Audience participation

If you’ve ever been to the midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture show, you’ve seen the audience members dress up, shout out and participate in the movie while watching it. They are engaged and having a great time.

Much like these movie-goers, “the number one thing an audience wants, is to feel involved in the actual creation and development of the session. When they are involved, they are much more connected, they feel it is much more personal to them, and they get more out of it.” This is according to Bruce MacMillian, CA, president and CEO of Meeting Professionals International.

While your session isn’t going to be as dramatic as Rocky Horror (or maybe it is), how do you get your audience members involved?

• Blogging is a great way to connect with audience members.  Ask the meeting planner to post your blog’s URL and invite attendees to ask questions before the event then build their comments into your presentation.

• You can also leverage Twitter in the same way.  Ask the meeting planner for the hashtag of the event or ask them to create one and post it on their meeting site.

• Provide your Twitter handle so you can be contacted and followed directly.  Start asking questions on Twitter then addressing any comments or questions you receive.

• Follow the hashtag of the conference so you can understand why the audience is attending and what they are hoping to get out of it.

By taking one or all of these steps, you also create the opportunity to continue the conversation with the participants after you finish the presentation.  This could lead to referrals and future business!

And maybe even someone to go see Rocky Horror with!

For more information about leveraging social media in your speaking business, contact me for a free consultation.