I attend a lot of industry conferences and meetings. One thing that all such events have in common is audience question and answer/discussion sessions.
That is a good thing because it is a great way for people to share ideas and information.
The bad thing is that waiting for someone to walk up to a microphone, or for a runner to take a mic to an individual, wastes time and can kill the momentum.
I recently participated in Dossier System’s annual User Group Conference – as an exhibitor and panelist – which took place in Philadelphia. The event organizers solved the “wait for the mic before responding” dilemma with the use of Catchboxes.
Dossier is a leading provider of intuitive fleet maintenance management software solutions for the surface transportation industry.
Not only did these Catchboxes make asking questions in the packed rooms faster, they livened up the meetings and made them more engaging.
Coming at you
The maker of Catchbox says the device is world’s first wireless “throwable” microphone built for audiences. With a soft durable foam and fabric exterior and auto mute technology, the device – unlike normal microphones that need to be passed from hand to hand – can be safely passed around or thrown to someone in the audience without getting damaged or causing unwanted noises.
I noticed that the Catchboxes kept the audience at each Summit meeting more alert, since you never knew when the device might be headed in your direction.