Imagine hosting an online class or workshop about a topic you're passionate about. You spend hours preparing engaging slides and resources, but only a handful of participants show interest when the time comes to teach. The rest stare blankly ahead, barely responding to your questions. You can avoid this challenge by using audience interaction tools to boost participation. In this article, I’ll introduce you to audience interaction tools, their importance to your online coaching business, and how to choose the right one for your goals. Audience Interaction Tools help create a more engaging experience for your audience and help alleviate the pressure on you, the instructor, to create all of the class's excitement and energy.
One solution that can help you achieve your audience engagement goals is Delphi's digital clone. This tool creates a digital twin of your personality to help coach your audience before, during, and after your next online seminar.
What Are Audience Interaction Tools?
Audience interaction tools enable attendees to interact directly with the event content, speakers, and each other. Instead of just listening or watching, these tools invite attendees to participate actively by:
- Voting on a poll
- Asking a question
- Competing in a fun game
This interaction engages the audience and makes them feel like an integral part of the event.
Popular Types of Audience Interaction Tools
There are several different types of audience interaction tools, each suited to different aspects of engagement:
Social Media Integration
Social media tools collect all the mentions, hashtags, and posts related to your event into one central hub. This encourages attendees to share their experiences online and creates a communal space where everyone can see what’s being said about the event.
Live Polling
Live polling tools allow you to ask questions and get real-time feedback from your audience during a talk or presentation. This immediate interaction helps gauge audience sentiment, test their knowledge, or keep them engaged.
Q&A Sessions
Tools designed for Q&A sessions allow attendees to ask questions in real-time. These tools often come with features enabling other attendees to upvote the most relevant questions, ensuring that the discussion focuses on what the audience cares about most.
Interactive Slides
These tools turn traditional presentation slides into interactive experiences. Attendees can click on elements within the slides, answer questions, or even suggest content changes in real time, making the presentation more dynamic and responsive.
Gamification
Gamification tools introduce elements of play into your event, such as quizzes, leaderboards, and prizes. By tapping into the competitive spirit, these tools can motivate attendees to participate more actively, whether in learning activities or networking challenges.
Audience interaction tools are essential for transforming your event from a one-way broadcast into a lively, two-way conversation. By leveraging these tools, you can create a more engaging, interactive, and memorable experience for everyone involved.
How Audience Interaction Tools Will Benefit Your Event
Make Participation a Breeze
Audience interaction tools make it easy for audience members to engage and voice their opinions. Whether it’s sharing a question, joining a contest, or giving feedback on a presentation, these tools lower the barriers to participation. When people find it simple to engage, they’re more likely to do so, making your event more dynamic and interactive.
Keep Them Coming Back for More
Retention is key to building a loyal audience. When attendees have a great time at your event, they’re more likely to return for future ones. Engagement tools play a crucial role here by helping attendees feel like they’re an active part of the event. This sense of involvement makes the experience more enjoyable and builds loyalty, increasing the chances that they’ll be back next time.
Expand Your Reach and Visibility
Encouraging attendees to engage on social media through audience interaction tools can significantly boost your event’s visibility. Participants sharing their experiences, thoughts, or even photos from your event helps spread the word to a broader audience. This organic promotion can attract more people to future events, expanding your:
- Reach
- Influence
- ROI
Studies show that 78% of event organizers using mobile event apps and tools report that they contribute positively to event ROI.
Foster a Sense of Belonging
Everyone loves to feel like they’re part of something bigger. Engagement tools help create community among your attendees by bringing them together meaningfully. Whether through group activities, live chats, or collaborative discussions, these tools help attendees connect, creating a strong sense of camaraderie and involvement.
Collect Insightful Feedback
Audience interaction tools are invaluable for gathering feedback during and after your event. They provide attendees with a platform to share their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions, giving you direct insight into what worked well and could be improved. This feedback is a goldmine of information you can use to fine-tune your future events, ensuring they’re even better and more tailored to your audience’s needs.
