feedback presentation

How it works

Transform your enterprise with the scalable mindsets, skills, & behavior change that drive performance.

Explore how BetterUp connects to your core business systems.

We pair AI with the latest in human-centered coaching to drive powerful, lasting learning and behavior change.

Build leaders that accelerate team performance and engagement.

Unlock performance potential at scale with AI-powered curated growth journeys.

Build resilience, well-being and agility to drive performance across your entire enterprise.

Transform your business, starting with your sales leaders.

Unlock business impact from the top with executive coaching.

Foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Accelerate the performance and potential of your agencies and employees.

See how innovative organizations use BetterUp to build a thriving workforce.

Discover how BetterUp measurably impacts key business outcomes for organizations like yours.

A demo is the first step to transforming your business. Meet with us to develop a plan for attaining your goals.

• What is coaching?

Learn how 1:1 coaching works, who its for, and if it's right for you.

Accelerate your personal and professional growth with the expert guidance of a BetterUp Coach.

Types of Coaching

Navigate career transitions, accelerate your professional growth, and achieve your career goals with expert coaching.

Enhance your communication skills for better personal and professional relationships, with tailored coaching that focuses on your needs.

Find balance, resilience, and well-being in all areas of your life with holistic coaching designed to empower you.

Discover your perfect match : Take our 5-minute assessment and let us pair you with one of our top Coaches tailored just for you.

Research, expert insights, and resources to develop courageous leaders within your organization.

Best practices, research, and tools to fuel individual and business growth.

View on-demand BetterUp events and learn about upcoming live discussions.

The latest insights and ideas for building a high-performing workplace.

• BetterUp Briefing

The online magazine that helps you understand tomorrow's workforce trends, today.

Innovative research featured in peer-reviewed journals, press, and more.

Founded in 2022 to deepen the understanding of the intersection of well-being, purpose, and performance

We're on a mission to help everyone live with clarity, purpose, and passion.

Join us and create impactful change.

Read the buzz about BetterUp.

Meet the leadership that's passionate about empowering your workforce.

For Business

For Individuals

30 presentation feedback examples

Jump to section

You're doing great

You should think of improving

Tips to improve

3 things to look for when providing presentation feedback

3 tips for giving effective feedback.

We’re all learning as we go. 

And that’s perfectly OK — that’s part of being human. On my own personal growth journey, I know I need to get better at public speaking and presenting. It’s one of those things that doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me. 

And I know there are plenty of people in my shoes. So when it comes to presenting in the workplace, it can be intimidating. But there’s one thing that can help people continue to get better at presentations: feedback . 

The following examples not only relate to presentations. They can also be helpful for public speaking and captivating your audience. 

You’re doing great 

• You really have the natural ability to hand out presentation material in a very organized way! Good job!
• Your presentations are often compelling and visually stunning. You really know how to effectively captivate the audience. Well done!
• You often allow your colleagues to make presentations on your behalf. This is a great learning opportunity for them and they often thrive at the challenge.
• Keeping presentations focused on key agenda items can be tough, but you’re really good at it. You effectively outline exactly what it is that you will be discussing and you make sure you keep to it. Well done!!
• You created downloadable visual presentations and bound them for the client. Excellent way to portray the company! Well done!
• Your content was relevant and your format was visually appealing and easy to follow and understand. Great job! You’re a real designer at heart!
• You always remain consistent with the way you present and often your presentations have the same style and layout. This is great for continuity. Well done!
• You always remain consistent with every presentation, whether it be one on ones, small group chats, with peers, direct reports, and the company bosses. You have no problem presenting in any one of these situations. Well done!
• You are an effective presenter both to employees and to potential clients. When controversial topics come up, you deal with them in a timely manner and you make sure these topics are fully dealt with before moving on. Well done!
• You effectively command attention and you have no problem managing groups during the presentation.

