Session Formats + Audience Involvement

When you attend or plan an event, you must consider the presentation format for each session. The overall size of the event, number of concurrent sessions, topics to be covered and location space must all be considered. The most common presentation settings are:

Auditorium: Generally a larger room with chairs facing a stage or podium from which the speaker delivers the presentation. Room size can vary but may include hundreds in the audience.

Classroom: Typically a smaller room with tables. Chairs face a white board or screen for presentation. Hands-on computer or training sessions favor this set-up. Room capacities are usually smaller (up to a few dozen people).

Roundtable: Most roundtables are very limited in size (fewer than 20 attendees). A conference style table with chairs surrounding it is common, though not required. Roundtables are usually highly interactive.

Panel: Panel discussions typically are held in auditorium-style settings, with at least two panelists (experts) who will answer questions and offer opinions during the session. This is an interactive format, but tends to be more structured (Q & A) than a roundtable.

Virtual or Web-based: Virtual sessions have become commonplace as companies try to curtail travel expenses. These can be done through a phone conference, webinar (using web conferencing software like Webex), or using the newer and highly functional virtual trade show software packages (for example, ON24) that have concurrent sessions in different virtual auditoriums, chat rooms, trade show “booths,” etc.

In our experience, the most effective seminars or presentations involve the audience to some degree. How you encourage participation is often dictated by the presentation setting. In an auditorium setting with 200 attendees, asking for and receiving input has traditionally been done by asking participants to hold questions until the end of the session and then having a moderator carry a microphone from person to person so they may ask their questions of the presenter. A current popular option is to ask participants to send (or “tweet”) questions via Twitter using a pre-defined hashtag. In a virtual setting with a large number of attendees, online chat or tweets are also common. The best option for true interaction is still the roundtable. This format encourages back-and-forth discussion that is not as easily accomplished in other settings or using Twitter.

Most event agendas will specify the type of setting for each session. This gives attendees a good idea of what to expect. If you are planning an event, in addition to the factors mentioned above, consider also the style of your speaker and audience expectations. To learn more about our professional speakers, please visit The Expert Speakers website.