Scaling Your Expertise and Personalization with Delphi
Incorporating these tools into your event strategy enhances the experience for your audience and gives you the resources to continually improve and grow your events. Delphi is a digital cloning platform that allows users to capture their:
- Unique style
- Voice
- Expertise
Delphi enables content creators, coaches, influencers, CEOs, executives, and more to scale/clone their expertise, time, and availability. Preserve your knowledge and wisdom, and mass personalize communications with Delphi. Delphi's mentorship as a service allows knowledge-based professionals to clone themselves (texting, calling, video calling), with audience management features such as:
- Mass messages
- Hop into conversation
- Alerts
- Aalytic
- Content strategy data
Get started, and create your digital clone for free today.
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What To Look for When Choosing an Audience Interaction Tool
Set Clear Goals Before Picking an Audience Interaction Tool
When choosing an audience interaction tool, you want to start by defining what you want to achieve with your event. Are you aiming to boost participation, gather valuable feedback, or create community among attendees? Your goals will guide your choice of tools.
For instance, a tool with live solid polling and Q&A capabilities might be ideal if your primary goal is to generate lively discussions. On the other hand, if you want to gather detailed feedback, look for a tool that excels in surveys and analytics.
Audience Size Matters When Choosing an Audience Interaction Tool
The type of audience interaction tool you need can vary greatly depending on your event's scale and audience. A small, intimate seminar will have different engagement needs than a large-scale conference.
Consider tools for smaller groups that facilitate more profound, more personal interactions, like roundtable discussions or in-depth Q&A sessions. For more significant events, scalability is key. You’ll need tools that can handle a high volume of interactions, like real-time polling or social media integration, without losing effectiveness.
Go for Integrated Audience Interaction Tools
Sometimes, one tool isn’t enough to meet all your engagement needs. Think about combining multiple tools to create a more comprehensive experience. For example, integrating a social media wall where attendees can share their experiences in real-time can enhance community feeling. At the same time, an interactive quiz tool can keep the audience engaged by testing their knowledge on key topics. The right combination of tools can make your event more dynamic and engaging.
Ease of Use and Accessibility
Another critical factor is how easy the tool is to use, both for you and your audience. A tool with a steep learning curve can be a barrier to participation, so look for something intuitive and user-friendly. Also, consider the tool's accessibility—can attendees easily use it on their smartphones or other devices? The more accessible and straightforward the tool, the more likely your audience will engage with it.
Integration With Other Platforms
Check if the audience interaction tool can seamlessly integrate with other platforms or systems you already use for your event, such as your:
- Event management software
- CRM
- Social media channels
Integration can streamline the process and enhance the overall experience for you and your attendees, allowing for smoother data collection, better follow-up, and more cohesive event management.
Real-Time Analytics and Reporting
Consider the tool’s ability to provide real-time analytics and reporting. The insights gained during your event can be invaluable for making on-the-fly adjustments and evaluating your event's success afterward. Look for tools that offer detailed reports on:
- Audience engagement
- Participation rates
- Feedback
This can measure the impact of your efforts and plan for even better events in the future.
Related Reading
18 Best Audience Interaction Tools To Enhance Engagement
1. Delphi
Delphi is a digital cloning platform that allows users to capture their unique style, voice, and expertise, enabling them to scale personalized 1-1. Delphi enables content creators, coaches, influencers, CEOs, executives, and more to scale/clone their:
- Expertise
- Time
- Availability
Preserve your knowledge and wisdom, and mass personalize communications with Delphi. Delphi's mentorship as a service allows knowledge-based professionals to clone themselves (texting, calling, video calling) with audience management features such as:
- Mass messages
- Hop into conversation
- Alerts
- Analytics and content strategy data
Get started, and create your own digital clone for free today!
2. Mentimeter
Give your customers a say with Mentimeter, a mobile voting app that collects and shares real-time results through branded graphs and charts. This can be a great way to:
- Gather audience opinions
- Test knowledge
- Use audience participation to hammer home a specific point in a keynote session
You can use it to generate fun feedback, like the best canape. The idea is that in-person or virtual attendees download the app and cast their votes on designated topics. You can then reveal and share the results in post-event marketing materials or live throughout the day.