You should think of improving 

• You’re a great presenter in certain situations, but you struggle to present in others. Try to be more consistent when presenting so that you get one single-minded message across. This will also help you broaden your presentation skills by being able to portray one single idea or message.
• You tend to be a little shy when making presentations. You have the self-confidence in one-on-one conversations , so you definitely have the ability to make compelling presentations. Come on! You can do it!
• During presentations, there seems to be quite a lack of focus . I know it can be difficult to stick to the subject matter, however you need to in order for people to understand what the presentation is about and what is trying to be achieved.
• To engage with your audience and make them attentively listen to what you have to say, you need to be able to use your voice in an effective manner to achieve this. Try to focus on certain words that require extra attention and emphasis these words during your presentation.
• Knowing your audience is critical to the success of any presentation. Learn to pick up on their body language and social cues to gauge your style and tone. Listen to what your audience has to say and adjust your presentation accordingly.

• During presentations, it’s expected that there will be tough questions . Try to prepare at least a couple of days before the time so that you can handle these questions in an effective manner.
• To be an effective presenter you need to be able to adjust to varying audiences and circumstances. Try learning about who will be in the room at the time of the presentation and adjust accordingly.
• Remember not to take debate as a personal attack. You tend to lose your cool a little too often, which hinders the discussion and people feel alienated. You can disagree without conflict .
• The only way you are going to get better at public speaking is by practicing, practicing, practicing. Learn your speech by heart, practice in the mirror, practice in front of the mirror. Eventually, you’ll become a natural and you won't be afraid of public speaking any longer.
• Your presentations are beautiful and I have no doubt you have strong presentation software skills. However, your content tends to be a bit weak and often you lack the substance. Without important content, the presentation is empty.

Tips to improve 

• Remember it’s always good to present about the things you are passionate about . When you speak to people about your passions they can sense it. The same goes for presentations. Identify what it is that excites you and somehow bring it into every presentation. it’ll make it easier to present and your audience will feel the energy you portray.
• Sometimes it can be easier to plan with the end result in mind. Try visualizing what it is you are exactly expecting your audience to come away with and develop your presentation around that.
• Simplicity is a beautiful thing. Try to keep your presentations as simple as possible. Make it visually appealing with the least amount of words possible. Try interactive pictures and videos to fully immerse your audience in the presentation.
• It’s a fine balance between winging the presentation and memorizing the presentation. If you wing it too much it may come across as if you didn't prepare. If you memorize it, the presentation may come off a bit robotic. Try to find the sweet spot, if you can.
• When presenting, try to present in a way that is cause for curiosity . Make people interested in what you have to say to really captivate them. Have a look at some TED talks to get some tips on how you can go about doing this.
• Remember presentations should be about quality, not quantity. Presentations that are text-heavy and go on for longer than they should bore your audience and people are less likely to remember them.
• Try to arrive at every staff meeting on time and always be well prepared. This will ensure that meetings will go smoothly in the future.
• Remember to respect other people's time by always arriving on time or five minutes before the presentation.
• Remember to ask the others in the meeting for their point of view if there are individuals during presentations.
• If you notice presentations are deviating off-topic, try to steer it back to the important topic being discussed.

Presentation feedback can be intimidating. It’s likely the presenter has spent a good deal of time and energy on creating the presentation.

As an audience member, you can hone in on a few aspects of the presentation to help frame your feedback. If it's an oral presentation, you should consider also audience attention and visual aids.

It’s important to keep in mind three key aspects of the presentation when giving feedback. 

Communication

• Were the key messages clear? 
• Was the speaker clear and concise in their language?
• Did the presenter clearly communicate the key objectives? 
• Did the presenter give the audience clear takeaways? 
• How well did the presenter’s voice carry in the presentation space? 

Delivery 

• Was the presentation engaging? 
• How well did the presenter capture their audience? 
• Did the presenter engage employees in fun or innovative ways? 
• How interactive was the presentation? 
• How approachable did the presenter appear? 
• Was the presentation accessible to all? 

Body language and presence 

• How did the presenter carry themselves? 
• Did the presenter make eye contact with the audience? 
• How confident did the presenter appear based on nonverbal communication? 
• Were there any nonverbal distractions to the presentation? (i.e. too many hand gestures, facial expressions, etc.)  

There are plenty of benefits of feedback . But giving effective feedback isn’t an easy task. Here are some tips for giving effective feedback. 

1. Prepare what you’d like to say 

I’m willing to bet we’ve all felt like we’ve put our foot in our mouth at one point or another. Knee-jerk, emotional reactions are rarely helpful. In fact, they can do quite the opposite of help. 

