The Importance of Evaluation After Your Presentation
Would you like to know one of the largest misconceptions public speakers have when it comes to their effectiveness?
They believe that being paid to speak and having years of experience are confirmation that they’re a great speaker. They often assume that the audience they’re speaking to is just as moved, entertained or inspired as the audience they spoke to last week or last month.
This type of complacency doesn’t lead to growth. In order to be an even better speaker, you’ve got to get honest feedback from your audience every time you speak. Yes, your audience has a valid opinion on what was most helpful, what was unclear and what could have made your presentation even better.
It’s the same as a customer at a restaurant having an opinion about the food. They know what they like and don’t like and the chef is wise to use that feedback in order to make the menu even better. Gathering your audience’s feedback can be very simple and extremely helpful.
In 1974, I began utilizing an evaluation tool for my own speaking engagements using a simple 1-10 scale. Nearly 92% of audience members fill it out after each engagement, and since then, my average rating has been just over 9.5. After each speaking engagement, I use this information to reflect on what went well and what I can improve on, and creating this evaluation tool is simple.
Each audience member is given a 3x5 index card that asks the following questions:
How VALUABLE were the ideas and concepts to you?
How EFFECTIVE was Joel’s presentation of material?
COMPARED to other sessions on this subject, how would you rate today’s program?
What was your best “Ah-Ha” moment?
What could have been improved about this presentation?
What did you like best about this presentation?
More simply, you could just ask the audience on a scale of 1-10 how they would rate your performance, but the follow-up questions will help your growth by offering suggestions and praises about messaging and content. Ensure that you’re asking questions that evaluate your messaging and your content so you know what to keep and what to change about both aspects of your presentation.
When you gather feedback from your audience, you must be able to turn negative feedback into positive action and take small steps toward bettering your practice. It can be hard to read unfavorable feedback, but know that there is so much growth in failure.
Each time you complete a presentation and gather feedback, you’ll be able to keep what is working for your next talk and eliminate the things that aren’t. It has been the single best practice I’ve had for almost fifty years in the business. Without feedback, you’re the only person who does not know how you’re performing. If the audience thinks you’re great, you don’t know. If they think you’re boring, you don’t know. Don’t you want to be in the know, so you can understand what’s working and what isn’t, so you will be able to measure your progress and set attainable goals? Of course you do! Now go out and insert this evaluation into your practice today!
