and
compilation of results at virtually any number of
sites and with as many delegates as required on a
national or international basis using TCP/IP
technology. Interactive Distance Learning, whether
that be through the intranets or satellite links of the
education establishments or in the commercial world
of Business TV and video conferencing, have
advanced rapidly through the introduction of
audience response technology.
Digivote®
2000:
connecting minds.
17
Act 8:
Developing the
Questions
(tips and examples)
Explain to the audience the purpose of using
the system and ask one or two “warm up”
questions at the start of the session, to “break the
ice”, loosen up the audience and familiarise them
with the technology.This prevents confusion, errors
or resistance and therefore unreliable results to the
more important questions that will follow. Often
the presenter will be unsure exactly how to
introduce the system or what to say. By way of
example, an adaptation of the following would suit
most purposes (It is generally better to have an
illustration of the handset on screen when
introducing the system).
Hopefully the previous pages will have given you a
good insight into audience response technology, its
uses and the benefits that can be derived from it. In
this act we try to look at the practicalities of
incorporating audience response into presentations effectively.
Remember, it is not just the speaker who creates the
dynamics of a presentation.Whilst he/she may well
be the point of delivery, the facilitator or linkman
can play a key role, as do the speechwriters, the
conference organisers and your audience response
consultant. It is therefore important that all those
involved in the process consider the key areas I.E.:
The objectives of the meeting and the individual
presentations are borne in mind when developing
the questions and possible responses.
mind, just press your new option and provided the
vote is still open your last selection will be
recorded.”
1.1
● “Just to try it I’m going to ask a simple
question that shouldn’t tax your mind too much.”
“Are you? 1.Male 2. Female or 3.Don’t Know.”
(see illustrations below.) “press button 1 on your
handset if you’re male, button 2 if you’re female
and for those of you that can’t work it out or are a
little unsure, press button 3. - OK, press your
buttons now.”
The Horizontal Bar Chart offers clarity where
there are a number of options enabling bars to run
underneath or alongside the answer options.
1.2a
● That the use and reasons for using the audience
response system are explained to the audience,
preferably in a warm up session.
● “Have you found your DIGIVOTE®-2000
Handsets?” (facilitator/moderator should hold up a
handset). “Just in case you’re wondering, they’re not
mobile phones or TV remotes, they’re part of the
audience response system that we have installed for
your benefit.”
● That the responses are not ignored and that the
speaker is prepared to comment on, discuss or even
analyse the responses from the audience even if the
answers given do not fall in line with expectations.
● That interaction is promoted throughout the
presentation to gather that feedback, provoke
thought, entertain, enthuse, motivate, create involvement and to stimulate discussion and debate.
● “Periodically, during the course of this meeting,
we will present various questions along with a
numbered range of choices, and ask for your
thoughts and opinions through those options
presented. After you have responded, we will
display the collective results on screen and consider,
and if we have time perhaps discuss or debate those
results.The questions will vary in type and style
but don’t worry, I’ll explain each one as we go
along.”
As already indicated, there are numerous ways to
utilise the system which are generally developed by
experience and/or consultation with the
DIGIVOTE®-2000 specialists. However the
following tips/key points together with examples
should give even the beginner the ability to create
an effective audience response session.
● “Using the keypad is an easy process.When the
question is presented, press the number associated
with your choice. It’s as simple as that. If for any
reason you want to revise your vote or change your
18
1.2b
Display Options (Styles and Formats)
There are a number of options regarding how
answers can be displayed which can be further
enhanced, as with the questions themselves, through
the creative use of colours and graphics such as
bitmaps.The Pie Chart is very popular but is only
really effective when there are a limited number of
options (e.g. 3 to 5 options).
1.2c
19
Act 8
1.5
The Vertical Bar Chart is best used when there
are many possible responses to a question and when
a scale is being used for example 1 to 10 enabling
the scale axis to be shown under the chart/
histogram.
Thought provoking or humorous questions at the
beginning will gain the audience’s attention:
1.8
For Example: (fig 1.2a) Showing a picture of a
baby and asking the question – Who was this at
six months old? 1.The Managing Director
2.The Marketing Manager 3. Bill Clinton
4.The Canteen Cook.