Make sure you prepare thoughtfully. Think through what feedback would be most impactful and helpful for the recipient. How will you word certain phrases? What’s most important to communicate? What feedback isn’t helpful to the recipient? 

You can always do practice runs with your coach. Your coach will serve as a guide and consultant. You can practice how you’ll give feedback and get feedback … on your feedback. Sounds like a big loop, but it can be immensely helpful. 

2. Be direct and clear (but lead with empathy) 

Have you ever received feedback from someone where you’re not quite sure what they’re trying to say? Me, too. 

I’ve been in roundabout conversations where I walk away even more confused than I was before. This is where clear, direct, and concise communication comes into play. 

Be clear and direct in your message. But still, lead with empathy and kindness . Feedback doesn’t need to be harsh or cruel. If it’s coming from a place of care, the recipient should feel that care from you. 

3. Create dialogue (and listen carefully) 

Feedback is never a one-way street. Without the opportunity for dialogue, you’re already shutting down and not listening to the other person. Make sure you’re creating space for dialogue and active listening . Invite questions — or, even better, feedback. You should make the person feel safe, secure, and trusted . You should also make sure the person feels heard and valued. 

Your point of view is just that: it's one perspective. Invite team members to share their perspectives, including positive feedback . 

You might also offer the recipient the opportunity for self-evaluation . By doing a self-evaluation, you can reflect on things like communication skills and confidence. They might come to some of the same important points you did — all on their own.

Now, let’s go practice that feedback 

We're all learners in life.

It's OK to not be perfect . In fact, we shouldn't be. We're perfectly imperfect human beings, constantly learning , evolving, and bettering ourselves. 

The same goes for tough things like presentations. You might be working on perfecting your students' presentation. Or you might want to get better at capturing your audience's attention. No matter what, feedback is critical to that learning journey . 

Even a good presentation has the opportunity for improvement . Don't forget the role a coach can play in your feedback journey.

Your coach will be able to provide a unique point of view to help you better communicate key points. Your coach can also help with things like performance reviews , presentation evaluations, and even how to communicate with others.

Elevate your communication skills

Unlock the power of clear and persuasive communication. Our coaches can guide you to build strong relationships and succeed in both personal and professional life.

Madeline Miles

Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.

How to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really!)

6 presentation skills and how to improve them, how to give a good presentation that captivates any audience, josh bersin on the importance of talent management in the modern workplace, how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), the self presentation theory and how to present your best self, coaching insider: trusting your team as a new manager, similar articles, 30 communication feedback examples, 30 leadership feedback examples for managers, your ultimate guide on how to be a good storyteller, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

3100 E 5th Street, Suite 350 Austin, TX 78702

• Platform Overview
• Integrations
• Powered by AI
• BetterUp Lead
• BetterUp Manage™
• BetterUp Care™
• Sales Performance
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Case Studies
• Why BetterUp?
• About Coaching
• Find your Coach
• Career Coaching
• Communication Coaching
• Life Coaching
• News and Press
• Leadership Team
• Become a BetterUp Coach
• BetterUp Labs
• Center for Purpose & Performance
• Leadership Training
• Business Coaching
• Contact Support
• Contact Sales
• Privacy Policy
• Acceptable Use Policy
• Trust & Security
• Cookie Preferences

How to Give Effective Presentation Feedback

A conversation with sam j. lubner, md, facp.

Giving an effective scientific presentation, like all public speaking, is an acquired skill that takes practice to perfect. When delivered successfully, an oral presentation can be an invaluable opportunity to showcase your latest research results among your colleagues and peers. It can also promote attendee engagement and help audience members retain the information being presented, enhancing the educational benefit of your talk, according to Sam J. ­Lubner, MD, FACP , Associate Professor of Medicine and Program Director, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship, at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, and a member of ASCO’s Education Council.

Sam J. ­Lubner, MD, FACP

In 2019, the Education Council launched a pilot program to provide a group of selected speakers at the ASCO Annual Meeting with feedback on their presentations. Although some of the reviewers, which included members of the Education Council and Education Scholars Program, as well as ASCO’s program directors, conveyed information to the presenters that was goal-referenced, tangible, transparent, actionable, specific, and personalized—the hallmarks of effective feedback—others provided comments that were too vague to improve the speaker’s performance, said Dr. Lubner. For example, they offered comments such as “Great session” or “Your slides were too complicated,” without being specific about what made the session “great” or the slides “too complicated.”

