Audiences have taken control of presentations, and this is the only book to show how to leverage this phenomenon of backchannel conversation--Provides practical advice about how to be a more effective presenter by harnessing, not resisting social media.-Introduces readers to the idea that they now have new tools to solve a problem they very much care about: feeling trapped in boring and pointless presentations.-Offers easy-to-understand anecdotes about what other people have done well--and not so well. Armed with laptops, cell phones, smartphones, and other devices, audiences have taken control through the backchannel. The intersection of frustrated audiences with unaware presenters can often create dramatic and public breakdowns of communication and even mob mentality. In this book, master presenter Cliff Atkinson shows that if the changes are harnessed and the conversation with audiences properly handled, the outcome can be a new, more effective form of communication. At the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in 2008, audience members using Twitter confronted a presenter during her interview with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg when they thought she was straying off track. At SXSW 2009, Guy Kawasaki called out to the audience, 'Who is Mary Ann?' and when she raised her hand, he directly asked her why she was calling him a vulgar name Twitter! Far from being isolated incidents, these examples are signs of the future of live presentations, when audience members shift from passive recipients to active participants, and even presenters become more assertive in engaging the audience.

The Backchannel describes the massive impact of social technology on the live presentation environment, and what audiences and presenters can do to take advantage of the situation. The book presumes the reader is unfamiliar with social media, Web 2.0, blogging, or Twitter, and will introduce these important concepts and tools as they relate to the book.