New Technology Cures the Boring Business Meeting
According to the Wall Street Journal, CEO's feel that meetings account for the largest share of unproductive time on the job. Attendees agree that between 30 and 50 percent of time spent in meetings is a waste. A 1989 Hofstra University study, for
example, found that up to one third of all meeting time is unproductive. Training is even less effective. Only 10 percent of
training expenditures ever result in observable changes on the job.
But, new audience response techniques and technologies are helping to transform static, unproductive meetings into interactive
and measurable business events. Meridia's wireless audience response system is the newest tool on the meeting horizon. CEOs
and business leaders at all levels are using and praising the new technology as a cure for the unproductive meeting.
The system was developed by Meridia, a Philadelphia-based interactive Information company. It consists of individual hand-held
wireless keypads audience members use to respond immediately and anonymously to pre-planned and impromptu questions.
The questions, posed by presenters throughout a meeting, are displayed on a large video screen at any time. An on-site
computer using Meridia's software instantly compiles the results and displays them on the same screen in three-dimensional
color bar charts. The percentage or number of audience members voting for each answer can also be revealed.
"Interaction breeds commitment," said Rick Baker, Meridia's president and founder. "Meridia’s interactive meetings generate
lasting enthusiasm and a level of post-meeting action that the old, static meeting style could never achieve."
This audience interaction technology is used to measure changes in knowledge levels, track evolving perceptions, and evaluate
meeting effectiveness. Results of each question can be displayed by rank order or against averages, and be tracked and
cross-tabbed according to demographic or other criteria. The resulting information can be used to tailor the content, direction
and pace of individual meetings or meeting sessions.
Immediately following the meetings, printed reports and/or disk copies of the results can be made available on-site for review
and analysis. Also, the Meridia system can be tailored to any size business meeting, from ten people to several thousand.
The Northwestern School of Speech reports that the attention span of an Audience is approximately nine seconds. Survey
research among meeting participants shows that Meridia’s interactive meetings achieve significantly higher level of
attentiveness throughout the meeting. Audience interaction also increases understanding and retention of important
information.
Meridia's meetings also benefit meeting presenters. Presenters using audience response have been rated by attendees as being
significantly more interesting, more professional, and more persuasive than presenters delivering traditional, static
presentations.
"Traditional meetings have held audiences hostage for too long," says Baker. "Meridia provides managers with a powerful tool to
measure and track the success of each meeting."