“Giving a presentation at a scientific meeting is different from what we were trained to do. We’re trained to take care of patients, and while we do have some training in presentation, it usually centers around how to deliver clinical information,” said Dr. Lubner. “What we are trying to do with the Education Council’s presentation feedback project is to apply evidence-based methods for giving effective feedback to make presentations at ASCO’s Annual Meeting, international meetings, symposia, and conferences more clinically relevant and educationally beneficial.”

GUEST EDITOR

The ASCO Post talked with Dr. Lubner about how to give effective feedback and how to become a more effective presenter.

Defining Effective Feedback

Feedback is often confused with giving advice, praise, and evaluation, but none of these descriptions are exactly accurate. What constitutes effective feedback?

When I was looking over the literature on feedback to prepare myself on how to give effective feedback to the medical students and residents I oversee, I was amazed to find the information is largely outdated. For example, recommendations in the 1980s and 1990s called for employing the “sandwich” feedback method, which involves saying something positive, then saying what needs to be improved, and then making another positive remark. But that method is time-intensive, and it feels disingenuous to me.

What constitutes helpful feedback to me is information that is goal-referenced, actionable, specific, and has immediate impact. It should be constructive, descriptive, and nonjudgmental. After I give feedback to a student or resident, my next comments often start with a self-reflective question, “How did that go?” and that opens the door to further discussion. The mnemonic I use to provide better feedback and achieve learning goals is SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely, as described here:

• Specific: Avoid using ambiguous language, for example, “Your presentation was great.” Be specific about what made the presentation “great,” such as, “Starting your presentation off with a provocative question grabbed my attention.”
• Measurable: Suggest quantifiable objectives to meet so there is no uncertainty about what the goals are. For example, “Next time, try a summary slide with one or two take-home points for the audience.”
• Achievable: The goal of the presentation should be attainable. For example, “Trim your slides to no more than six lines per slide and no more than six words per line; otherwise, you are just reading your slides.”
• Realistic: The feedback you give should relate to the goal the presenter is trying to achieve. For example, “Relating the research results back to an initial case presentation will solidify the take-home point that for cancer x, treatment y is the best choice.”
• Timely: Feedback given directly after completion of the presentation is more effective than feedback provided at a later date.

The ultimate goal of effective feedback is to help the presenter become more adept at relaying his or her research in an engaging and concise way, to maintain the audience’s attention and ensure that they retain the information presented.

“Giving a presentation at a scientific meeting is different from what we were trained to do.” — Sam J. Lubner, MD, FACP Tweet this quote

Honing Your Communication Skills

What are some specific tips on how to give effective feedback?

There are five tips that immediately come to mind: (1) focus on description rather than judgment; (2) focus on observation rather than inference; (3) focus on observable behaviors; (4) share both positive and constructive specific points of feedback with the presenter; and (5) focus on the most important points to improve future ­presentations.

Becoming a Proficient Presenter

How can ASCO faculty become more proficient at delivering their research at the Annual Meeting and at ASCO’s thematic meetings?

ASCO has published faculty guidelines and best practices to help speakers immediately involve an audience in their presentation and hold their attention throughout the talk. They include the following recommendations:

• Be engaging. Include content that will grab the audience’s attention early. For example, interesting facts, images, or a short video to hold the audience’s focus.
• Be cohesive and concise. When preparing slides, make sure the presentation has a clear and logical flow to it, from the introduction to its conclusion. Establish key points and clearly define their importance and impact in a concise, digestible manner.
• Include take-home points. Speakers should briefly summarize key findings from their research and ensure that their conclusion is fully supported by the data in their presentation. If possible, they should provide recommendations or actions to help solidify their message. Thinking about and answering this question—if the audience remembers one thing from my presentation, what do I want it to be?—will help speakers focus their presentation.
• When it comes to slide design, remember, less is more. It’s imperative to keep slides simple to make an impact on the audience.

Another method to keep the audience engaged and enhance the educational benefit of the talk is to use the Think-Pair ( ± Share) strategy, by which the speaker asks attendees to think through questions using two to three steps. They include:

• Think independently about the question that has been posed, forming ideas.
• Pair to discuss thoughts, allowing learners to articulate their ideas and to consider those of others.
• Share (as a pair) the ideas with the larger group.

