4 Ways Live Audience Polling Enhances Church General Conferences
General Assembly planning is a daunting task for even the most experienced of religious event planners. The General Assembly is the most important (and complex to plan) meeting of the Church. Delegates from across the nation, and world in some instances, come together to create new laws, vote new members into office, and set the tone for the year ahead.
The stakes are high for General Assembly committee members and religious event planners. That’s why we’ve put together a host of techniques that can be used to encourage full participation in the speaker, voting and election sessions of General Assembly meetings.
1. Poll the audience
With live audience polls, General Assembly speakers transform dull monologues into interactive dialogues. Assembly speakers can comment on the results of each poll, and use these information snapshots to directly address the thoughts and perspective of delegates in the audience. By intermittently posing poll questions, the excitement and attention spans of attendees are kept engaged.
2. Boost delegate participation in Q&A’s
Passing microphones into the crowd and requiring General Assembly delegates to stand in line for Q&A is not only too time consuming, but also too nerve-wracking for most to speak up. Using live audience response systems, Assembly delegates can (anonymously) submit questions to meeting speakers and presenters without having to strain themselves.
3. Collect feedback in real time
Gather valuable feedback from General Assembly delegates with open-ended response questions and surveys. Planners who incorporate feedback collection into their schedule of events are better prepared to maximize survey participation. Open-ended response and feedback reports can also be used to identify and act on high-priority requests in real time.
4. Use Audience Response Systems With E-Voting Capabilities
Electronic voting technologies collect, count, and calculate the results of election ballots without any effort from General Assembly organizers. Smartphones, tablets and wireless keypad clickers are transformed into voting devices with electronic voting systems that allow in-person and remote delegates to join in held elections.
Vistacom’s live audience response system functions as an electronic voting tool, allowing results to be displayed to General Assembly delegates in real time or after each ballot has closed. For more sensitive elections and voting matters, General Assembly organizers can choose to conceal votes completely. General Assembly planners can monitor participation in each ballot to ensure full participation and avoid the delays associated with tedious vote counting. In this way, margins for vote counting errors are eliminated.
Final words
Using live audience response technology, religious event planners are bringing their General Assembly’s voting process into the 21st century, and transforming dry speeches into highly interactive learning experiences. Learn more about live audience response technology and the impact it can have on your church’s General Assembly meeting.
For more helpful resources to share with General Assembly Committee members visit the Vistacom Resource Center.
