Research-Based Stats Supporting PresEngage’s Value Propositions
Real-Time Audience Q&A Elevates Engagement and Learning
Engagement Boosts Learning Retention:
Active audience participation (such as Q&A during a talk) leads to better knowledge retention than passive listening. Studies confirm that engaged learners acquire and retain more information compared to a passive audience.1, 2 In other words, when listeners can ask questions or interact, they remember content at higher rates – a clear benefit that PresEngage’s real-time Q&A provides to improve learning outcomes.
Anonymity Drives Participation:
Fear of speaking up in front of others often silences audience questions – roughly 75% of people have some anxiety about public speaking.3 Technology can counter this: anonymous Q&A platforms encourage far more people to ask questions, providing psychological safety.4 In fact, 74% of employees said they would give more feedback if they could do so anonymously.5 By letting attendees text questions discreetly, PresEngage lowers social barriers, allowing even shy or hesitant listeners to participate. This inclusive Q&A approach means more questions answered and a more engaged, attentive audience.
Q&A Increases Engagement:
Live Q&A sessions aren’t just a formality – research finds Q&As are “by far the most effective format” for engaging participants during events.6 Audiences value the chance to pose questions: in virtual events, 37% of attendees said live Q&A sessions were one of the most valuable aspects (second only to educational content).7 This highlights how PresEngage’s real-time Q&A feature can captivate audience attention and spark dialogue, leading to higher overall engagement and satisfaction with the presentation.
SMS Messaging: A High-Engagement Communication Channel
Near-100% Read Rates:
Text messaging boasts extremely high open rates – around 98%, versus typical email open rates in the 20–30% range.8 Not only are texts almost always read, but 90% of SMS messages are opened within just 3 minutes.9 This immediacy means that when a presenter uses PresEngage to send a prompt or poll via SMS, virtually the entire audience will see it (and see it quickly). Such reliability in reaching attendees translates to more responses and real-time interaction, enhancing engagement during events.
Preferred by Users:
SMS is a widely preferred communication method. 85% of smartphone users favor receiving texts over emails or calls10 for notifications, indicating that people are more responsive when engaged through messaging. Crucially, texting requires no special app or login – anyone with a phone can participate instantly. By leveraging plain SMS (and WhatsApp), PresEngage meets audiences on a channel they already use and trust, reducing friction. This is especially powerful in professional or educational settings where attendees might ignore an email or be reluctant to download an app, but will readily reply to a text.
Massive Reach & Reliability:
Over 5 billion people worldwide use SMS (about 65% of the world’s population),11 making it one of the most universal communication mediums. Unlike web-based tools that can fail in low-connectivity environments, SMS works on any mobile network without Wi-Fi. For presenters, this means PresEngage’s SMS-based Q&A works reliably in crowded conference halls or remote training sessions alike. The platform even integrates WhatsApp (itself ~2 billion users globally)12 to capture international audiences. In short, SMS engagement ensures nearly every audience member can be reached in real time, dramatically boosting participation rates (SMS messages are about 5× more likely to be opened than emails).13
AI-Powered Content Delivery Improves Communication
Higher Communication Effectiveness:
Integrating AI into presentations can make communication significantly more effective. A recent study on AI-mediated communication found that combining AI tools with strong communication methods “greatly improves the effectiveness of communication.”14 AI can quickly overcome language or knowledge gaps – for example, an AI that’s trained on a presentation (like PresEngage’s AI Q&A) can instantly answer audience questions or clarify complex points. This leads to clearer understanding and fewer unanswered queries, improving the overall effectiveness of the presenter’s message.
Better Quality and Consistency:
Business leaders report that AI is raising the bar on content quality. 90% of global business leaders agree the quality of their visual content has improved thanks to AI innovations.15 In presentations, AI can ensure consistent, well-crafted answers and even generate slides or summaries with professional polish. By using an AI trained on the presenter’s content, PresEngage delivers on-the-spot, accurate answers and summaries. The result is a more consistent and high-quality communication experience, as the audience gets factually correct, concise responses – reinforcing the presenter’s points and credibility.