3. Glisser
Slides are a standard part of:
- Many events
- Mainly conferences
- Seminars
- Work-related sessions
Encouraging Engagement With Glisser
Turn them into interactive elements with Glisser, a tool that lets you simultaneously share slides to multiple mobile devices. Attendees can read the slides from their cell phones and comment on them with useful feedback or questions.
They can also share individual slides on their social networks to add multimedia content to their event reviews. And, if you want to avoid the post-event ritual of sending slides out via email, the tool lets attendees download the slides they’re interested in to share with colleagues or friends.
4. Crowd Mics
There’s nothing worse than hosting a Q&A session where attendees can’t hear the questions. You get caught in a game of repeating every question back through the mic, which can waste time and impact attention spans. Instead, use Crowd Mics to turn your audience’s phones into wireless microphones.
You’ll no longer need to repeat questions or hire a runner to sprint from one attendee to another, but you’ll still have complete control over who speaks through a moderated iPad interface. Crowd Mics also has comment and polling features, which are nice additions.
5. Youengage
Keep audience attention spans during every session with Youengage, a tool that lets you create eye-catching polls and quizzes for attendees. Audience members can interact with the big screen by voting, but you can also use the tool to crowdsource relevant questions or spark conversations around session topics. This is ideal for panel discussions or events that feature some debate element.
6. LoQuiz
If you want to inject good old-fashioned fun into your event, use a tool like LoQuiz. As the name suggests, you can set up a quiz for attendees to participate in, but you can also create various engaging games, such as treasure hunts that use photos or written clues to help players find the answer. The app is controlled via a tablet and uses GPS technology to create an accurate, real-time map of your event space.
7. Captello
Continuing the fun, Captello has a library of over 50 interactive games that you can customize and brand to fit your event. You can create a healthy sense of competition with a big-screen leaderboard and reward attendees with real prizes.
8. Taggbox
Taggbox organizes social media posts from:
- Instagram
- Facebook
- YouTube
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
Advanced filtering and distinctive themes, styles, designs, and personalization capabilities make this aggregated feed relevant and appealing. After that, display this curated social feed live, virtually, and in-store, as well as through:
- Digital signs
- DOOH
- Emails
- And others
Taggbox’s Instagram wall aggregator tool lets customers customize, embed, and show Instagram feeds on:
- Websites
- Events
- eCommerce
- Virtual events
- Digital displays
9. Kahoot
Kahoot! creates and runs quiz-based games at live meetings and events to make presentations and training more fun and interactive. By sending out a quiz before the event and showing the results at the event, you can attract more people and increase their interest.
Kahoot! games come in many styles, such as:
- Quizzes
- Polls
- Word clouds
- Puzzle questions
Kahoot! can be used with video conferencing tools like:
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
- Google Hangouts
- Slack
10. BuzzMaster
BuzzMaster is an audience interaction app with a difference—it comes with “BuzzMasters,” AKA real people who moderate the audience responses in real time. The BuzzMasters are all journalists or experienced event managers who sort through the data to curate the most interesting comments and find your visitors’ best stories.
They can also hit the audience with new, unexpected questions, helping to facilitate the session and create a buzz. This could be a great tool for events such as conferences or debates where you want to stimulate conversation.
11. Catchbox
Unlike the rest of the tools in this list, Catchbox is not an app but a physical microphone. It’s no ordinary microphone; it’s the world’s first throwable wireless microphone. So, when you’re asking questions for audience participation, rather than having to pick my way through the crowd to reach them with a standard mic, you simply throw them the Catchbox. It engages participants in a fun game of catch while helping create an informal, laid-back atmosphere.
12. QuickMobile
QuickMobile is a polling and feedback app that lets the audience vote, rate, or answer multiple-choice questions from their phones. In addition to creating questions ahead of time, presenters can launch a poll on the spur of the moment, facilitating a truly interactive session and enabling them to tailor their presentations according to the audience’s response. And because it works on mobile, in-person and virtual attendees can easily participate.