1.3a
The Table Chart, is often used to show both the
number of votes cast or audience responses taken as
well as percentage.They are also able to show the
number of delegates present (following an attendance check using the DIGIVOTE® system) and the
number of delegates registered cross-referenced on
the delegate list.
1.3b
1.6
Following or during a humorous warm-up, try and
make the first real question a Dynamic Grouping
or Audience Profiling question.This will enable you
to identify different views or opinions between
groups either on-screen or for analysis purposes after
the event. Dynamic Grouping also enables group or
team scores for interactive games/quizzes.
Each grouping can be shown on screen in turn and
for comparison purposes up to four groupings can be
seen together on a single screen.
1.9
For example: (fig 1.2c) Which of the following best
describes your primary job function? 1.Lawyer
2. Banker 3.Accountant 4.Executive Officer
(careful phrasing of the question e.g. “primary” as
has been used in this example avoids the confusion
of the Banker who is also an accountant and the
C.E.O. who may be a lawyer by trade).
Present questions to the audience and use
the responses to stimulate further debate or
change the course of the discussion.
The Matrix Chart, normally 3 x 3 is an effective
way of illustrating a 2 dimensional question when
asking the audience to position an issue or item on
two criteria for example the standard Boston
Consultancy Matrix of “Performance” versus
“Risk”.
If you ask an identical question before and after the
presentation you can determine whether your
argument has been persuasive or if there has been
a change in opinion, as illustrated below.
1.7
2.1a
Scattered options, a highly illustrative way of
positioning numbers on a graphic such as a map for
demographic purposes or to overlay questions on to
a picture (frequently used in medical questions and
the automotive industry).
1.4
Using different chart formats provides variety,
however take care not to change the formats too
often as this can sometimes appear disjointed as
opposed to a polished presentation. Often it is
effective to retain one chart type for all similar
structured questions e.g. pie charts for short factual
questions and horizontal bars for multiple choice
or opinion based questions.
20
One demographic group can be shown by cross
referencing with the earlier demographic/grouping
question, which as here, can be very revealing and
can highlight where differences of opinion exist.
21
Act 8
2.1b
2.3
Don’t leave the important questions till last;
conferences often have a habit of over-running, if
time is running short you can skip over any
number of questions.
The wording of a question, resolution or
statement is the single most important
element to the audiences understanding and your
ability to receive a clear, rational and fair-minded
response.To assure this, it is well worth considering
the following guidelines:
If you ask a question of an audience they expect
not only to see the results but also to receive some
comment from the one who asked. Preferably
something a little more than “Ah that’s just what
I expected.”
2.2a
Think about the audience that will be in front of
you and the wealth of knowledge that they have
between them. By asking their opinion on key
points or issues you have a great opportunity to
gather important market research.
To an audience of financiers, you could ask –
What will happen to the exchange rate if we have
a change of Government after the next election?
1. It will go up 2. It will go down 3. No change
4. No idea.
2.2b
2.4
Remember that in general use voting is
anonymous. Assure your audience of this and
they will be less resistant to answer more difficult or
controversial questions or, they will give the answer
that they believe rather than the answer they think
you want to hear.
Ask a multiple-choice question during a presentation to determine if the audience has absorbed and
understood the information.This can save time and
unnecessary over-explanation.
● When seeking levels of acceptance from the
audience, simple, easily understood and preferably
short statements or announcements, tend to work
best. Clarity is also key – are you positioning your
statement factually or are you seeking opinion? To
get to the real views of your audience accuracy in
the wording is crucial.
The most frequently used question format is multiple choice (fig 1.1), which enables the presenter to
pose the questions and steer the direction of
responses in a clearly understood and manageable
fashion.The responses can then be displayed as
either a bar chart (Horizontal bars fig 1.2, or
columns fig 1.3), a pie chart (fig 1.1), a table
(fig 1.5) or customised as shown by the example
(fig 1.6). If the question is a closed question, for
example a multiple-choice question with one or
more correct answers these can be highlighted as
shown in (fig 5.2b). If the question is an open
question where the presenter is seeking opinion, the
answers can be displayed in ascending or descending
order for purposes of clarity (fig 2.4).There are a
multitude of formats that can be utilised to get the
most out of the audience response system and
optimise the impact and value within your planned
meeting or conference.These benefits are greatly
enhanced if the questions are planned in advance.