The value of this exercise is that it helps participants retain the information presented, encourages individual participation, and refines ideas and knowledge through collaboration.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SLIDE DESIGN

• Have a single point per line.
• Use < 6 words per line.
• Use < 6 lines per slide.
• Use < 30 characters per slide.
• Use simple words.
• When using tables, maintain a maximum of 6 rows and 6 columns.
• Avoid busy graphics or tables. If you find yourself apologizing to the audience because your slide is too busy, it’s a bad slide and should not be included in the presentation.
• Use cues, not full thoughts, to make your point.
• Keep to one slide per minute as a guide to the length of the presentation.
• Include summary/take-home points per concept. We are all physicians who care about our patients and believe in adhering to good science. Highlight the information you want the audience to take away from your presentation and how that information applies to excellent patient care.

Speakers should also avoid using shorthand communication or dehumanizing language when describing research results. For example, do not refer to patients as a disease: “The study included 250 EGFR mutants.” Say instead, “The study included 250 patients with EGFR -mutant tumors.” And do not use language that appears to blame patients when their cancer progresses after treatment, such as, “Six patients failed to respond to [study drug].” Instead say, “Six patients had tumors that did not respond to [study drug].”

We all have respect for our patients, families, and colleagues, but sometimes our language doesn’t reflect that level of respect, and we need to be more careful and precise in the language we use when talking with our patients and our colleagues.

ASCO has developed a document titled “The Language of Respect” to provide guidance on appropriate respectful language to use when talking with patients, family members, or other health-care providers and when giving presentations at the Annual Meeting and other ASCO symposia. Presenters should keep these critical points in mind and put them into practice when delivering research data at these meetings. ■

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Lubner has been employed by Farcast Biosciences and has held a leadership role at Farcast Biosciences.

Insights From the 2023 International Society of Geriatric Oncology Conference

Oxaliplatin-based adjuvant therapy in older patients with stage iii colon cancer, newly diagnosed locally advanced hnscc adding pembrolizumab to concurrent chemoradiotherapy, breast cancer with sentinel node metastases: axillary dissection vs sentinel node biopsy alone, illuminating culprit in melanoma treatment resistance.

• Editorial Board
• Advertising
• Disclosures
• Privacy Policy

Blog > Effective Feedback for Presentations - digital with PowerPoint or with printable sheets

Effective Feedback for Presentations - digital with PowerPoint or with printable sheets

10.26.20   •  #powerpoint #feedback #presentation.

Do you know whether you are a good presenter or not? If you do, chances are it's because people have told you so - they've given you feedback. Getting other's opinions about your performance is something that's important for most aspects in life, especially professionally. However, today we're focusing on a specific aspect, which is (as you may have guessed from the title): presentations.

The importance of feedback

Take a minute to think about the first presentation you've given: what was it like? Was it perfect? Probably not. Practise makes perfect, and nobody does everything right in the beginning. Even if you're a natural at speaking and presenting, there is usually something to improve and to work on. And this is where feedback comes in - because how are you going to know what it is that you should improve? You can and should of course assess yourself after each and every presentation you give, as that is an important part of learning and improvement. The problem is that you yourself are not aware of all the things that you do well (or wrong) during your presentation. But your audience is! And that's why you should get audience feedback.

Qualities of good Feedback

Before we get into the different ways of how you can get feedback from your audience, let's briefly discuss what makes good feedback. P.S.: These do not just apply for presentations, but for any kind of feedback.

• Good feedback is constructive, not destructive. The person receiving feedback should feel empowered and inspired to work on their skills, not discouraged. You can of course criticize on an objective level, but mean and insulting comments have to be kept to yourself.
• Good feedback involves saying bot what has to be improved (if there is anything) and what is already good (there is almost always something!)
• After receiving good feedback, the recipient is aware of the steps he can and should take in order to improve.

Ways of receiving / giving Feedback after a Presentation

1. print a feedback form.

Let's start with a classic: the feedback / evaluation sheet. It contains several questions, these can be either open (aka "What did you like about the presentation?") or answered on a scale (e.g. from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree"). The second question format makes a lot of sense if you have a large audience, and it also makes it easy to get an overview of the results. That's why in our feedback forms (which you can download at the end of this post), you'll find mainly statements with scales. This has been a proven way for getting and giving valuable feedback efficiently for years. We do like the feedback form a lot, though you have to be aware that you'll need to invest some time to prepare, count up and analyse.

