The Truth About Speaker Evaluations (The Good, Bad, and Ugly!)

Good day, my Keynote Speaker Friend!

There's always that ONE comment on your speaker evaluations.

That ONE comment that sticks in your teeth like?an annoying popcorn kernel after movie night.

It's the ONE comment that cuts deep.

It hurts. It's not constructive, maybe it's cryptic, but you can't shake it off.

Last week, I decided to dig deep into my massive archive of speaker evaluations to try and break down the good, the bad, and the ugly truth about those speaker evaluations.

Speaker evaluations can be beneficial, but try to approach them with a grain of salt. They often represent a small fraction of the entire audience and come in three forms:?

?? The Good:

• The good comments are often kind and make up most of the feedback received.

?? The Bad:

• The "bad" comments should make up less than 2% and offer constructive feedback.

?? The Ugly:

• These nasty comments show up in less than 1% of the feedback you receive (in general) and are useless and not helpful.?

To make the most of evaluations, focus on the good and "bad" feedback and ignore those ugly comments.

?? Show us some examples! Dive into a few real-life examples of all three kinds of speaker feedback and learn why the bad and the ugly comments hurt so hard. Oh, and find out what ONE comment is still stuck in my brain after almost a decade. *Free Subscription Required*

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

When to Apply (or Ignore) Suggestions From Speaker Evaluations

Speaker evaluations are a valuable tool to assess the feedback from any audience on your speech's performance. However, it's crucial to remember that comments received in evaluations only represent 10% of the entire audience (give or take.)?

?? Avoid blaming the audience, technology, or the venue for negative feedback.

?? Detach yourself from the speech. This is feedback on the speech, not you.?

?? Focus on the positive comments

?? Look for repeated constructive criticism.

?? Ignore outright useless feedback.?

With this approach, speaker evaluations can be a great tool to help improve one's speaking skills.

?? See exactly how I use every speaker evaluation to improve my speech (with examples.)? *Paid Members Only.*

Say Goodbye to Robotic Teleprompter Speaking (Video)

The secret to sounding natural while using a teleprompter is to write the script like you speak, not like you write. In fact, the real secret is...?

Seriously... it's the dot... dot... dot...

Watch last week's Speaker Tech Tuesday video and see what I mean.

I'll see you next Sunday in another round-up of our weekly content exclusively for professional speakers.

Remember, the advice that got you here, won't get you there.

Andrew Davis