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The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever

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Effective public speaking is a challenge for many executives. They must prepare interesting content, overcome stage fright and deliver a speech that will hold the audience's attention. As if that wasn't difficult enough, they are increasingly likely to find themselves looking out at a sea of faces illuminated by the glow of laptops and PDAs. Social media is invading the auditorium, and rather than tuning out while a speech is delivered, people are turning on laptops and cell phones to send out text messages, broadcasting to the world their opinions of a presentation.

In his new book Cliff Atkinson explains how these new forms of online communication are shifting the rules of engagement between audiences and presenters. Instead of sitting politely until it's time for Q & A, people are going online during the address to swap comments and opinions via an electronic backchannel.

At the very least, Atkinson claims, speakers and their communications support staff need to be aware that there is likely to be a backchannel in the room and learn how to monitor it or be left out of the conversation. Beyond this basic awareness, he encourages communicators to take the initiative and employ social media as an integral part of any executive's presentation.
Practical advice

Atkinson's book covers a lot of ground, from how to open a Twitter account to advice on expanding the conversation with the audience. He details how social media can transform a presentation from a one-off information dump into a longer-term relationship--one that starts before you step onto the podium. His advice includes:

* Breaking a speech into "Twitter-sized chunks" to make it easier for people to post 140-character sound bites. One measure of success then becomes how many of these summary statements are posted and reposted online.

* Using Twitter as a vehicle to extend your ideas to people outside the room, giving them a "virtual stage pass" to the event.

* Creating instant polls using tools, such as Twtpoll and Poll Everywhere, to involve the audience.

* Publishing a Presentation Home Page using wiki software. For example, I was inspired by Atkinson's book to create [...]/ listing my past and future talks. A Presentation Home Page is a convenient archive for reference material; blog postings; a Twitter feed; bio and contact information and more. This shifts the burden from overly busy PowerPoint slides as the sole way to communicate information. Also, by implementing a page like this prior to an event you initiate a backchannel that involves the audience, letting you gather comments and suggestions before you deliver the talk. After the event, the page becomes a repository for evaluation responses, blog postings, reference material and a transcript.

Atkinson acknowledges there are both risks and rewards involved in the backchannel. It enables people to connect online and become part of a shared community, but at the risk of leaving out those who are unaware of what is happening. It gives the speaker a way to reach a wider audience, but at the risk of distracting the smooth delivery of material. It provides an archive for comments and opinions, but a series of 140-character notes can lack context. And there's the very real risk that the comments people make on Twitter might lack civility and shock presenters with their sometimes brutal honesty.

Though this approach is not for everyone, Atkinson describes a potent way in which social media allows a (frightening?) new level of transparency that speakers can use to transform a one-way stream of communication into a dialogue with the audience--before, during and after the speech.

The Backchannel might not bring welcome news to presenters who are wedded to the old school ways of controlling audience response and involvement, but is clearly shows how you can magnify the impact of a speech using social media.

I've been in conferences where people have twittered about the content, session, speaker, etc. But rarely have I seen a speaker take advantage of that backchannel conversation in order to shape and improve the quality of the presentation. Cliff Atkinson has written a book that every speaker (especially in the technical arena) should have high on their reading list... The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever. It's critical to understanding exactly what Twitter brings into the presentation mix, whether you want it to be there or not.

Contents:
Why Are You Calling Me a #@*% on Twitter?; How to Join a Twitter Backchannel; The Rewards of the Backchannel; The Risks of the Backchannel; Preparing for the Backchannel; Making Your Ideas Twitter-Friendly; Joining the Backchannel in Conversation; Handling Instant Feedback from the Backchannel; Holding Together the Backchannel Experience; Appendix A - The Four Tweets Worksheet; Appendix B - The Twn Tweets Worksheet; Index