• ask specifically what you want to ask
• good overview of the results
• anonymous (people are likely to be more honest)
• easy to access: you can just download a feedback sheet online (ours, for example, which you'll find at the end of this blog post!)
• analysing the results can be time-consuming
• you have to print out the sheets, it takes preparation

2. Online: Get digital Feedback

In the year 2020, there's got to be a better way of giving feedback, right? There is, and you should definitely try it out! SlideLizard is a free PowerPoint extension that allows you to get your audience's feedback in the quickest and easiest way possible. You can of course customize the feedback question form to your specific needs and make sure you get exactly the kind of feedback you need. Click here to download SlideLizard right now, or scroll down to read some more about the tool.

• quick and easy to access
• easy and fast export, analysis and overview of feedback
• save feedback directly on your computer
• Participants need a working Internet connection (but that usually isn't a problem nowadays)

3. Verbal Feedback

"So, how did you like the presentation?", asks the lecturer. A few people in the audience nod friendly, one or two might even say something about how the slides were nice and the content interesting. Getting verbal feedback is hard, especially in big groups. If you really want to analyse and improve your presentation habits and skills, we recommend using one of the other methods. However, if you have no internet connection and forgot to bring your feedback sheets, asking for verbal feedback is still better than nothing.

• no prerequisites
• open format
• okay for small audiences
• not anonymous (people might not be honest)
• time consuming
• no detailed evaluation
• no way to save the feedback (except for your memory)
• not suitable for big audiences

Feedback to yourself - Self Assessment

I've mentioned before that it is incredibly important to not only let others tell you what went well and what didn't in your presentation. Your own impressions are of huge value, too. After each presentation you give, ask yourself the following questions (or better yet, write your answers down!):

• What went wrong (in my opinion)? What can I do in order to avoid this from happening next time?
• What went well? What was well received by the audience? What should I do more of?
• How was I feeling during this presentation? (Nervous? Confident? ...)

Tip: If you really want to actively work on your presentation skills, filming yourself while presenting and analysing the video after is a great way to go. You'll get a different view on the way you talk, move, and come across.

Digital Feedback with SlideLizard

Were you intrigued by the idea of easy Online-feedback? With SlideLizard your attendees can easily give you feedback directly with their Smartphone. After the presentation you can analyze the result in detail.

• type in your own feedback questions
• choose your rating scale: 1-5 points, 1-6 points, 1-5 stars or 1-6 stars;
• show your attendees an open text field and let them enter any text they want

Note: SlideLizard is amazing for giving and receiving feedback, but it's definitely not the only thing it's great for. Once you download the extension, you get access to the most amazing tools - most importantly, live polls and quizzes, live Q&A sessions, attendee note taking, content and slide sharing, and presentation analytics. And the best thing about all this? You can get it for free, and it is really easy to use, as it is directly integrated in PowerPoint! Click here to discover more about SlideLizard.

Free Download: Printable Feedback Sheets for Business or School Presentations

If you'd rather stick with the good old paper-and-pen method, that's okay, too. You can choose between one of our two feedback sheet templates: there is one tailored to business presentations and seminars, and one that is created specifically for teachers assessing their students. Both forms can be downloaded as a Word, Excel, or pdf file. A lot of thought has gone into both of the forms, so you can benefit as much as possible; however, if you feel like you need to change some questions in order to better suit your needs, feel free to do so!

Feedback form for business

Template as PDF, Word & Excel - perfect for seminars, trainings,...

Feedback form for teachers (school or university)

Template as PDF, Word & Excel - perfect for school or university,...

Where can I find a free feedback form for presentations?

There are many templates available online. We designed two exclusive, free-to-download feedback sheets, which you can get in our blog article

What's the best way to get feedback for presentations?

You can get feedback on your presentations by using feedback sheets, asking for feedback verbally, or, the easiest and fastest option: get digital feedback with an online tool

Related articles

About the author.

Pia Lehner-Mittermaier

Pia works in Marketing as a graphic designer and writer at SlideLizard. She uses her vivid imagination and creativity to produce good content.

Get 1 Month for free!

