Measure your audience response - The ShowTime Way.

Measure your audience response - The ShowTime Way.

Raising one's hand was the ancient style of getting people to acknowledge a speaker. People clapped to show their appreciation and booed to show their disapproval since the Roman times. Even today, in many senates and parliaments 'yays' and 'nays' are registered verbally.

But, how can one genuinely measure audience response? The solution was in the form of an Audience Response System (ARS). An ARS is a tool that is used to connect speakers to their participants. This helped in measuring audience interaction throughout the session. It came into existence during the 1950's, after being adapted from military applications and Stanford University (1966) was the first to use polling for educational purposes.



The traditional ARS system was limited to just collecting anonymous participant results, where the trainer asked a question, the participant chose an answer and the results were displayed. The benefits of using an ARS in training were realized slowly.

But traditional ARS have failed to keep up with the demands of modern training due to the following limitations:
  • Participants are hesitant to speak up - Trainee inhibitions in participating during sessions led to poor engagement levels and made the sessions monotonous. Inactive trainees can rob the session of a lively and engaging conversation.
  • They don't hold participants' attention - Most participants in a training session are not able to follow exactly what the trainer is currently teaching. Many of them even leave the session still scratching their heads. The trainers are not aware of the level of trainee comprehension.
  • It's hard to collect feedback - Hard-copy surveys don't bring out reliable responses because many participants do not take the time to fill them out.
  • They can't gather accurate results - Gathering audience insights were not possible with other forms of audience participation (such as raising a hand, response cards) since these needs a database to store information.
The solution? Zoho ShowTime.
Zoho ShowTime is a training delivery tool that lets you interact with your audience in real time. It runs on the cloud, which means you can present as well as interact with your participants.
Here's how,
  •  Engagement - Today's trainees have lightning attention span. This can lead to engagement deficits when the trainer delivers his/ her session. With ShowTime, you are interacting with your trainees in a medium that they constantly use, i.e. the smartphone. This enables them to focus on your session without being distracted.
  • Comprehension - ShowTime turns a presentation into a conversation. Start a poll at the beginning to hook their interest, and run another one at the end to see how close they were paying attention; display the results to the whole room, and let everyone compare responses.
  • Feedback - You know exactly how your participants feel about your talk, both while you present and after you finish. As you explain each slide, participants can tell you which ones they found the most interesting by 'liking' them. Once you are done, you can see how the group rated your presentation overall, and also the session analytics to know how much attention each participant paid to individual slides.
  • Gather Analytics - At the end of your session ShowTime displays engagement metrics specific to each slide. In the long run since the data is stored, you can always refer to them whenever necessary.
Don't stick to a traditional ARS. Access Zoho ShowTime on the Web now. Download the ShowTime Presenter app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. For PowerPoint users, download the plugin from here. Let us know your feedback about your session/presentation by commenting below.

Nandini Diagarajan
Technical Writer - Zoho ShowTime


    • Sticky Posts

    • Measure your audience response - The ShowTime Way.

      Raising one's hand was the ancient style of getting people to acknowledge a speaker. People clapped to show their appreciation and booed to show their disapproval since the Roman times. Even today, in many senates and parliaments 'yays' and 'nays' are registered verbally. But, how can one genuinely measure audience response? The solution was in the form of an Audience Response System (ARS). An ARS is a tool that is used to connect speakers to their participants. This helped in measuring audience
    • Introducing the “Open House” feature in Zoho ShowTime

      Hi all!  Zoho ShowTime has always kept pace with exciting innovations and great ideas. Our objective is to focus on effective team collaboration and greater attendee engagement for every training session.   Open Mic access enables the attendees to communicate directly with the trainer one at a time during a session. However, we understand that all discussions and conversations cannot be streamlined with individual views.  Introducing Zoho ShowTime's "Open House". The open house feature creates a
    • Introducing Evaluation and Assessment in Zoho ShowTime

      Hello everyone,   Once again, we're happy to introduce a new feature in Zoho ShowTime. Our newest addition is "Evaluation and Assessment" so you can see how effective your training truly is. Assessment systems help you effectively evaluate course-related knowledge and skills on a regular basis. As a trainer in ShowTime, you can gauge your trainee's attitude, his/her awareness on a subject, and their reaction to the trainings at the end of every session. You can also conduct tests with MCQs, research
    • New on Zoho ShowTime - Record your training

      Zoho ShowTime is an online training tool that lets you conduct engaging virtual classes and gives you realtime insights and detailed analytics on your sessions.  Virtual classes - What works and what doesn't Virtual classes offer a convenient way for learners to harness new skills. However, not all registrants will be able to attend your sessions at the scheduled time. How do you ensure that nobody's left behind? Simple. Record your sessions.  Introducing Zoho ShowTime's Recording feature: With Zoho
    • Help your attendees find their voice with Zoho ShowTime's Open Mic feature.