13. Angage
Rather than asking participants to use their phones to vote or answer multiple-choice questions, Angage equips them with individual voting keypads, making the selection process more accessible for a less tech-savvy audience. The easy-to-use keypads let participants respond to questions by selecting letters or numbers. The responses can then be displayed in real-time, making it easy to gather opinions.
14. Engagenow
Engagenow lets you design attractive-looking polls and quizzes that empower the audience to interact with the big screen during an event. It can also be used to crowdsource questions or open up chat around the event to spark debate and connect audience members. This could come in handy at events that feature a debate, such as panel discussions.
15. eventScribe
The eventScribe mobile event app has a wide range of functions, including the ability for participants to:
- Ask questions
- Post comments
- Connect on a private social networking platform
Another exciting feature is the ability for attendees to access presentation slides and annotate them. They can then share their notes with other participants. The app also has social networking capabilities that enable participants to connect and communicate, a great way to foster relationships between a live and virtual audience.
16. Snapbar
Photo booths encourage attendees to share visual content from your event (props are optional!). With Snapbar, attendees can choose different photo backgrounds or add text and digital stickers. With the new AI feature, attendees can also enhance their photos before they share them online. Even better, you can combine all the images taken on the day into a big, happy post-event collage for promotional content and marketing.
17. Slido
Bringing people together at an event is critical for engagement, but it can be tricky if you have hundreds or thousands of attendees. Slido is a polling and Q&A tool that lets users create and share audience participation reports. The live polls feature turns presentations into two-way conversations, and the audience Q&A capabilities allow attendees to ask questions anonymously from the comfort of their seats.
Slido offers interactive game features to test knowledge, including:
- Live quizzes
- Trivia games
18. Swapcard
Swapcard is an all-in-one virtual event platform with many built-in audience engagement tools. Users can connect with other attendees by exploring profiles and starting direct conversations, and you can set up live discussions to run alongside:
- Workshops
- Talks
- Keynotes
There’s also a built-in marketplace where sponsors can promote their products and services in a virtual-style booth.
How To Do Audience Interaction? 10 Tips To Increase Participation
1. Planning Is Key to Audience Engagement
We’ve all been there—thinking we can wing it and everything will go smoothly. But when it comes to meetings, that’s a risky move. To truly engage your audience, thoughtful planning is essential.
Start by considering what you want to achieve from the meeting.
- Are you looking for feedback?
- New ideas?
Knowing your goal will help you shape your approach and guide the conversation effectively. Consider the possibility that your audience might respond differently than expected. It’s wise to have backup talking points and be ready to steer the conversation in various directions while still keeping it valuable and focused for everyone involved.
2. Fun Warm-Ups Get Everyone Up to Speed
Everyone needs a little warm-up. Starting your meeting with something light and interactive can help your audience relax and get into the flow. A fun icebreaker can set the tone and energize the group from the get-go.
If you’re looking for icebreaker ideas, MeetingPulse offers a range of options suitable for any group size. Plus, these activities give participants a low-risk way to get comfortable using their electronic devices to engage. It’s a win-win!
3. Clearly Explain the Event’s Purpose
So, you’ve started with a bang, and everyone’s feeling good. It’s time to clarify why everyone’s there. Spend a few minutes outlining the purpose of the meeting and how participation will benefit everyone.
By giving your audience an overview of the key topics, you’ll help them understand what’s coming and why their engagement matters. You can even take a moment to address any questions before diving into the main content, easing everyone into the presentation.
4. Use Inclusive Language to Welcome Everyone In
Inclusive language is key in any interaction, whether you’re leading a segment or asking a question. Let’s say you’re facilitating a brainstorming session. Instead of framing it as a competition for the best idea, present it as an opportunity to learn and share.
