People are Easily Distracted. Don’t Make Them Work for Your Message.

Interact with audience in real time while still commanding a vast room with ViewPoint

11/30/2016

You’re speaking at a sales meeting, conference, special event, whatever. Midway through your presentation you gaze out to the audience and notice that half the people are either playing with their phones, chatting with their neighbor or, horrors, snoozing.

They came to your session jazzed up because they were interested in your message. But, somewhere along the line you lost them.

How could that happen? You had great content. Well-organized slides. A well-rehearsed delivery. Still, somehow your talk derailed.

The reason? You overlooked a fundamental truth about public speaking: Great content is the foundation of your presentation. But, even the most exceptional content doesn’t deliver automatic engagement.

Sure, it’s what you say. But, even more, it’s how you say it that matters.

If you don’t believe me, check out The Big Short’s champagne-sipping Margot Robbie explaining complex financial concepts like tranches, mortgage-backed securities and subprime loans from her bubble bath. While her subject is complicated and maybe a little dry, Robbie's delivery makes her message memorable. (I'd link to it here but it's a little too NSFW so I'll leave it up to you to stop by YouTube.) 

Ok, so you can’t give a business talk from your bathtub. At least you shouldn't. How can you be memorable and engage your audience without resorting to a stunt?

Be Inspiring. Thought-Provoking. Unforgettable.

Doesn’t matter whether you’re communicating the latest results to your shareholders, motivating your sales team or launching your latest product. If you’re addressing a company-wide sales meeting, regional conference, breakout session, product launch, fundraiser or any similar gathering, your number one priority is to grab — and hold — your audience’s attention.

No easy feat, but one achievable with the right tools.

Enter, ViewPoint

ViewPoint’s immersive touchscreen experiences are like a shot of espresso compared to other presentation tools, and offer four key advantages:

1 Greater Engagement

Conformity is not the key to success. If you want your message to resonate, you need to stand out. Why use PowerPoint? That’s what everyone does. Snore. Even newer presentation platforms like Prezi, SlideRocket and Scrollshow are quickly becoming yawn-inducing.

Multimedia presentations that integrate video, photography, animation and other interactive assets are the way to go. They generate excitement and create serious engagement. That’s why ViewPoint’s immersive, touchable experiences are a different breed. I can promise, your audience will never be bored, even if your message is a little dry or highly complex.

Want proof? Check out this short clip from one of ViewPoint's recent presentations.


2 Unparalleled Flexibility

With ViewPoint you can move as you talk. As in, leave the confines of the podium or stage and stroll through the conference hall, interacting with audience members in real time while still commanding a vast room. This freedom means you can make your points more dramatically; get the audience more involved. How does this work? Simply project your ViewPoint experience on a big screen for easy viewing by a large audience, but manipulate the touch presentation with a handheld version loaded on your tablet. This setup can elevate your performance.

3 Enhanced Ease of Use

ViewPoint’s non-linear format means content is easy to find, even on the fly. Say you’re giving a 50-minute talk about your company’s latest scientific research. An audience member asks a question at the end of your session about something you covered early on. You want to give a detailed, informed response — and that means referring to the original content you covered nearly an hour prior.

No need to click backwards endlessly to find that slide. A simple swipe or zoom and you can access any content you need, regardless of when you referenced it. This intuitive navigation means you can converse, not just present. Don’t talk at your audience, talk with them.

4 Unmatched Dependability

The last thing you need before you give an important presentation is an eleventh-hour technical headache. With ViewPoint, that’s not an issue since your immersive presentation is local and self-contained. It resides on your device — your all-in-one computer, kiosk, tablet, whatever — and not on the internet.

That means no concerns about connectivity at your meeting venue. You don’t need to worry about downloading plugins or accessing a wifi signal or dealing with the pesky technical issues that irk meeting organizers.

With ViewPoint, flawless execution means you’re free to concentrate on the business at hand: giving a standout presentation that rocks the room.

5 Helpful Convenience

Beyond using ViewPoint as the launchpad for your presentation, you can also leverage the touch technology to handle more organizational tasks. For instance, load ViewPoint on a kiosk situated outside the grand ballroom at a big conference to provide wayfinding information like interactive maps, meeting agendas and event schedules.

Or, save paper by dispensing with printed brochures — so old school — and instead deliver essential information in a way that is much more memorable. Even use ViewPoint for lead capture. Kiosks and touch monitors can collect business card-type contact information and sync with your cloud for easy access and analysis after the show.

The way people absorb, interact with and remember information — you know, your key messages — hinges upon the experience you deliver. So, the more effectively you tell your story, the more people you’ll engage.

That’s what ViewPoint is all about.

 

Philip Chila

Philip Chila

Director of ViewPoint Interactive Solutions

A passionate brand champion with a penchant for expensive bourbon and an aversion to marketing hype, he’s committed to helping businesses connect with their customers in compelling and meaningful ways. Reach him at pchila@viewpointtouch.com