● When seeking factual based responses the key
words should revolve around the standard questioners such as who, how (much), where, what, why,
which, etc. Simple questions typically concern either
past, present or future events. For example: (fig 2.5)
2.5
● When seeking opinion the question can be posed
as asking for the audience’s level of acceptance to a
definitive statement, for example: (fig 1.7), or posing
the question in the form of (could, have, should,
will, etc.), for example: (fig 3.6). In the latter
example you are looking for the audience to supply
information, as opposed to making a statement
which assumes the information as in the former
example.
Multiple-choice questions, allow a selection from or
comparison of up to 10 options, where the audience
can be asked to select the correct answer, their
preferred choice or to rank a pre-determined number
(normally 3) in order of preference or priority. In a
quiz situation correct answers can be allocated scores
or incorrect answers can render the respective
delegates as eliminated from the quiz.
Factor in/allow time during the presentation for
debate or clarification of the question and answer
options, particularly for complex situations.
22
● Be positive. In the main it is better to allow
your audience to disagree with a positively phrased
statement than to agree with a negatively phrased
one.
23
Act 8
2.6
2.8a
Again, particularly with DIGIVOTE®-2000, all
results are saved in a format easily transferable to
either Excel® (for post show analysis purposes) or to
PowerPoint® (or bitmaps) for graphic presentations
and even html to enable you to immediately post
results on your web site. For specific bespoke
applications, it is also possible to send data via the
serial port to create graphics in other programmes/
Macromedia on a separate PC.
3.3b
3.2
● Don’t over complicate the question by dealing
with more than one issue at a time, invariably this
will confuse the audience. Singular, simple and clear
will ensure the audiences understanding. Even If
the issue you need to deal with is complex this can
be tackled by splitting it into two or more
questions.
Where there is time to come off screen, the operator
will normally have time to input the question and
display the question in the normal way.
2.8b
3.4
2.7a
Particularly the DIGIVOTE®-2000 system
provides high flexibility in that you can preset
the time that a vote is open to create a degree of
pressure or to obtain gut feel as opposed to
carefully evaluated responses, the timer can be set
automatically by the computer but overridden by
the operator if for example a question that is clear
to you is not so clear to your audience and all of a
sudden explanation time is required.
2.7b
3.1
Ad hoc questions are often an effective way of
following up on audience responses, delving deeper
or getting to the root of things, particularly if the
initial responses show a diversification of opinion or
do not fall in line with expectations.This method
can help in getting to the core of an issue, or further
clarify results (either on the day or for post show
analysis).Where there is little time the question
should be posed verbally with the pre-determined
options shown on screen.
Clearly state whether participants should make a
selection based on personal judgment or their
perception in a larger context. For example:
“Following its introduction as real money on 1st
January 2002, how important will the EURO be,
to the company as a whole?”
3.5
3.3a
● Time frames help to focus the mind, a question
containing a time frame leaves no doubt in the
audience’s mind.
24
25
Act 8
Provide clarity in the options that you provide
leaving no room for confusion. Generally speaking
the fewer options you give the less confusion will
arise and the faster the responses will be.
Advanced Question Types
Using Matrixes
Portfolio Analysis
Self-Assessment
4.2a
3.9
3.8a
The audience is asked to respond “yes” or “no” to
an issue. If it is not crucial to obtain a response one
way or the other it is generally better to offer a third
option of “No opinion” or “Don’t know”.
3.6
When seeking degrees of opinion, the following is a
simple but very effective format.
Most questions are posed as selecting one or more
options from a given list. However by using a
matrix you can add a second dimension by asking
your audience to respond against two criteria e.g.
“Benefits versus Risk” as shown in (fig 1.4) or as
above in the standard Boston Consultancy format
used by virtually every marketing department.
To compare the profitability of several products or
strategies by considering different strategies or, to
create comparative values, through considering
availability of resources, required liquidity and
expected turnover.The DIGIVOTE®-2000 system
enables cumulative results to be compared within a
Portfolio Analysis on the basis of linear, logarithmic
and even discontinuous axis intercepts.
Extending the graphic capabilities
Benchmarking
3.8b
4.1
3.8c
The comparison of company or departmental
improvement can be compared on a time basis
(against earlier results) or alternatives (companies or
departments) to gauge progression by using the
comparison functionality of the DIGIVOTE®-2000
system.
