PowerPoint Tips Blog

Helping you with presenting, PowerPoint, and speaking

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Tips
  • E-Store
  • Training
  • About
  • Affiliates
  • Advertise
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Delivery / Harness the back channel during your presentations

Harness the back channel during your presentations

October 31, 2011 by Ellen Finkelstein 5 Comments

READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

I presented at the Outstanding Presentations Workshop on “Present Interactively–Your Audience Expects It!”

What is the back channel?

One of my topics was the back channel. The back channel is what your audience is saying behind your back, or perhaps at the back of the room. These days, they usually make their comments using Twitter and a hashtag. A hashtag looks like this: #opw2011. It’s a label preceded by the # symbol. In Twitter, people write tweets that include the hashtag.presenting with the back channel

Then, they search for the hashtag, either at Twitter’s own site or using one of many third-party tools. In this way, members of the audience can see what the other members are saying about your presentation.

Live conferences often provide a hashtag, so that people can tweet about the conference and spread the word. Many people who can’t attend follow the sessions by reading all the tweets.

It can be very useful as a presenter to know what members of your audience are saying! Maybe they don’t understand something and you can clarify your point. Or maybe they find your presentation boring and you can liven it up.

On the other hand, it can be distracting. Some presenters use an assistant to monitor back channel comments. Others watch the back channel only during breaks or the Question & Answer period.

If you’re on Twitter, you can use the Search box at Twitter.com and enter a hashtag to find just tweets that contain the hashtag. Some other tools that let you filter tweets for a hashtag are HootSuite and Tweetchat.

What if I don’t have a Twitter account?

There are 2 sites that I know of that will let you use the back channel without Twitter:

  • BackNoise: It no longer lets you use your own name, which means all comments are anonymous.
  • TodaysMeet: You must enter a name, but you can use “anonymous” if you want.

Give people a conversation or room name, and they can go to one of these 2 sites and see all the related comments. (You’ll have to choose one of them; they don’t work together.) In this way, people can communicate with each other.

Let’s try it!

Yup, let’s do it! Between November 1 & November 6, go to TodaysMeet. The link includes the conversation name. Then write something about the back channel. Have you used it? What do you think about it?

After November 6th, this back channel room will expire.

Share4
Tweet
Share
+12
Shares 6
READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Related posts:

  1. Put Twitter inside PowerPoint
  2. Top takeaways from the PowerPoint Live conference
  3. My training webinar: Present interactively-your audience expects it!
  4. Use presentations for high-impact, low-cost marketing

Filed Under: Delivery, Resources Tagged With: back channel, Twitter

5
Leave a Reply

avatar
This comment form is under antispam protection
4 Comment threads
1 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
5 Comment authors
David MurphyDerk Jan de GroodEllenGregSherry Recent comment authors
avatar
This comment form is under antispam protection
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
Sherry
Guest
Sherry

is it possible to have the powerpoint running on-screen and have the backchannel on-screen on the laptop? or even on the screen in a split window perhaps? I love the idea of engaging those who are not into my training session and using their comments to bring everyone into the training discussion. thanks!

Vote Up0Vote Down 
11 years ago
Greg
Guest
Greg

I was dissappopinted to read this article as a plug for twitter. How about using feedback forms?

Twitter is ridiculous and should not be considered as a serious business tool.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
11 years ago
Ellen
Guest
Ellen

Feedback forms don’t let audience members see each others’ comments in real time and they don’t let the presenter see audience comments as they happen.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
11 years ago
Derk Jan de Grood
Guest
Derk Jan de Grood

It is an Interesting topic. I speak at many conferences and twitter is being used more and more. I sometimes use a twitterfountain on a second projector. But to be honest, I prefer interaction more than twitter for alsking questions. The Interesting thing about twitter is that everybody can see eachothers comments. I did not witness it happen, but emotions can be applified when people influence eachother. What would happen if the whole audience decides and agrees by twitter that they disagree with what you say, and you do not know this… I think I trust that the other scenario… Read more »

Vote Up0Vote Down 
11 years ago
David Murphy
Guest
David Murphy

@Greg, personally I agree with you, but the reality is people do use it, so your choices are to ignore an important tool or grit your teeth and roll with it. As Ellen sagely points out, people DO use it during presentations and it would be difficult to stop them.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
11 years ago
wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

Free Video Training!

13 Techniques that Will Make Designing Your Slides EASY!

And get the PowerPoint Tips Newsletter with tips and resources for presenters. Plus 5 bonus tips!

BirdSend Email Marketing Tool
4-up-ads PresenterMedia PoweredTemplate High-Persuasion Secrets Power Pointers Quarter Hour


Recent Posts

Recent Posts

  • How do you format your slide titles?
  • Using PowerPoint’s cartoon people
  • Which version of PowerPoint should you buy?
  • Add a customizable, live web feed with Cameo
  • Get a designer look with abstract images to create backgrounds for slides and shapes

Connect with me!

Connect with me! Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Ellen Finkelstein, Inc. · Fairfield, IA · Tel: 515-989-1832

Privacy, Refund, and Other Legal Stuff

wpDiscuz