Do you want to make your presentations more interactive.

With SlideLizard you can engage your audience with live polls, questions and feedback . Directly within your PowerPoint Presentation. Learn more

Top blog articles More posts

How to create a PowerPoint Template

4 easy ways to create a WordCloud for PowerPoint

Get started with Live Polls, Q&A and slides

for your PowerPoint Presentations

The big SlideLizard presentation glossary

.pot file extension.

They are used to create more PowerPoint files with the same formatting and later got replaced by .potx files.

Community Events

Community events are about bringing people together, creating positive change and making new friends.

Informative Presentations

An information presentation is created when no solution is currently available. Facts, data and figures or study results are presented and current processes are described.

Eulogy Speech

A eulogy speech is given at a funeral. It is given by familiy members or friends of the deceased. The aim is to say goodbye and pay tribute to the person who has passed away.

Be the first to know!

The latest SlideLizard news, articles, and resources, sent straight to your inbox.

- or follow us on -

We use cookies to personalize content and analyze traffic to our website. You can choose to accept only cookies that are necessary for the website to function or to also allow tracking cookies. For more information, please see our privacy policy .

Cookie Settings

Necessary cookies are required for the proper functioning of the website. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information about the number of visitors, etc.

How to Give Feedback on Presentation (Step by Step Guide)

Presentations can be a powerful tool to inform, persuade, or inspire. But let's be honest, they can also be nerve-wracking experiences. You pour your heart and soul into crafting the content, but the real test lies in how it resonates with your audience.

Did your message land? Were you able to communicate key points effectively? The answer often hinges on one crucial element: presentation feedback.

Here's the thing: Feedback isn't just about pointing out flaws. It's a double-edged sword that can elevate your presentation skills and drive you towards becoming a confident and impactful presenter. 

Constructive feedback provides valuable insights that can help you refine your delivery, strengthen your content, and connect with your audience on a deeper level. Presentation feedback acts as a mirror, reflecting our strengths and weaknesses and empowering us to continuously hone our craft.

But how do you ensure you're giving and receiving feedback that's truly helpful? This blog will equip you with the tools to navigate the feedback process effectively. 

Characteristics of Effective Feedback

Not all feedback is created equal. Effective feedback is a carefully crafted message that provides clear direction for improvement while fostering a positive learning environment.

Here are the key characteristics that define effective feedback on presentations:

(1) Specific

Ditch vague comments like "good job" or "it needs work" . Instead, pinpoint specific aspects of the presentation that were strong and areas where improvement is possible.

For example, "Instead of saying 'your slides were a bit crowded,' you could offer: 'The information on slide 5 seems overwhelming. Consider breaking it down into two slides or using bullet points to improve readability.'"

Another example of effective feedback might be: "The data you presented on target audience demographics was clear and well-organized (positive note).

However, consider briefly explaining how this data will be used to tailor the campaign message for different audience segments (actionable suggestion)."

(2) Actionable

Good feedback goes beyond simply identifying issues. It provides concrete suggestions for improvement.

Instead of saying, "Your body language seemed stiff," offer actionable advice like "Focusing on maintaining eye contact with different audience members can help project confidence and connect with the audience on a more personal level."

(3) Respectful

Remember, the goal is to provide constructive criticism, not tear someone down. Maintain a respectful and encouraging tone.

Phrase your feedback in a way that focuses on the presentation itself, not the presenter's personality.

(4) Future-Oriented

Effective feedback should be focused on something other than past mistakes. Frame your suggestions in a way that guides the presenter towards future presentations.

(5) Balanced

While constructive criticism is important, don't neglect to acknowledge the presenter's strengths.

A positive note at the beginning or end of your feedback can create a more receptive environment and reinforce positive behaviors.

Giving Feedback Like a Pro: A Step-By-Step Guide

So, you're ready to provide effective feedback on a presentation, but where do you begin? 

This step-by-step guide will equip you with the tools to deliver clear, actionable feedback that is ultimately well-received.

Step 1: Preparation

Before diving headfirst into feedback, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the context of the presentation. Review the presentation material beforehand, focusing on the topic, objectives, and key messages the presenter aimed to convey.

Understanding the presenter's goals allows you to tailor your feedback for maximum impact.

