SKOs and "Swipes" – Making Remembering Memorable!

Want a terrific way to ensure that your SKO participants remember the key take-aways?  Try using Swipes, a simple, very effective idea that was first introduced to me during a SKO meeting at McLeod Software by Rick Halbrooks, McLeod’s head of sales (and long-time Great Demo! senior practitioner).

The idea is very simple.  At the end of the day, Rick goes around the room (or virtual room) and has each person state something that he or she took away.  That’s seemingly easy, but he adds a twist:  an idea can only be used once!  If someone else verbalizes your take-away, you’d better have a backup.  Or two.  Or three.  Or more…  Now you can guess where the name “Swipes” comes from!

Participants know, ahead of time, that they need to verbally recall at least one idea at the end of the day that hasn’t already been presented by someone else.  To be safe, each person tends to write down several take-aways, often a list.  Participants tend to pay better attention, since they need to listen and collect Swipes candidates.

Works wonderfully!

Pragmatic Note:  Swipes are wonderful for groups of 50 or so but could be challenging for larger teams.  A solution for larger groups is to do the Swipes in breakout sessions or similar smaller venues.