Self-assessment enables an organisation to discern
clearly its strengths and areas in which improvements
can be made.This can be a long and laborious
process with traditional paper based exercises and
above all takes a considerable amount of time. Using
DIGIVOTE® to ask the pertinent questions, score the
answers and to provide a summary chart is an
effective way of gathering the information quickly or
taking a snapshot of the health of your organisation.
4.2b
“Customer satisfaction levels within our company
are one of the highest in the industry”.
Strongly Agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly
Disagree
3.7
By placing the positive statement first you should
obtain a balanced opinion, but if you invert these
options by putting Strongly Disagree as the first
option, you potentially influence a slightly more
negative response. As with the previous example,
you can offer an opt out option of “No opinion”
or “Neutral”.
26
27
Act 8
How do you know if the audience is following
you? The continuous average feature enables the
audience to for instance press 1 for “I’m following
you” and 2 for “You’re losing me” to create a continuous graph depicting the level of understanding.
This graph can be sent to the presenters monitor to
indicate whether or not more explanation is needed.
Continuous average can also be set to enable the
audience to indicate levels of understanding
(perhaps on a scale of 1 to 5) or to accept single
keystrokes simply to indicate, “You’re losing me”.
Jury Voting
4.3a
budget be diverted to?” However, if on the first
question the answer from the audience favoured an
increase in advertising expenditure the system would
route to the “in which publication?” question.Any
number of questions can be routed in this way
enabling the presenter to empower the audience to
control the path of a presentation.
A futuristic version would be to predict, for
example, the position of the company in 5 years,
the position of the industry in 5 years, the position
of the economy in 5 years and the state of globalisation in 5 years. Each of the questions would
produce an answer screen that can be discussed, but
following the fourth answer screen a 5th is then
produced to show on one screen a comparison of the
average of all four. I.E. an overall picture of the
likely scenario in five years time.
4.8b
4.6
Confronting or comparing
a number of key issues
When voting on key issues, particularly with
smaller audiences, it is often the case that a single
extreme vote on either end of the scale can distort
the average or the picture being portrayed by the
majority.The jury-voting feature removes this
potential distortion by enabling results to be shown
excluding both the highest and lowest response.
4.5a
Handouts
On occasion, some questions are far too complex to
be considered in the 10 or 20 seconds normally
allocated within a standard audience response
question. For example if you were to ask the
audience to evaluate a new mission statement or the
positioning of competitive forces (with examples)
within the industry, time for consideration should be
allowed.This can be achieved by handing out
questionnaires beforehand and then voting altogether
once the consideration phase has been completed.
4.3b
Scripting
4.7a
Scenario Building: DIGIVOTE®’s confront feature
enables a number of questions to be compared in
many ways. For example you may ask as four
separate questions (historical as in this example)
for the audience to indicate the position of the
company.
Continuous average
4.9
4.5b
4.4
If, for example, the audience has indicated that they
don’t believe too much emphasis should be put on
advertising, it doesn’t make sense to ask,“in which
publications should we spend our advertising
budget?” Scripting enables the path of questions to
follow the responses from the audience.Therefore in
this instance instead of asking “in which publication?” the system would route to an alternative
question such as “If we reduce our advertising
expenditure what form of marketing should the
28
29
Act 8
5.2a
Excel®
5.2d
Parliamentary voting
5.1a
5.3a
5.2b
5.2e
The DIGIVOTE® program allows the user to conduct
highly confidential voting procedures.With the use
of the name handling function, voters can be
allocated the appropriate number of votes.The
100% computed in the results can take into
account invalid votes, number of voters present etc.
in order to ensure a quorum is achieved for each
vote.
There is little limitation to what DIGIVOTE can do
in itself or by incorporating Excel® macros to facilitate
complex formulae or charts.The point to remember is
that what ever you can do numerically with Excel
can in most cases be replicated graphically with the
DIGIVOTE®-2000 Audience Response System.
®
5.1b
5.3b
5.2c
Quizzes
There are numerous forms of quizzes often incorporating clock timers (see fig 5.2a).These range in
style such as the multiple-choice where a point per
correct answer is awarded (see fig 5.2b) and scores
presented on a scoreboard either for individuals (see
fig 5.2c) or for team groups (see fig 5.2d).