      Make your training more of a conversation by giving your learners the power to contribute to your sessions with the Open Mic feature in Zoho ShowTime. This feature is especially useful for remote learning, where trainers need to stay connected with an audience they can't directly see. When communication is only one-way, there's less engagement. The Open Mic feature now allows your attendees to engage more by voicing their opinions during the session. When your attendees request access, you will be
    • Recent Topics

    • Territories as filters

      The territory function within the CRM is great for controlling record access and managing a sales organization however, territories are not available as a filter options within the CRM when creating reports or dashboard components. Adding the ability
    • What's new in Zoho Social - Q1 recap

      Hello everyone, We’ve rolled out a bunch of updates in Q1, and we’re excited to walk you through them. To help you explore these features in detail, we’re hosting a Q1 recap webinar where we’ll show you how to make the most of each update. Q1 recap webinar
    • Payment Card or Identity form-fill from Vault?

      Hello! I'm working on replacing Bitwarden with Vault and one issue I've run into is that I can't find any option to fill address and payment forms from Payment Card or Identity info that has been saved in Vault. Is there a way to do this? Is it a planned
    • Query on Tracking Visitor Activity with Zoho Forms & SalesIQ

      I have a query regarding Zoho Forms, Zoho SalesIQ, and Zoho CRM. I have embedded a Zoho Forms form on my website, and I’m trying to understand if it’s possible to capture a user’s website activity (such as pages visited, visit count, etc.) when they submit
    • Merging Photos from Subforms into Writer

      I've got a subform that contains uploadable photos. Im trying to merge them into a template but there is no option to pull them in. Is this possible? We are creating an inspection module where we can take photos and make notes and export to a report.
    • Add Unified Project-Wide Development & Release GitHub Dashboard

      Hi Zoho Projects Team, I am writing to submit a feature request for a Unified Development & Release GitHub Dashboard that provides centralized GitHub visibility at both the Project and Milestone levels. The Vision: We need a single "Command Center" that
    • RouteIQ user Licensefor Non–Zoho One User

      Zoho RouteIQ needs to be purchased for Zoho CRM. The current setup uses the Zoho One plan, but RouteIQ is required for a different user who is not part of Zoho One. However, they need access to routes and customer details within RouteIQ for planning their
    • Private Contacts & Tasks

      What is the timeframe for being able to filter Activities and Contacts from being viewed by the rest of my team? I sync with Outlook and the ability to create a task that is private would be of great help. I have to take my dog to the vet this morning and because I put it in my Outlook calendar, now my whole team is aware of it because I had no way to mark it "private" in zoho. A simple checkbox would be great! I would be more than happy to provide examples of how ACT does this. For each event or
    • Cross Module Filtering – Use Fields from Lookup modules in Custom Views criteria and Advanced Filters

      Hello everyone, Zoho CRM now enables you to achieve deeper filtering of records in a module, using fields of a lookup, thereby enhancing your data management experience manifold. This filtering based on lookup module fields is now available in advanced
    • Super Admin Logging in as another User

      How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working
    • WhatsApp Calling Integration via Zoho Desk

      Dear Zoho Desk Team, I would like to request a feature that allows users to call WhatsApp numbers directly via Zoho Desk. This integration would enable sending and receiving calls to and from WhatsApp numbers over the internet, without the need for traditional
    • Update to CRM Custom Buttons: Collect Users' Location

      Hello everyone! Buttons in Zoho CRM allow you to extend the default CRM capabilities for your bespoke business needs. It provides the flexibility to connect to any third-party application to perform necessary actions. Wouldn't it be better, if those buttons
    • Sum over

      Hi, Is there an equivalent in Zoho (Aggregated Formula) to SQL’s SUM() OVER (PARTITION BY ...)? I’m looking for a way to calculate a sum within a group (partition) without collapsing the data, so that the result is still available at the row level. Has
    • Api Version 2 Refresh Token invalid_code

      While Refresh token i am always getting Error {     "error": "invalid_code" } i am trying to pass all parameter as per this https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/refresh.html still non of things working any one have idea whats the reason for same ... please help due to this i stuck since last one week
    • Is it possible to clone my Lead module layout to Customer and Potential layouts?

      I've customized all fields and their order for Leads module and I would like to know if I'm able to clone those fields into another modules, only to avoid repeated work. Awaiting.
    • Invoice date is incorrect

      I'm trying to pull a report of Sales Orders and filter by Invoice Date. (ex: all of 2025) Unfortunately, the filter still returns lots of SO's from other years including 2026 which would be impossible to have an invoice in 2025 from a 2026 order. It's
    • DYK 2 - Filter Columns in List View

      Did You Know you could filter columns across lists in Zoho Projects ? This allows you to quickly narrow down large datasets without navigating to the filter panel from time to time, making it easier to focus on what matters right from where you are working.
    • Sync Enable issue Between Zoho FSM and Invoice

      Hello Latha, I hope you are doing well. I am trying to enable synchronization between Zoho FSM (Org ID: 170000078905) and Zoho Invoice (Org ID: 170000079301). However, when I attempt to do so, I receive an “Internal error” message. Could you please assist
    • Introducing Auto-trigger for Screening Bot

      Still manually sending screening tests after every application? Not anymore. With Auto-trigger for Screening Bot, screening now begins automatically. When a candidate applies for a job that has an attached assessment, Recruit checks whether the test has
    • Canvas templates can now be shared with different CRM organizations

      Moderated on 14th February, 2023: Dear all, This feature is now open for all users in all DCs. To learn more about importing and exporting canvas templates, read our help doc -Customizing Record Detail Page Using Canvas Dear All, We hope you're well!
    • Zoho Mail Android app update: UI revamp

      Hello everyone! We are excited to share that the first phase of the Zoho Mail Android UI revamp is now live. In this update, we have redesigned navigation bar at the bottom to quickly access the Email, Calendar, Contacts, and Settings modules. Also, the
    • CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

      Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage
    • How to add a custom hyperlinked button in ZohoCRM Canvas Builder?

