Speaker Evaluations Are Here: Is It Time to Change Your Speech?

Ready to find out what your audience really thinks?

Then, read your speaker evaluations!

You’ll find some of the comments will be good... some critical… and some will be downright useless – and better off ignored.

But now what?  How can you USE this information to increase your confidence, improve the value you offer, and enhance the quality of your session?

Knowing how to interpret and use this information is a vital step in becoming a referable speaker. Just remember… the comments you receive on your evaluation often only represent about 10% of the entire audience.  There are a lot of folks who didn’t fill out the evaluation forms.

So, with that in mind, let’s look at how you should and shouldn’t use this information when deciding what adjustments to make to your speech.

The One Major Mistake (You’ll Be Tempted to Make)

Most of the comments you receive from your audience will likely be positive, but it’s the critical comments that will stick out most in your mind.

And when someone says not-so-nice things about you or your work, it’s easy to just sling the mud right back.  But, don’t do it.  You’ll be sorely tempted, but this is a big mistake.

• Don’t blame the audience or the venue.

Sure, it’s easy to blame the audience…

They don’t get it.

This isn’t my normal audience.

They just weren’t right for this.

• It’s also easy to blame the venue…

The stage was a weird design.

I was stuck behind a podium.

The projector screen was in a strange location.

There was no confidence monitor.

Instead, try to detach yourself from any criticism.

YOU are not your speech.

(Repeat that.)

YOU are not your speech.

This isn’t about you personally. It’s about your speech. And while you’ve certainly put a lot of time and effort into crafting your performance, there is always room for improvement. So, don’t blame the audience or the venue or the tech.

Instead, pat yourself on the back! You just gave a speech. That’s what you love to do, remember? Regardless of how the gig went, you have reason to celebrate.

Once you’ve cleared that initial hurdle and your mind is open to feedback, use these three techniques to deal with the comments you receive.

Let’s start with the kind comments…