BACKGROUND

The Walker Company is a small healthcare consulting firm that works primarily with hospitals and hospital associations across the U.S. Offering a wide variety of solutions, including meeting facilitation, education and strategic planning, the company frequently requires the aid of audience involvement tools. Larry Walker is a strong advocate of engaging, interactive presentations that enable group discussion and dialogue rather than lecture.

Working without a script or a podium, Walker’s presentation style permits him to walk around the room, moving from table-to-table to ask questions and gather input. With over 18 years in the consulting arena, Walker has learned that audiences increasingly want to feel a part of the program instead of being passive observers. He is always seeking to capture and keep the attention of his audience in ways that go above and beyond typical presentations.

THE CHALLENGE

In order to create the interactive environment he was looking for, Walker began using audience response technology. His first experience with a response system, however, was less than desirable. Described as “cumbersome and unpredictable,” his old system caused him to temporarily abandon the idea of incorporating response technology into his presentations. When he attended a national meeting of the American Hospital Association and saw Turning Technologies’ TurningPoint audience response system in action, however, his interest in using audience response was reignited.

“I was really impressed with the portability – the size of the ResponseCards – and obviously with the way the AHA was using it,” said Walker. “I had been very disappointed with the other system I was using. Until I discovered TurningPoint, I had given up on the idea of using audience response to support what we do. I thought it was too expensive and too difficult to use, and I didn’t want to have to haul two big suitcases of hardware into meetings. And renting was costly, too.”

During the conference, Walker wrote down Turning’s URL and called to schedule a demo. After he had spoken to a representative and discovered its affordable price point, coupled with its no charge policy on software, Walker ordered a small system for use in his presentations. Soon after that he expanded his inventory of ResponseCards to be able to serve larger audiences.

THE SOLUTION

According to Walker, he “wasn’t going to use another system until I knew it was bulletproof – and TurningPoint was exactly what I was looking for.” Walker has found that with TurningPoint audience response solutions, audiences are more attentive, and consistently rank the response technology as one of the highest values of his presentations. Walker uses the system in a variety of ways, including providing a list of topics to the audience to enable them to custom-design his presentation, allowing participants to select the items they believe are most important to be discussed.

“People are really impressed, because they feel like they are telling me what they want to learn – I’m not telling them what I think they need to know,” said Walker. “It creates a response dynamic that not only allows me to be responsive to their needs, but sends a signal that this is about them, not me.”

Other features of TurningPoint that Walker uses regularly are the gaming and reporting capabilities. The games add fun and excitement, and leave the audience with educational takeaways.

Reporting is another offering he provides to his clients, many of whom would pay thousands in consulting fees for similar market research. For Walker, it’s simply part of his value-added service.

In addition to TurningPoint, Walker has incorporated ResponseCard AnyWhere into his presentation mix. ResponseCard AnyWhere is a handheld receiver allows him to ask questions “on-the-fly” and remain on his feet, interacting among the crowd. He can open and close polling with the press of a button, and the results appear instantly in his hand. Walker finds it a “really invaluable tool” and “another great resource to have available” when he or his participants have additional questions that weren’t already built into the presentation.

CONCLUSION

The obstacle that Walker wanted to overcome is a typical challenge that every speaker acknowledges – audience boredom. His use of TurningPoint audience response has allowed him not only to engage participants, but provide a one-of-a-kind experience that his clients value. Instant data collection and detailed reporting capabilities are just two of the key features that set his presentations apart.

“These days most every speaker has a PowerPoint presentation, and some attempt to involve the audience, but they often fail to really engage people in a meaningful way,” said Walker. “When all is said and done, you have to be able to provide your client with something that is of real value – the viewpoints of the people in the room on the subject they hired you to talk about.”

Walker continues to use his now 150 seat system, which accommodates most of his presentations. For larger audiences, he rents additional ResponseCards. TurningPoint and the use of ResponseCard AnyWhere has garnered him much attention among his colleagues. He is often asked about his response system during conferences.

“Every time I use TurningPoint, someone asks me about the system. I’ve gotten to the point where I just pass out Turning business cards. I refer others because I know the company is rock-solid, delivers superior customer service and had outstanding products. Turning Technologies is one of the companies that I’m always proud to refer to anybody.”

For more information about Turning Technologies’ audience response systems for your organization, contact us at 866-746-3015.