      I am building custom views in ZohoCRM Canvas builder, with one view that will be used for a client Portal. Trying to add a custom button that when clicked opens a separate window to a ZohoForm. How do I do this?
    • Filtering on related module

      I have a custom module (Module1) which is related to another custom module (Module 2) Module 1 can have many related records in Module 2. Module 2 has a date field. Module 1 has related list Module 2 I want to filter Module 1 to list all records where
    • Multi-Select Field Option Limit Inquiry

      Hello FSM Team, We would like to inquire about the limitation of the Multi-Select field in Zoho FSM. Currently, the system allows a maximum of 10 selectable options, and we encountered the message: “Option count more than allowed count of 10.” Issue:
    • Disable Zoho Contacts

      We don't want to use this app... How can we disable it?
    • Records Per Page

      Can we get max number of records per page increased from 100 to 250 and 500 please? Or alternatively allow us to use the Zoho Sheet View for all records and not just the max 100 showing on the page? thanks.
    • Zoho Forms sheet prefil

      I've been using zoho sheet prefill for a week and it was working perfectly, as soon as i deleted the particular sheet and replaced it with another one no matter what I do it cant find the record and i get this message. Could you please assist me to resolve
    • Check out in Meetings

      Why there is no check out in Meetings of Zoho CRM, very difficult to track
    • WO Completion Status Not Updating Automatically

      Hello Latha, Hope you are doing well. Over the past few days, we have been facing an issue with WO completion. When an AP is marked as complete, the work order status is not automatically updating to “Completed,” and we have to mark it manually. Could
    • CRM to Desk Contact Sync Issues?

      Hello, I noticed none of the contact changes in CRM are being transferred over to Desk. Anyone else experiencing this? I checked the sync history in desk and it confirms it - it doesn't show "X Contacts Synced" like it normally does.
    • Microsoft Teams integration in Zoho Apptics

      Good app monitoring is not just about collecting data. It is about making sure important updates reach the team in time to act on them. When an app crashes or a user shares feedback from within the app, teams should be able to see it promptly without
    • Able to change project on timelog entries

      Ability to move the timesheet entry from one project to another. When a user adds a wrong entry a manager can change/update the timesheet entry to the correct project.
    • Marketing Tip #28: Increase buyer confidence with visible social media links

      Your social media pages are often where customers go to “double-check” your brand before buying. When visitors can easily find your Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or LinkedIn from your store, it builds trust and makes your business feel more real and active.
    • [Webinar] Solving business challenges: One tool for documents, forms, PDFs, e-signatures, and more

      Hi Zoho Writer users, Most businesses rely on multiple tools, such as a word processor, form builder, e-signature provider, and PDF editor, for their document workflows. Managing multiple subscriptions, switching between tools, and moving data across
    • Customer Message Edit/Delete Function & Backend Visibility Inquiry

      目前客服已发送的对话支持编辑和删除功能,请问在 Zoho 系统后台,是否可以查看客服具体发送了什么内容,以及删除或修改了哪些信息?如果无法查看,这个功能是否可以通过设置关闭客服的编辑和删除权限?如可以,请告知具体设置路径。 Currently, customer service agents are able to edit and delete messages after sending them. In the Zoho system backend, is it possible to view
    • Google Drive API 403 PERMISSION_DENIED from Deluge custom function - OAuth connection not recognised

      Hi all, I've built a custom Deluge function to route Zoho CRM Account attachments into specific Google Drive subfolders based on filename prefix. The CRM API steps all work correctly, however our first Google Drive API call (listing subfolders via drive/v3/files)
    • Supercharge Your Zoho Billing Workflows with AI Using Zoho MCP

      What is MCP and how does it connect to Zoho Billing? If you've ever wished you could just tell your billing software what to do without clicking through menus, running reports manually, or switching tabs every five minutes, that's exactly what the Zoho
    • Automation Series: Notify Admin When User Accepts an Invitation

      In Zoho Projects, a portal is an organisational-level workspace where user can manage multiple projects. To join a portal, a user will have to accept the portal invitation. However, it is important for admins to be in the loop when a user accepts the
    • Knowledgebase SEO

      We have a custom-domain mapped help center that is not restricted via login. I have some questions: a) will a robots.txt file still allow us to control indexing? b) do we have the ability to edit the sitemap? c) do category URLs get indexed by search
    • Next Page