Efficiency and Engagement:
AI aids productivity and responsiveness in communication. Surveys show 82% of marketers/communicators expect their productivity to improve with AI tools,16 and organizations using AI are 20% more likely to say it improves communication quality internally.17 For audience engagement, this means presenters can handle Q&A more efficiently – AI can address many queries in real time, allowing human presenters to focus on the most critical or nuanced discussions. PresEngage’s AI-powered Q&A essentially gives every attendee an immediate “assistant,” keeping them engaged with instant answers. This not only maintains the flow of the presentation (no more stumped silence on tough questions) but also ensures audiences leave with answers, thereby increasing satisfaction and understanding.
Multilingual Accessibility Fuels Inclusivity and Engagement
Reaching Non-English Speakers:
English content alone isn’t enough to engage a global or diverse audience. Over 60% of internet users are not native English speakers,18 and only about 25% of global internet users speak English as their first language.19 If presentations are only in one language, a sizable portion of the audience may be left behind. PresEngage addresses this by supporting 100+ languages, allowing attendees to ask questions or receive answers in their preferred language. This multilingual support means a presenter can genuinely engage a broader audience – everyone understands the material better, which boosts overall participation and inclusivity.
Audience Preference for Native Language:
People engage more when you “speak their language.” Research shows consumers (and by extension, audiences) respond far more favorably to messages in their native tongue.20 In one study, 76% of consumers said they prefer to buy from websites in their own language, and 40% outright won’t engage (won’t purchase) if content is only in English . While that statistic is about purchasing, the principle applies to presentations and learning – if attendees struggle to translate content mentally, they’re less likely to stay engaged. By offering real-time Q&A and answers in multiple languages, PresEngage ensures language is no barrier. A participant can text a question in Spanish or Hindi and receive an answer in English (or vice versa), fostering inclusive engagement where everyone feels comfortable contributing, not just the native English speakers.
Inclusivity in Domestic Settings:
Even within one country or company, language diversity matters. For example, over 20% of U.S. households speak a language other than English at home.21 Multilingual support isn’t just a “nice to have” for international conferences; it also benefits bilingual communities, immigrants, or international teams. PresEngage’s multilingual AI and SMS capabilities allow each attendee to interact in the language they’re most fluent in. This inclusive approach can increase overall Q&A volume and clarity of responses, as people express ideas in the language they’re comfortable with. The outcome is a richer, more engaging discussion and a reputation for the presenter or organization as being truly audience-centric and inclusive.
Audience Participation Trends in Virtual/Hybrid Presentations
Engagement is a Top Challenge in Virtual Events:
As events have moved online or hybrid, keeping audiences engaged has proven difficult. Nearly 47% of event planners say engagement is significantly lower in virtual events compared to in-person settings.22 Data also show that attendees only remain fully engaged for about 68% of an average virtual session23 – attention tends to drop off partway through. Factors like screen fatigue and lack of interactivity make it easy for virtual attendees to tune out. This trend underscores the need for interactive tools like PresEngage: by injecting live Q&A, polls via SMS, and other participatory elements into a virtual talk, presenters can fight the drop in attention and keep remote audiences hooked longer.
Opportunities in Virtual Engagement:
On the upside, virtual formats open new ways to engage and include more people. 79% of event organizers say virtual events provided opportunities that wouldn’t exist at physical events (such as reaching a global audience), and a majority also saw higher ROI in some cases.24 The future of events is largely hybrid – about 90% of organizers believe all large-scale events will be hybrid or online within the next couple of years.25 This represents an opportunity: tools that excel at audience interaction digitally are in high demand. PresEngage is well-positioned here – its SMS-based Q&A works for in-person and remote attendees equally, and its analytics provide feedback in real time. By embracing such technology, presenters can turn the challenge of virtual audience passivity into an opportunity for wider reach and data-driven engagement.
Interactive Content Drives Participation:
Event surveys show that attendees crave interaction. For example, among virtual attendees, live Q&As, polls, and chats are highly valued – these elements make the experience feel unique and engaging. In one survey, audience Q&A was rated the most effective way to engage participants during live sessions.26 Additionally, attendees report valuing live Q&A almost as much as the primary content itself (over one-third ranked Q&A as extremely valuable).27 However, only 23% of attendees found large virtual events “unique”,28 suggesting many webinars feel like one-way broadcasts. PresEngage directly addresses this by making any presentation interactive and two-way. By enabling real-time questions via simple text messaging, it transforms passive viewers into active participants. This leads to more attentive audiences and creates the kind of interactive experience that event attendees and organizers are looking for in today’s virtual and hybrid event landscape.
