Why Small Meetings Need Anonymity

“We don’t need to tally voting, we are only thirty people! It’s easy to know what we all think.”

No its not! In fact, it is just the opposite. It’s a common misconception that small meetings do not benefit from the use of Audience Response Technology. ARS is seen only as a tool to quickly tally and display responses.

Small meetings are especially vulnerable precisely because everyone is visible. They fail because the participants are reluctant or unable to be candid. In this case knowing what everyone is thinking is the cause of the failure. People often say what they are expected to say. And, contrary opinions expressed by raising of hands is only for the very brave at heart.

Here is a good example. Quick Tally was providing the Audience Response System and consulting for a law firm partners meeting of about sixty people. Looking around the room it was obvious that many of the partners were well into retirement age. Yet none had ever expressed any interest in retiring. The gifted moderator used the anonymity of the system to ask if anyone was interested in retiring. The response was a resounding yes. Retirement issues were never on the table or agenda. It had never brought up at past meetings due to a strong sense of loyalty. No one wanted to be the first to leave.

Consider this:
The more each participant is visible, the more the need for anonymity.