The company providing online tools for key business areas including sales and marketing, human resources and payroll has introduced something new. Today, June 17, 2015, Zoho launches ShowTime. The Web-based platform enables speakers to transform static presentations into interactive events.
The Zoho ShowTime platform brims with features that allow for “live” audience participation. For example, viewers can “like” slides, as well as review them at will while the presentation is in progress.
Audience members also can pose questions to the speaker, who can choose to interrupt the presentation to highlight a particular inquiry.
At the end, all members are encouraged to rate the presentation, as well as offer feedback.
With Zoho ShowTime, the presenter and audience all access the presentation via a desktop or laptop computer or on their smartphone via ShowTime’s mobile app. The app is available for iOS and Android users.
During ShowTime presentations, the audience can either be in the same room as the presenter, watching slides at their own pace on their device of choice, or they can participate remotely in the same manner.
The inclusion of the computer devices to watch the event, even if the same slides are being shown on a big screen at the front of the room “encourages interactivity,” Vijay Sundaram, chief strategy officer at Zoho, told Small Business Trends.
“We help make you a better speaker,” Sundaram said.
Zoho is positioning ShowTime for use during product presentations, webinars, and for training.
At the presentation’s conclusion, the presenter can review a host of analytics data measuring various events that took place during the session. For example, did audience members need to spend a longer amount of time on a particular slide than the speaker did? If so, then the speaker might want to give more attention to that slide to improve the effectiveness of future presentations.
By adding this high degree of interactivity to the Zoho ShowTime platform, the company believes it has created a game changer. The aim is to offer an alternative to the existing presentation software business. That business, Zoho believes, is more focused on the images and graphics than the audience’s reaction to them.
With ShowTime, speakers can create their presentations using Power Point or PDF. They also can use Zoho Show, the cloud-based app included with ShowTime.
To use Zoho ShowTime, presenters upload their presentations and assign a key. The key is then given to audience members who enter it on the ShowTime website to gain access to the event.
Zoho ShowTime is available immediately for free on the ShowTime website for computers. Versions for mobile users also are available in the iTunes store and Google Play.
Image: Zoho
Aira Bongco
Is this the same as Flash or Powerpoint? If not, is it as easy to use?
Hey Aira,
Good day. This is Anish from Zoho. Let me answer your query 🙂
1. Is this the same as Flash or Powerpoint? – No it’s NOT. But ShowTime works with your PowerPoint file – it’s a software that helps you present better and keep your audience completely focused as you talk 🙂
2. Ease of use? It is very simple to use and you can get started without any assistance.
Just upload your PowerPoint file in to ShowTime, Set an audience key so that your attendees to view the presentation on their devices and Begin presenting as you always do. That’s all 🙂
It will take you less than a minute. Once you are connected using ShowTime, your audience can like slides, ask questions, rate your performance and share feedback – so that you know what worked and what didn’t in your presentation.
Trust that helps, Aira. You can contact me(anish.a@zohocorp.com) incase you have any further query.
Happy to help.