The first part of the book starts out fairly basic, especially if you're already aware of how Twitter can enhance a conference. Complete with some strong real-life examples, Atkinson shows how Twitter can be both a distraction and a benefit to a speaker, depending on whether they are prepared to deal with statements and opinions that may not be entirely complementary. Once you accept the fact that Twitter *will* be active during your presentation, Atkinson demonstrates how you can actively engage that backchannel and make your ideas more twitter-friendly. For instance, your key points should be such that they fit in the 140-character limit of Twitter. In fact, you can even use the "Four Tweets" concept to develop the outline of your presentation, making the entire session geared for twittering and sharing. You can really dive in deeply if you'd like and use his concept for a Twitter break to allow people to offer feedback which then gets incorporated into the next element of the presentation. Nothing like having real-time feedback as you talk...

This book surprised me to a degree. I expected it to be a basic "here's Twitter, and did you know people tweet about you when you talk?" volume. I was wrong. I hadn't considered managing the backchannel to the degree that Atkinson explains, but I now see how it's possible and how it's beneficial to do so. These concepts, as well as the likelihood of a strong audience backchannel, seems like it would be more prevalent for tech presentations and conferences. But as Twitter continues to become more mainstream, I think that speakers *have* to be aware of how Twitter is going to function during your talk, whether you like the idea or not.

Yes, it does seem like speakers have a ton of stuff to consider and incorporate in order to have a successful presentation. For better or worse, you now have one more... Twitter. The Backchannel should be on your reading list for both awareness of what happens during your presentation and for how to manage that conversation for the benefit of all involved.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free

You're comfortable presenting to audiences and you're well prepared for this conference. But . . . . A minute into your presentation you notice that many people are busy texting on their mobile phones. Chances are they're using Twitter to message each other about you and about your presentation. They may like you, or they may be encouraging each other to leave and check out another presentation. 'The Backchannel' provides anecdotes, case studies, a bit of communication theory, and how-to examples, to help you feel more comfortable as a presenter facing this new elephant in the room. Atkinson describes how to how to prepare for the backchannel, how to make your ideas Twitter-friendly, and how to manage this virtual conversation. At its worst, a backchannel conversation can get out of hand and degenerate into harsh criticism of your presentation in real time. Atkinson provides examples of speakers falling prey to negative comments and how they have succeeded, or failed, in defraying the tension. On the other hand, speakers can learn how to use the backchannel conversation as a rich source of information that can engage the audience and improve the presentation.

I've been a big fan of Cliff Atkinson's book "Beyond Bullets" for many years. And as a frequent presenter, I've been keenly following all the online blog postings and discussions of how Twitter and other backchannel tools are affecting my role.

So I jumped on Cliff's new book. I found it to be a great summary and extension of everything I've seen so far, and adds some useful templates that I'll be using for my next presentation.

The book is mostly based on experiences in the high-tech sector, but it seems clear that the issues described in the book will be affecting anybody who presents regularly -- you WILL need skills in the future.

This book caught my eye because it grasped a phenomenon I've observed at events where the audience gives more eyeball time to their netbooks and smart phones than to the presenter. I figured someday I'd figure out how to harness the power of this behavior, and author Cliff Atkinson beat me to it. Mr Atkinson is THE authority to write on the matter. In addition to writing Beyond Bullet Points, he designed the presentations that helped persuade a jury to award a $253 million verdict in the nation's first Vioxx trial in 2005. Fortune magazine called the presentations "frighteningly powerful."

For those new to the back channel and the ways of Twitter, never fear. The book starts there, not with boring exposition, but with a real-life event where panelist Guy Kawasaki noticed a critical tweet (Twitter update) about him and asked the tweep (person who tweeted) to step up and explain the remark. After setting the context for Twitter and the back channel with this case study, Mr Atkinson goes into the mechanics of Twitter and other technological means for sustaining an official back channel.

The part of the book that everyone presenting can use (with or without a back channel) describes how to be an editor, curator and taste-maker to your audience. Thinking of yourself in these ways makes it 100% easier to craft a presentation.

