2-Minute Tip: Believe Them

 

When your audience members tell you that you did a good job, believe them.

 

In our zeal to be the best we can be, many speakers have an inaccurate and often negative view of our own performances. Often we see how it could have been better. Or we notice a mistake no one in the audience did. We can obsess over those "failures" no one else saw.

But it's not about us.

 

It's about the audience. When audience members tell you that you did a good job, take their word for it. Respect their opinion. Believe them.

 

  Post Tip Discussion: 8 Questions to Ask After Your Talk

 

There are stories we tell ourselves that keep us small.

-- Emma Gibbs-Ng

Lyn Henderson's Inside Knowledge Podcast

 

Evaluating our performance after a presentation is good, but simply asking, "How was I?" is not good enough. It makes it all about us again and doesn't give us the actionable data we need to get better. Instead, we ought to ask these 8 questions after a talk:

 

1.  How was the timing?
2. What were the questions the audience asked?
3. What demos or visual aids worked and which ones didn't?
4. How did my jokes go over?
5. How well did the presentation flow?
6. What did people say to you after the talk?
7. What follow up items do you have?
8. Did you accomplish your goal?
    

 

The questions focus on how the audience experienced the presentation, rather than how the speaker experienced it.

 

Keep track of the answers over time because they will reveal patterns that point to ways you can grow and improve as a speaker.

 

Call To Action:

 

• Ask the 8 key questions after your next talk.
• What other questions do you ask? Let us know in the comments below.
• Share this episode with a friend or colleague who also conducts presentations.
• Believe your audience when they say they like you.
• Don't get best...get better.