It’s 8:30 in the morning. We grab a sandwich and drink coffee – before the endless stream of lectures starts. While the conference organizers found great speakers, oftentimes the main asset is on the participants' side. Instead of asking them to listen, we can tap into their wisdom and generate insights that will interest all.

What's The Benefit?

The ability to gain insights from our participants changes the dynamics of the event:

• Participants who converse around the main issue of the conference – become involved. There is a better chance they will choose to attend the conference.
• The insights produced by the participants themselves are often more interesting than the insights brought up by the speakers.
• A community is created around a shared conversation. Instead of food being the focus of the event, you can center everyone around a key question.

How Does It Work? 

We put a lot of effort to bring hundreds of people into the same room. To engage our guests, we should first define the main question of the conference. What is the shared challenge around which the conversation is set? Once we have a question, we can engage with our participants before, during and after the conference:

• Before: Three days before the conference, send a personal email and invite participants to answer the question on the website and to see replies of others.
• Gathering: Our tool enables you to send everyone a text message with the question. Participants can reply in free-text or enter the website on their phones.
• During: You can display selected answers on the conference screens. Towards the end of the day, we can send you bottom line insights - based on all the replies.
• After: All participants can browse the answers on your Insights website, explore the insights and use them in their daily work. They get the bottom line.

Who Gained Insights?

The CEO of Bank Hapoalim consulted with his senior management on the bank's strategy for the following years. All of them received a text message, responded to it, watched the answers on the screen and gathered in small groups in order to browse through the answers and gather insights.

Feedback Labs in Washington DC approached their guests before the conference in order to gather insights on how to implement feedback in organizations. In the conference itself, the insights were displayed and decisions were made on new activities set for the future of the organization.

“Ruch Hadasha”, the Jerusalem non-profit used this technology to consult with guests on how to make them stay in Jerusalem. All guests gathered in round tables and discussed the same question. The answers were typed in real time through the events interface, and participants were invited to add knowledge through text messages.

It's All About Community

Once you share the insights with the participants, you actually maintain a community. You can continue and ask for their advice on challenges long after the conference has ended. They have the knoweldge. You have the platform.