According to research, while 47% of people think aloud in meetings, 53% think quietly and speak occasionally. This presents a challenge for speakers and event teams. More than half of the room is typically being overlooked!

The reality is that events and presentations have been broken for a while. We reward the loudest voice, or the first to speak. But a key battle for productive meetings and events is increasing participation.

Three tips for designing your presentation or event to increase inclusion for the Quiet Thinker are:

#1 Think carefully about the invitation list and channels

If it is an invite only event, think carefully about who has been invited. Be mindful if there are quieter or overlooked individuals. If you are running an event, think about unconscious bias. Are you promoting the event through channels or forums that will unintentionally skew the audience? Will minorities feel welcomed by your channel and messaging choices?


#2 Use technology for deep, asynchronous engagement

Support thinkers who like to look, reflect and go deep. SuperSlide's tool set has been designed intentionally with features to support meeting and event participants who want to be able to replay the slide, zoom in, and go deep on links and additional content.


#3 Be intentionally inclusive

Check the position of the microphone to ensure speakers will be picked up. At the start expressly welcome remote participants. Be intentional about creating pauses in the conversation for remote participants to interject and using functions like 'raised hand' in Zoom.


"If firms give voice to the quieter people in the virtual room, their contributions can be astonishingly valuable."
- Bruce Daisley, bestselling author, consultant and ex-Twitter VP EMEA


By implementing these small practices, you can increase the return from every internal and external meeting and event.