Mr Atkinson outlines a strategy for JOINING the back channel's conversation, including how to manage a "conversational presentation." Presenters with and without a back channel should follow this advice

"You can no longer get away with putting up a slide that lists Agenda or Introduction at the start of your presentation. Nor can you get away with kicking off your presentation with too many details or a list of your accomplishments. In a world in which your audience is accustomed to high-quality media at their fingertips, you need to capture their attention out of the gate. You must engage your audience within the first five slides or at least the first five minutes of your presentation."

The book offers a chapter on how to handle the positive and negative feedback from the back channel. Particularly helpful is the advice that speakers should practice scenarios that put them in a range of difficult situations. He gives five scenarios to practice: "You're not listening to us;" Your Facts are wrong or misleading;" "Your material is a mismatch for us;" "Your material is boring;" and "You made me mad."

Finally, relying on an excellent case study from a conference gone snarky via the backchannel, Mr Atkinson shows how Chris Brogan (author of Trust Agents) turned the situation around. Here's the 10-point checklist for managing an unruly back channel:

Establish a reputation
Listen and collect stories
Dispense with pretense
Talk to the elephant in the room (if there is one)
Make it you, you, you instead of me, me, me
Check in with the audience early and often
Improvise
Stay grounded
Ignore the small stuff
Keep things in perspective

This slim volume is worth the $[...] list price and includes a free 45-day searchable online edition. Both of my thumbs are way up.

Other book reviews available [...]

Thismbook opened the long closed doors in my mind on the new possibilities for events to be more that a one way dialogue, it gives a rich, open and honest appraisal of this new approach using new technologies. Whilst the risk of events turning to chaos are very real, the potential for them to be far more engaging, thought provoking and continuing on long past the event end are the real and value adding. The book covers all the elements that need to be addressed in adopting this methodology. But it is also a work in progress for others to adopt, follow, build and progresses, as presenters we may not have a choice as our audience will go there before us and drag us into the backchannel.

The concept is great -- using social networking to support a presentation. This would be an interesting online article, but stretching it to a 220 page book is a bit much. I learned no more in the book than I gathered from the synopsis.

Everyone who will do public speaking or townhall meetings should read this book!

I thought it was going to be about how to handle the "peanut gallery" commenting of Twitter users when giving a presentation, which it does, and gives good real world examples.

However, what I didn't expect and gained the most insight was to re-think how to outline and build your presentation now that social media users can quickly share your (and their) thoughts and images while you speak. Essentially, today's speaker has to think how Tweet-able the presentation is; and to build in your "Tweet-bites", including Tweet-friendly slides for participants to take a picture with their mobile phones and send via Tweetpic. A good, Tweet-able presentation can extend your message, but a boring or bad presentation can deter your brand image, or extend your message incorrectly.

What a challenge: summarize your message into Tweet-friendly bites. Actually, re-Tweet-friendly because using all 140 characters may chop off your message in an important phrase when re-tweeted.

Of all the social media books that I've been reading, this one hit an "aha!" with me.

The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever ~ Cliff Atkinson

I'm really enjoying this book. As a presenter to an audience of technically literate people, I had never considered the backchannel. You're always aware of your own conversation with your audience but this book will really open your eyes to the pros and cons of what might really be going on while you're speaking. The pro's being that if you are doing a good job and getting your message across, then you have the potential to expand your audience to thousands of people based on the number of followers members of your audience have on twitter or some such social media service. If you are a bad presenter and don't know you're topic, watch out, it could bite you in the butt. However! Atkinson covers the pros and cons of the backchannel in this book and explains how to take advantage of the positive and to recover from the negative (ask Guy Kawasaki, he can vouch for that).

If you do any public speaking to any sized audience, you absolutely need to read this book. I'm serious, if you don't you are walking into a room with blinders on.

The Backchannel: How Audiences Are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever comes from a communications consultant who shows how to embrace new communications methods - and how to recognize common pitfalls that frustrate audiences in the process. Presenters must learn to manage the 'backchannel' and blend this into their business communications: THE BACKCHANNEL tells how, covering the basics of social communications using new media.