Different amounts can be awarded for one or more
answers giving the flexibility to play more complex
games such as stock market games (see fig 5.2e).
Highly popular is the Shoot-out quiz which eliminates any delegate giving an incorrect answer and
themed quizzes similar to popular TV shows such
as “Who wants to be a millionaire” (see fig 5.2g),
“Star Trek”, “Call my Bluff”, “James Bond” (see
fig 5.2f), etc.
30
5.2f
5.2g
31
Act 8
Weighted voting
Ranking
5.4
Analysis and debate following a question provokes
further thought and deeper understanding of the
subject at hand and should be encouraged if time
allows.
Rating
5.6a
5.7a
Promoting interaction is important to both you as
the presenter and the audience because each are
provider and receivers of information.The answer
graph will depict how the audience feel but it takes
discussion and further questions to identify why the
audience is of any given opinion or feels that a
particular answer is right or wrong.
Either answers or delegates can be allocated a
weighting. In the first case the delegate’s first answer
attracts a higher priority to their second and subsequent. Figure 5.4 shows, how when each delegate
is allocated a pre-determined voting allocation, the
weight of votes is distributed against the votes cast.
This DIGIVOTE® mode enables up to ten categories
to ranked in order of priority (fig 5.6a).The
display screen can show the results in the order in
which the subjects were raised, or alternatively sort
them according to their respective score, showing the
answer category that was chosen most often on the
top line, with the remaining in descending order. (fig
5.6b) This feature can be used in conjunction with
the Scripting feature to offer unparalleled interactivity, letting your presentation be defined by the
audience’s response.
Questions using audio
5.5
A simple way of finding out exactly how the
audience feels about a subject or even your
presentation. Ask your audience to rate a subject on
a pre-defined scale (i.e. 1 - 6 as shown in fig
5.7a).The result will give an average score based
on the answers given by each audience member.
To evaluate your presentation, these results may be
suppressed for analysis after the event, and not
shown during your presentation.
There is of course any number of ways to promote
further interaction or discussion in any given session, however here are a couple of simple pointers:
If the audience responds to a number of options, the
response could be something like “I see from your
response that you feel that we are achieving very
low margins on product A, does this mean that we
should increase the selling price?”
However, if the view of the audience to the same
question is showing a divergence of opinion,
consider bringing demographics or groupings into
play e.g.
5.7b
5.6b
5.8
Audio (.wav) files are regularly used as jingles
running for the ten seconds or so that the time/vote
bar is running. However, audio is not limited to just
jingles. Sound can be started when a slide is
shown, when the vote commences or when the
answers appear, therefore as in this example, audio
questions can be constructed where the audience is
asked to identify a sound or piece of music –
perhaps as a warm up or part of a quiz.
Responding to the Results and
promoting interaction
After the audience has considered the questions that
you pose and responded through their keypads, they
expect some form of response in return.This can be
anything from a short response like, “I would have
expected a higher response to option 2 because...
however in general I can confirm that your
responses fall in line with expectations” to a more
in depth analysis of the responses that may even lead
to further debate and other impromptu questions.
32
or to posing impromptu questions to ascertain why
such differences of opinion exist.
Controlling your session is as important as
stimulating it and often is the case that you are
running short of time or you simply wish to change
track.The DIGIVOTE® system allows you to do this
by posing ad-hoc questions such as “Now that we
33
Act 8
ACT 9
The
Do-It-Yourself
DIGIVOTE®
solution
when changes are needed, cohesiveness with the rest
of the programme, greater flexibility and time for
rehearsals.
have spent some time considering this issue are you
still of the same opinion – please answer “yes or
no” alternatively repeat the question previously
posed, or leave it up to the audience by telling them
time is running short and asking them through the
DIGIVOTE® system whether they would prefer to
continue with the same subject or move on.
What do you need to provide
(preferably by e-mail):
The backgrounds and other graphics that you wish
to be incorporated into the question slides, for
example:
5.9
6.1
Digivote®
2000:
connecting minds.
The results from all the questions will be stored
within the system, however it is important to decide
how you want these responses displayed and for
post-show analysis what information you are trying
to obtain. Often the phrasing and grouping of
questions will enable combinations of responses to
be calculated automatically or exported to Excel®
for more detailed analysis.
