What does audience engagement refer to?

Audience engagement refers to the techniques utilized to capture the audience's attention and encourage their participation during a communication event or presentation. This involves various strategies that make the audience feel involved and connected to the content being presented. By fostering a participatory atmosphere, the speaker can enhance the audience's understanding and retention of the material. Engaging the audience can include activities such as interactive discussions, asking questions, incorporating multimedia elements, or encouraging feedback, all of which serve to create a dynamic and memorable experience.

While maintaining eye contact and asking rhetorical questions can be part of engaging an audience, they are more specific tactics rather than the broader concept of engagement itself. Effective lecturing methods focus on the delivery of information, and while they can contribute to engagement, they do not encapsulate the full scope of what audience engagement entails. Thus, the emphasis is on involving the audience actively and making them participants in the communication process.