We’ve recently started our Presentation Club. An opportunity for members to stand up in front of the room and deliver a short presentation. All the attendees create written feedback on how the speaker came across. You then get to keep all the sheets of feedback to digest in the comfort of your home.
In can be daunting but the information will be useful … so long as no-one writes “It was very good” or “I didn’t like it”. That isn’t helpful! When you give feedback, you need to explain what was good or what you didn’t like. You need to let the person know what they did to create that response. And it’s hard! It’s hard to write and it’s hard to receive.
The members have found that they learn from watching their peers and writing their feedback as well as standing up, speaking and receiving the feedback themselves.
As I said it can be tough so here are my thoughts on how to make it as easy as possible.
When giving feedback …
- Ask what they want feedback on before they present or ask how they felt they did:
It’s easier to pick out the relevant feedback for them if you understand what they’re hoping for.
- Be specific and succinct:
One really specific piece of feedback is worth a page of waffle.
- Don’t just pick out things that you liked:
Real feedback contains the good, the bad and the ugly … but always what made you think that. And if possible, include suggestions for how it could be better or different.
- Pick out behaviours rather than personality or traits:
I can’t change the fact that I’m short so feedback that I look small on the stage isn’t helpful (unless you have a solution that I can use).
When receiving feedback …
- Try to be open minded:
It’s not about you it’s about the job you have or haven’t done. You don’t have to agree with the feedback but do consider how it might be true.
- Remember it’s an opinion:
You don’t have to take it and they may not be right.
- Reflect on any common threads:
The joy of the club is you’re getting multiple pieces of feedback from multiple people, all watching the same presentation. They may not all agree but there will be similarities … those are the nuggets of gold.
- Don’t try to fix everything:
Pick out a couple of elements to work on and get those right … you’re aiming for evolution not revolution.
If you like the idea of giving and receiving feedback on your presentation skills, we meet in High Wycombe on the last Tuesday of the month … you can find more information here.