Creating an Inclusive and Open-Ended Q&A
This approach encourages more people to participate without pressure to be right. When you ask questions, make them open-ended and inclusive. For example, rather than asking about the best laptop someone’s used, ask them to share a good experience with any laptop. This subtle shift allows more voices to be heard, creating a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing.
7. Make Time for Questions
Pausing to take questions isn’t just a break; it’s a powerful way to boost engagement. Tools like MeetingPulse allow participants to submit questions in advance, vote on them, and even ask anonymously. This enhances participation and creates a sense of psychological safety, leading to better and more thoughtful questions.
6. Use Polling to Dive Deeper Into Audience Insights
Polling tools are fantastic for gaining a deeper understanding of your audience’s thoughts and opinions. Platforms like MeetingPulse offer:
- Live polling
- Sentiment analysis
- Quizzes to keep the interaction dynamic and insightful
Plus, these tools generate detailed reports that you can analyze later, giving you valuable data on audience engagement.
7. Tailor Your Approach to the Audience
Know your audience! Whether you’re speaking to executives or newcomers, tailor your content to their level of expertise and interests. Consider what will motivate them to engage—would a competitive challenge work, or would they respond better to recognition or small rewards?
For example, offering a piece of candy for correct answers might work well with some groups, but it’s probably not the best approach for a room full of executives. Always consider the nature of your audience when planning your engagement strategies.
8. Give Your Audience Time to Respond
Not every question needs a spoken answer, but when you ask for one, ensure your audience knows it’s time to speak up. To cue them in, use phrases like:
- Who here
- Can anyone share
And when someone does respond, let them finish their thought. Cutting them off might discourage them from participating later. Even with rhetorical questions, a brief pause allows the audience to process and reflect, leading to richer discussions.
9. Make the Meeting an Interactive Experience
Adding an interactive element to your meeting can significantly boost engagement. This doesn’t always mean having people move around the room, but it could. Consider ways to get everyone involved from their locations for virtual meetings. For instance, if your meeting is about improving a product, send the product to participants beforehand and ask them to bring it to the meeting. This allows everyone to experiment and brainstorm, even miles apart.
10. Show Genuine Appreciation for Contributions
Never underestimate the power of a simple thank you. Acknowledging your audience’s contributions, whether with words, a smile, or a high-five, shows that you value their input. Follow-up questions are another great way to keep the conversation going and encourage further engagement. Your audience will appreciate knowing that their ideas are heard and valued.
What Are Audience Insight Tools?
An audience insights platform is a consumer data tool that can help you make informed business decisions. Think of it like a magnifying glass that enables you to zoom in on the details of your target audience:
- Interests
- Behaviors
- Habits
It allows you to gather fundamental data about your customers, like where they shop, the current consumer trends they’re tapping into, and more nuanced topics like political attitudes.
But how do you find audience insights? That’s where a consumer research platform comes into play. With access to a centralized hub full of the data you need to fuel your next big idea, you’ll be able to connect with your target audience in ways that may not have been possible before.
3 Best Practices for a Lively Session With Your Audience
1. Keep It Relevant
Make sure you have an actual agenda for your meeting. Don’t make people leave their work and come to a meeting or presentation if it isn’t relevant to them.
2. Encourage Participation
Use some fantastic tools and activities we’ve put together to get your audience involved in your meeting or presentation. Engaging in active listening can boost participation and excite an audience.
3. Add Some Fun and Humor
Keeping things light and humorous will put an audience at ease and give them more confidence to interact. Add gamification to keep the audience actively engaged.
Create Your Own Digital Clone With Delphi Today
Delphi is a digital cloning platform that allows users to capture their unique style, voice, and expertise, enabling them to scale personalized one-on-one.
Delphi enables content creators, coaches, influencers, CEOs, and executives to scale their expertise and personalize communication.
With Delphi’s mentorship-as-a-service, you can clone yourself for:
- Texting
- Calling
- Video chats and more
Manage your audience with mass messaging, real-time conversations, alerts, analytics, and content strategy tools.
Get started, and create your digital clone for free today!