All graphics should be supplied in a standard
format (e. g. bmp’s, gif, jpg, tif or as a PowerPoint
slide).
If you have no background one can be created by
the technician. Also if you have corporate or
preferred fonts and colours (see fig 6.1 above) that
you wish incorporated, this should be indicated
along with the questions.
Submission of questions
DIGIVOTE® technicians will always try and
construct your interactive sessions in a fashion that
will best meet your objectives, but to do this we
need to receive all the pertinent information from
you in good time. Discussions on your objectives
and format that the interactive sessions will take
(i.e. feedback question, self-assessment programmes,
quizzes, etc.) should be undertaken at the earliest
opportunity with the physical materials being
provided ideally seven days or more before the
meeting or conference. Naturally, the DIGIVOTE®
technicians can and will make adjustments on-site,
even right up to the last minute if there is
physically enough time, but it is always much better
to have the main substance prepared in advance.
This ensures the quality, reduces stress on you
The questions together with the options/answers
indicating correct answers/points allocated if
applicable.These should be supplied as a word
document or standard text file or alternatively
within a PowerPoint slide if you wish to indicate
how you would like it to appear visually.
Confirmation of the projection device that you are
using, precise schedule for set-up and show time
and any other equipment or technical assistance
that you would require.
34
For a very small outlay, you can harness the power of interaction to
implement decision-making sessions
or ask multiple-choice questions in
your own internal meetings or classroom presentations.
DIGIVOTE® as a »lite«-version
Primarily designed as a sales product to allow you
to design and run your own presentations.This
easy to use system, brings technology from the
Conference Forum into your everyday lives.
This “lite” version of the DIGIVOTE® system would
comprise of, typically 10 or 25 handsets, each with
LED display, numeric keypad and clear function;
and an easily transported base station. At a later
date, additional handsets may be purchased to
expand your system, or simply hired for a one off
occasion, where you want to use more keypads than
originally purchased, without the additional capital
outlay to buy the stock.
Used within, for example, in-house training
sessions, the system offers an unrivalled opportunity
to collect valuable feedback from your personnel,
to assist in the development of your training and
evaluation procedures.The software may be used in
conjunction with specialised training and selfassessment modules, allowing you to complete
previously lengthy paper exercises in the fraction
of the time.
On most occasions the fully serviced
DIGIVOTE®-2000 system will be required,
particularly for conferences or meetings outside of
the office. However for small meetings held on a
regular basis, the basic or DIGIVOTE® “lite” system,
whilst not as versatile as DIGIVOTE®-2000, could
prove a more cost effective alternative.
● Maximise group members’
attention by providing a visual
and physical stimulus
● Increase participant comprehension
● Provide immediate feedback
between presenter and group members
● Improve participant recall
Digivote®
»lite«
35
Act 10:
BRÄHLER ICS AG
History
BRÄHLER ICS traces its beginnings to 1958, the
year Helmut Brähler developed and built his first
simultaneous interpretation systems in Bonn,
Germany.The name he gave his company was
“Brähler Konferenztechnik” a combination of a
name and an ideal.
BRÄHLER ICS AG is one of the leading manfacturers of professional conference technology
with more than 40 years of operation; the
BRÄHLER Group comprises 20 companies worldwide with a staff of 450 and, together with the
partner enterprises in the Network, is represented in
80 countries throughout the world. In Germany
BRÄHLER ICS AG offers services and systems ex
Königswinter, Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, Stuttgart
and Munich plus several other towns through its
partners.
Conference technology developed and manufactured
in-house, as well as a reliable rental service, gave
BRÄHLER ICS a reputable market position in
Germany and, within a few years, the rest of
Europe.The fledgling company began to set technological and rental service standards in the field of
conference technology.
In the following years, growing international
co-operation in the rental service market brought
five like-minded partners together in Europe and
America. In 1969 they founded the world’s first
rental service network for conference technology, the
ICS International Congress Service. (This formed
the foundation of what is today known as the
BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK).
As of April 1st 1998 the founder of BRÄHLER
ICS Konferenztechnik International Congress
Service, Mr. Helmut Brähler, handed over the reins
to his eldest son Mr. Michael Brähler, who has been
with company for the past five years as Director.
