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Now that you've decided to make your meetings interactive, you'll need a place to start.  You can run out and buy hardware and software, but the the better choice is to 'try before you buy'.

The way to do that is to rent.  Just as you can contract with an audio visual company to provide projection, screens, microphones, and so on, you can hire a company to provide an audience response system.  Best of all, they'll also provide a technician who will setup and run the system on their computers.  This leaves you free to focus on content.

Since you've probably never done this before, let's touch on the mechanics of it all.  We'll assume that you plan to be on stage with a notebook computer, and will be delivering a PowerPoint presentation.  You should have your Audience Response technician set up his gear on a table at the side (or rear) of the room, where he can work but still see you.  

Tell your audio visual person that both you and the Audience Response technician will be delivering the presentation, and that you need to be able to switch the projector between both presenters.  They'll provide a small 'A/B' box so that the Audience Response tech can switch between putting your presentation and his, on screen.

The technician will of course test his equipment and distribute keypads.  He will need to know when to switch between your slides, and his.  So, provide him with hard copy of your presentation.  A quick rehearsal will ensure that things go smoothly.

Once things get underway, begin your presentation as you normally would.  Then, once you get to an interactive question, give the tech a nod to confirm you are ready.  He will switch the projector to his computer, and bring up his slide which will then appear on the big screen.  When you are ready to go back to your presentation, signal him again and he will switch back to you. 

With at least one successful meeting under your belt, you are well on your way.  If you plan to do 8 or more interactive meetings, it usually makes sense to purchase a system.  (see our Systems page for more info)

If you choose to continue renting rather than purchase, you should book as many meetings as possible on a single order.  In this way, you will receive quantity pricing. 

Of course finding and deciding on the company to rent from can be a daunting task.  To save lots of time, and to ensure that you wind up with a quality minded provider, we strongly suggest that you order from audience-response-rentals.com.

When you're on stage, you want a company that's going to make you look good, and audience-response-rentals.com you'll have a selection of top notch companies to choose from.