4 Ways to Measure Presentation Success (And "Good Job" is Not One)
“Good job!”
Whenever I hear someone utter these words to me, I cringe.
And it’s not because I’m a perfectionist who doesn’t know to take a compliment or celebrate an accomplishment (ok…I’m a little of both).
It’s because I know what “good job” as a stand alone phrase means. It means:
“Meh” or just ok.
People don’t want to hurt your feelings. Your audience is filled with lovely people. It’s easier to use a platitude like “good job” than it is to say “I’m not that into your presentation” or “Your presentation left me confused and overwhelmed.”
But as speaker – we mistake “good job” to mean we were full of awesome instead of a polite way of saying – you were “ok”.
Never settle for a good presentation. Strive to create an outstanding experience for your audience.
If “good job” doesn’t mean good – then how do you know if your presentation was a success?
Here are 4 better ways to measure your presentation success:
Table of Contents
#1 Good job AND….
Good job by itself is not good, but good job followed by an explanation of what they took away from your talk is an excellent sign that you were effective.
I recently spoke at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Seattle about speaking with confidence. Being the amazing organization that they are, they sent me a lovely thank you note.
Each person wrote exactly what they took away from the presentation. Apparently, teaching them Amy Cuddy’s superman pose for more confidence was a hit. Some people were using it nearly every day.
That’s more than a good job. I made an impact.
Strive for making an impact.
#2 Book another gig
This is every speaker’s dream scenario.
You finish speaking, and a person walks up and says “Good job. My organization needs your message. Let’s talk about how we can get you in front of our group.”
YES, YES, A thousand times YES to this.
You know you’re outstanding when someone wants to help spread your message.
Get their business card and for the love of all things good – FOLLOW UP!
#3 Story time
This is my favorite measure of success.
An audience member approaches and says “Your story reminded me of an experience I had…”
Then she starts sharing her story. It’s such a gift to you: to listen to another person’s story, hearing about her similar (or sometimes not so similar) tale.
This means your message penetrated her heart and her head. Your message is being integrated into the very fabric of who this person is. And she’ll remember how you touched her life.
This is the most intimate, personal, and best measure of presentation success. You have made a difference.
#4 Taking the relationship deeper
I see a presentation as a first date. The audience is getting to know you. You’re getting to know all of those beautiful people.
At the end of the speech, the audience gets to decide if this was a one-time cup of coffee or if they want to see you again.
Seeing you again could mean following you on twitter, buying your book, signing up for your newsletter or giving you their business card. (Most of the time it does not mean buying your high priced thing – that’s a little like having a coffee date followed by buying a house together).
Last summer I gave a presentation and during Q&A an audience member said “I have to leave, but I want your book, and you need to sign it.” He ran to the stage with his money in hand.
The next thing I knew I was surrounded by people who wanted to buy my book and chat. I barely finished my presentation. It was an amazing feeling.
When the audience wants more of you and wants to keep the relationship going, you have changed them and your presentation was a success.
Set your presentation up for excellence. Get feedback, get a coach, but never settle for “good job.”
How are you committing to speaking excellence in 2015? Leave your commitment in the comment section below!
Michelle these tips almost apply across the board.
Blogging-wise, business-wise and life-wise build relationships by following up with people who vibe with your message.
If someone loves what you’re doing they’ll sign up for your list or they’ll buy your book.
At that point you may have a fan for life.
Not a bad deal.
Fan the spark of these relationship flames to build a successful business.
Excellent insights here!
Ryan
Ryan, I’ve realized over the years I’ve been blogging about speaking – most of my insights can be applied to business, blogging, and so much more.
You’re right speaking like anything else in life is all about relationships.
When you give of yourself freely, expect nothing in return, you’ll make a fan for life for sure.
Thanks for sharing these, Michelle! I felt my last speech stunk, but I experienced # 3 and 4 on your list, so that made me feel better. 🙂
This year I’m committed to saying less umms during my speeches and carefully studying the videos of great speakers to see how I can improve my own, from body movements to content. I’m excited!
Yay! That is great news Elke. It’s a good idea to look at other great speakers to get inspiration. Just be careful not to take it too far. I read a blog post once from someone who studied Steve Jobs – the way he looked, how he gestured, what he said. Then pretty much copied Jobs (including the black turtle neck sweater) and was a pale imitation of the man.
Excellent post Michelle. (I’m trying to resist saying “Good job and…”!)
I love your analogy: Someone wanting to buy the speaker’s top product is like a couple having a coffee date and then buying a house together!
It might seem rude to ask someone who said “good job” what they liked in your talk – like looking a gift horse in the mouth, as they say. But for the comment to be of value, the speaker needs to know what went well, to be able to do it again.
(Could be cause for handing them a short feedback sheet, like Charles Greene created so well!)
Thank you Craig!
I think the problem is if they say “good job” and then you ask what they liked, there’s potential to put that person on the spot. If they didn’t really mean, “good job” then they have to think quick to think of something.
At the NSA, we had an interesting chat about how feedback sheets are pretty worthless. I don’t know where I come down on this issue, but the conversation was fascinating.
Absolutely agree – big risk of putting the person on-the-spot.
Sounds like a very intriguing conversation at the NSA. I wonder why people felt the sheets were worthless? Could be a good topic for a future blog post!
They felt like most of the audience don’t want to spend time giving you feedback. That the members of the audience who did leave feedback would be on the extreme ends. The people who loved you will gush and the people who hate you will let you know there disdain. You want feedback from people in the middle.
The other argument was that is not the audience’s job to give you feedback. That the speaker should be seeking that out outside professional engagements.
I agree with the first one more than the second.
[…] No feedback = “good job” results. You know how I feel about the good job outcome. […]
Great post!! I wish I could learn more about the #4 – what have you found to be best practices to engage the audience after the talk and maintain that relationship?
My favorite is offering something free at the end that takes them deeper into my content. I ask for a business card and tell them to put a star on the back if they don’t want to be added to my list!
It converts like gang busters.
[…] best indicator of a successful presentation is booking more speaking gigs. Giving your presentation is the best marketing you’ve got. It […]