Michael Brähler is CEO of BRÄHLER ICS AG
and Mrs. Erika Brähler is Chairperson of the
Board.
BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK
Membership in the BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK is
a badge of quality. Network Partners rent and sell
conference technology made by BRÄHLER ICS,
guaranteeing a high standard of quality: modern,
reliable, durable and reasonably priced conference
technology facilities, as well as a qualified rental
service. For users from the convention industry
BRÄHLER ICS offers training courses and seminars
geared to the needs of consultants, planners,
organisers, and conference technicians. Several
partners participate in the relevant international
standard-setting organisations.
In 1986 Brähler launched DIGIVOTE®-win, a
cable based audience response system and the first
such system to be driven by computerised software.
Today virtually all audience response systems are
software driven. 1995 saw the launch of
DIGIVOTE®-2000, BRÄHLER ICS’s wireless
Audience Response System which still today is the
only wireless based audience response system to
incorporate ChipCard technology. In many parts of
the world DIGIVOTE® has established itself as the
generic name for audience response and is becoming
an ever more important element of the conference
mix whether that be a small work-group environment or a large multi-national organisation or
association.
In 1999 the BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK was
responsible for supplying technical support services
for over 9,000 conferences world-wide, including
everything from bi-lingual events comprising 20
participants, scientific congresses, seminars and
workshops,TV shows and presentations to multilingual EU and UN summits.
With over 40 years experience serving the conference industry including nearly a quarter of a century
in the development, utilisation and customisation of
audience response technology, you will be hard
pressed to find elsewhere the level of expertise,
depth of knowledge and the breadth and quality of
service offered by the BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK.
Further details of BRÄHLER ICS AG, the
BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK and the full range
of products and services offered can be found
on the BRÄHLER web-site at www.braehler.com,
or on DIGIVOTE®’s own dedicated website,
www. digivote.com.
Your
communication
solution.
36
37
Act Now!
Contact your
DIGIVOTE®-2000
Specialist
Fax: + 30 1 698 0305
E-mail: sales@panou.gr
BRÄHLER ICS AG
DIGIVOTE-2000® Specialists
Hong Kong (Including China & Taiwan)
QUADRA TECHNIC ICS Ltd
Room 601, 6/F.Vanta Industrial Centre,
21 - 33 Tai Lin Pai Road,
Kwai Chung, N.T.,
Hong Kong.
Tel : +852 2480 3378
Fax : +852 2427 9099, 2427 9595
E-mail : quadra_ics@compuserve.com
Australia (including New Zealand and PNG)
Bramshaw ICS Conference Communications
PO Box 470, 56-58 Lothian Street
North Melbourne VIC 3051
FreePhone: within Australia only
1800 507 557 (24 hrs)
Tel: +61 3 9326 6855 (24hrs)
Fax: +61 3 9326 6828
E-mail: digivote@bramshaw.com.au
Ireland (including Northern Ireland)
BRÄHLER ICS Ireland Ltd
Unit 6, Portside Business Centre,
East Wall Road, Dublin 3
Tel: +353 1 805 3070
Fax: +353 1 836 6900
E-mail: brahler_ireland@brahler.com
Belgium (including Luxembourg &
The Netherlands)
Brähler ICS Technique de Conférence SPRL
Beemdstraat 2,
B-1601 Bruxelles (Ruisbroek)
Tel: +32 2 334 90 20
Fax: +32 2 334 90 29
E-mail:braehler-belgium@linkline.be
Israel
NEST Audiovisual Services Ltd
Amot-Mishpat Bldg,
8 Shderot Shaul Hamelech
Tel Aviv 64733
Tel: +972 3 693 8505
Fax: +972 3 691 8123
E-mail: nest@internet-zahav.net
France (including French Dependent Territories)
Inter Congrès
12, Avenue de Verdun
F-92250 La Garenne Colombes (Paris)
Tel: +33 1 4649 4500 or 4512
Fax: +33 1 4782 8126
E-mail: vote@intercongres.fr
Italy (including Albania)
TEKNOCONGRESS s.r.l.
