For decades, people watching television and people who are part of an audience have used and benefitted from systems dedicated to allowing audience response. One brief history shows that the technology was adopted from military applications and was used for student response beginning in the 1950s. At first, these systems were very low-tech, even using color-coded cards.
In the mid-1960s, developments led to using these systems to evaluate the response of a theatre audience to both entertainment and commercial presentations. Current technology in personal response systems lets large groups vote on a topic or answer a question. In some situations, a mobile device can be used to respond.
Standard Systems
A basic system might include a base station and receiver if the system is hardware-based. Participants might use a wireless keypad or a mobile device, with the latter being common for systems based on software or for cloud-based solutions. The software used is the key to the system, of course.
If you’re searching for a modern audience response system, you’ll be best served by working with one of the leading providers in the industry. The proper system allows event attendees, students, and remote users to employ technology so they can communicate with a central hub in real time. The communication might be in the form of answering poll questions, providing feedback, or even live chat or question and answer formats.
Those who are seriously interested in the response of audiences to gather insights and capture data have moved from rather low-tech “clickers” to software, cloud-based systems, and full use of 4G/LTE and Wi-Fi. This frees venues from the cost and management of dedicated infrastructure. Advances in technology have added speed and made the process much simpler.
Honesty, Accuracy
Responses are generally not recorded with any individual information so anonymity and honesty are two key benefits of new systems. Audience responses bring out honest, accurate answers. Modern systems also give equal voice to everyone involved from all cultures, including introverts and employees, in a structure where they wouldn’t otherwise feel empowered.
You’re invited to learn more about these advanced systems by visiting the website and gathering the information you need. You’ll see that ARS is available on a web platform or can be integrated into PowerPoint. The setup process is simple, just as use by the audience is less than demanding. Audience members can make use of their own smartphone or laptop without having to download special software or programs.
However, don’t let simplicity of use mislead you as to the powerful results available from these systems. All response data from live and virtual sources is gathered into a single dashboard. The goal from start to finish is to produce accurate results by solving a specific set of problems.
Try a modern ARS tool such as Glisser, the only audience response system offering live polling, quizzing, moderated audience question and answer sessions, feedback forms, instant slide sharing, and social media integration, all based on PowerPoint. Because these new systems are designed by skilled and experienced presenters, ease of use was placed first on the priority list during development.