This post was mentioned on Twitter by maddiegrant: The Audience Talks Back http://j.mp/cQa0PF...

There’s a lot of education and brain research stating that people must do something with the information they are learning in order to retain it. And that means that during a presentation they must do something immediately with that information or it’s lost. Did you know that 90% of a presentation is lost within 30 days…actually within hours of the presentation. Research shows that the mind looses interest every 10 minutes in a presentation unless there are specific things done by the learner and the presenter.

John Medina’s book Brain Rules speaks directly to this. For example, people need to repeat information in order for it to go into short term memory. Writing or typing those notes helps in that process. His book also speaks to what some people think is multi-tasking when people write, text or type in a presentation. Very interesting research on how the brain is working with short- and long-term memory and what some people call multitasking–which it isn’t.

We both agree that visuals trump text and that a graphic version will help people retain the information.

I’m a “both and” kind of guy and believe that both what you propose, and allowing adults to do what works for them when learning including typing, texting, writing, is the best of both worlds. Adults know their own preferences for learning and retaining information.

I leave you with this…just because someone is looking forward at a speaker does not mean they are learning or listening. That’s a fallacy. Listening is actually the worst way to learn and remember something. Just ask John Medina…

When ever I do a conference/session/meeting, we take notes for the clients/participants so they can focus on the task, concept, strategy at hand.

We simply provide graphic facilitation and documentation/note taking for them. They can refer back to it at any time- kind of like having the teachers lecture and notes immediately after the class.

Here is how the graphic version works- most people learn and remember more visually- that’s why we do it (plus it’s cool!)
http://collaborationking.com/graphic-facilitation/

This isn’t to say that there isn’t the right place and time for notes, just that in medium to large group settings, there are options more beneficial than people with their heads facing down in their notepads!

Has anyone every read the book “Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency”

It says that we can’t multi-task. This back channel approach will never work for getting truly exceptional results.

There needs to be 2 threads at conferences- maximized personal interaction and collaboration and digital communication and presence.

They can’t be married together- the human mind just isn’t capable of it!