Via Bruno Buozzi 35,
I-20090 Segrate (Milan)
Tel: + 39 02 213 6479
Fax: +39 02 213 7801
E-mail: teknocongress_mil@compuserve.com
Germany (including Austria)
BRÄHLER ICS KONFERENZTECHNIK
International Congress Service AG (HQ)
Postfach 1162
D-53621 Königswinter
Tel: +49 2244 930 260
Fax: + 49 2244 930 460
E-mail: digivote@braehler.com
Poland
Techkon Congress Service
Ul. Estrady 70A
PL-01-932 Warsaw
Tel.: +48 22 817 91 22
Fax: +48 22 834 50 85
E-mail: digivote@techkon-cs.de
digivote@techkon-cs.pl
Greece
PANOU S.A. Audiovisual
19 Efstathiou Street,
GR-11524 Athens
Tel: +30 1 699 4030
38
Singapore
BRÄHLER ICS Pte. Ltd
37 Tannery Lane
#03-09 Tannery House
Singapore 347790
Tel: +65 547 2042
Fax: +65 547 4178
E-mail: brahler_sin@compuserve.com
Az@braehler.com
South Africa
Conference Communications (Pty) Ltd
Johannesburg
P.O.Box 3614,
2123 Pinegowrie (Johannesburg)
Tel: +2711-787-2822
Fax: +2711-787-2951
E-mail: info@confcomm.co.za
Cape Town
Tel:+2721-418-0205
Fax: +2721-418-0205
E-mail: cc_cape@iafrica.com
Spain
BRÄHLER ICS Espagna S.L.
C/Cristo 25
E-28220 Majadahonda (Madrid)
Tel: +34 91 634 4932
Fax:+34 91 634 4947
E-mail: info@brahler-spain.com
Durban
Tel: +2731-562-0425
Fax: +2731-562-0746
E-mail: confcommdbn@worldonline.co.za
United Kingdom
BRÄHLER ICS UK Ltd
Unit 2,The Business Centre, Church End
Cambridge CB1 3LB
Tel: +44 (0)1223 411601
Fax: +44 (0)1223 411602
E-mail: digivote@brahler-ics.co.uk
Namibia
Tel: +264-61-249 221
Fax: +264-61-249 223
E-mail: confcomm@mweb.com.na
Zimbabwe Mozambique and all other
Southern African agents should be contacted
through Johannesburg.
UK (Scotland) Regional Office
BRÄHLER ICS UK Ltd
Abbeymount Techbase
2 Easter Road
Edinburgh EH7 5AN
Tel: +44 (0)131 661 6110
Fax: +44 (0)131 661 7110
E-mail: ecosse@brahler-ics.co.uk
The BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK is represented in
more than 80 locations right across the world, please contact either your local DIGIVOTE® Specialist,
the DIGIVOTE® Specialist in the country where
your event is to take place or BRÄHLER ICS AG
international Headquarters in Germany. For details
of non-listed countries or suppliers of other
BRÄHLER Conference Equipment or audio-visual
equipment, please also contact BRÄHLER ICS AG
in Germany.
United States of America
(For North, Central and South America)
DIGIVOTE INC.
To improve existing services across the whole
American continent as well as the support to the
BRÄHLER ICS NETWORK partners in the region,
new dedicated Digivote offices will be opened in
Chicago at the beginning of January 2001.
For details in the meantime, call headquarters in
Germany or e-mail to: digivoteusa@braehler.com
If in doubt, e-mail to: digivote@braehler.com
For further information contact
digivote@braehler.com or visit our web site at
http://www.brahler.com.
39
Conference Conundrums
I’ve been asked to make a presentation on
widgets – How do I keep my audience
awake?
Are there any dangers to consider?
How can I get 100’s of staff to complete our
employee survey at the same time and
discuss the results with them whilst they
are all still in the same room?
Are they listening?
Who are my audience?
How do I motivate my audience?
How do I build a team spirit?
How on earth do I hold the interest of 4000
delegates during a lengthy plenary session?
How do I expedite voting at an AGM
or shareholders meeting?
How do I make my meeting more
dynamic?
How do I entertain 500 industry
pundits in the evening?
What type of questions should I use?
How do I know they understand?
What would they do given a free choice?
How will they react to the proposed
merger?
How do I meet the brief on
a limited budget?
How do I give life to my presentations?
How do I entertain my audience?
How do I reach consensus or get
the support of my audience?
The answer is interaction.
BRÄHLER ICS
digivote@braehler.com