Engaging Your Audience
Engaging Your Audience
Recently I attended a live event hosted by a billion dollar foundation. The foundation had not hosted a live event in two years. They were very thoughtful on parking, the menu, and the wonderful guest speakers. The problem: most attendees were looking at their phones multi-tasking and not engaged in the presentation. Most of the presentation was a download of information and stories void of any audience participation. The foundation missed the most important part of their program: engagement. Without engagement, your audience will lose or forget the key message and lose the opportunity for knowledge gain or knowledge application. Here are three simple suggestions on how to engage your audience at events (live or virtual).
1
The 20 Minute Rule
I remember when I first started teaching I learned about the 20 minute rule. Most people have a 20 minute attention span so planning a program segment longer than 20 minutes will guarantee the loss your audience. Now I know what might be said about comedians performing for an hour and not losing their audience. They key difference is the art of comedy is designed to keep people engaged by changing story lines or areas of focus every 10 minutes or so adhering to the 20 minute rule. Therefore, when you are hosting an event, plan 20 minute (or less) segments that include a change in topic or moving your audience or adding content that causes your audience to move. This mental shift can also be considered an energy shift which will engage your audience.
Audience Participation
2
A best practice of engagement is audience participation. An event can be designed to ask audience members questions or request audience participation in a roll play or a unique activity that will improve the engagement of your audience. When audience members are part of the show, other audience members pay closer attention and will retain more information. This participation can be rehearsed in advance or be impromptu. In addition, the more the audience wants to pay attention, the less multi-tasking will take place.
3
Measure Outcomes
When creating an event, outcomes should be part of the program. All outcomes should be measured (quantitative results). Well developed goals that will be measured before, during, and after the event will automatically put a stronger focus on engagement and ensure a better experience for the audience. Two major outcomes that should be designed and measured in the event are: 1. Knowledge Gain and 2. Knowledge Application.
- Knowledge gain is when an audience member learns something new. For example, a pre-test can be implemented prior to the event, then a post-test to measure knowledge gain, “I did not know this before the event, and now I do after the event”.
- Knowledge Application: This is when an audience member learns something new and applies it to their daily lives. Let’s say an audience member learns about composting and decides to start composting at home. The knowledge application can be measured 30, 60, or 90 days after the event to measure the application and the results from that application.
Engagement includes a lot of strategies in any organization. It can include marketing, branding, communication, social media, and donor engagement. While there can be lots of articles on these strategies, this article’s focus is on engaging audiences during events. Follow these three steps and engagement with your audience will instantly improve.
By Brad Lebowsky
CEO, NEA LLC