Step 2: Active Observation

Shift your mindset from passive observer to active listener. Pay close attention to the presenter's delivery, both verbal and nonverbal.

This includes:

• Content:  Is the information clear, concise, and well-organized? Does it effectively support the  key points ?
• Delivery:  Is the pace appropriate? Does the presenter use vocal variety to keep the audience engaged?
• Visual Aids:  Are the slides visually appealing and easy to understand? Do they complement the spoken content or create distractions?
• Body Language:  Does the presenter maintain good posture and eye contact with the audience? Does their body language convey confidence and enthusiasm?

Step 3: The Feedback Framework

Now for the heart of the matter: delivering your feedback!

Here's a framework to ensure your message is clear and constructive:

(1) Set the Stage

Briefly acknowledge the topic and  objectives  of the presentation. This helps the presenter understand the context within which you're providing feedback.

(2) Specificity is Crucial

Avoid vague comments. Instead, highlight specific aspects of the presentation that were effective and areas for improvement.

For example, "The opening story did a great job of grabbing the audience's attention (positive note). However, some of the technical terminology on the following slides might have been confusing for a non-specialist audience (actionable suggestion)."

(3) The Positive Sandwich

Frame your feedback with a positive note. Compliment the presenter on something they did well before offering constructive criticism. This creates a more receptive environment for feedback.

(4) Open-Ended Questions

Don't just tell; prompt discussion. Use open-ended questions to encourage the presenter to reflect on their delivery and explore potential improvements.

For example, "How did you feel the audience responded to that particular statistic?"

(5) Focus on the Future

Instead of dwelling on what went wrong, frame your feedback in a way that guides the presenter towards future presentations.

For example, "Consider adding a real-world example to illustrate that point for your next audience."

(6) Delivery Matters

Remember, even the most valuable feedback can fall flat if delivered poorly. Maintain a respectful and encouraging tone, and avoid accusatory language.

Focus on providing helpful suggestions for improvement.

(7) Consider the Audience

Tailoring your feedback to the audience can also be beneficial. If you're providing feedback to a colleague for a client presentation, your focus might be on the clarity and persuasiveness of the message.

For internal presentations, you might emphasize the organization and flow of the content.

Receiving Feedback Gracefully: A Practical Guide

So you've just delivered a presentation, and now comes the feedback.

While constructive criticism can feel daunting, it's actually a gift – a valuable opportunity to identify areas for improvement and elevate your presentation skills. But how do you ensure you receive feedback with grace and a growth mindset?

Here are some practical tips to help you navigate the process effectively:

(1) Maintain a Positive Attitude

It's natural to feel defensive when receiving feedback, especially if it's critical. However, resist the urge to get discouraged.

Remember, the goal is to learn and grow. Approach the feedback session with an open mind and a willingness to listen. Thank the person for their time and effort, and express your genuine interest in their insights.

(2) Active Listening is Key

Don't just hear the feedback; actively listen. Pay close attention to the specific points being raised. Ask clarifying questions if needed to ensure you fully understand the feedback.

Taking notes can also be helpful to remember key points for later reflection. If taking notes manually feels distracting and difficult, consider utilizing AI note-taking assistants like  Wudpecker .

Wudpecker's AI features automatically transcribe meetings and generate summaries, capturing key points and decisions. This will free you from the burden of note-taking, allowing you to fully engage in the discussion. 

(3) Separate Feedback from Emotion

It's easy to take feedback personally. However, try to separate the feedback from your own emotions.

Focus on the content of the message, not the delivery. Remember, the feedback is about the presentation, not you as a person.

(4) Identify Actionable Items

As you listen to the feedback, identify specific, actionable items you can work on to improve your future presentations.

This might involve refining your content structure, incorporating new visual aids, or practicing your delivery techniques.

(5) Don't Try to Defend Yourself

The urge to defend your choices is understandable but resist it. Instead, acknowledge the feedback and take time to process it later.

You can always ask follow-up questions for clarification, but avoid getting into a defensive debate.

(6) Express Gratitude

Thank the person for their feedback, regardless of whether it's positive or critical. Their willingness to share their insights is a valuable asset to your growth as a presenter.

(7) Reflect and Refine

Once you've received the feedback, take some time to reflect on it. Consider which points resonate most and identify areas where you can make improvements.

Develop a plan to incorporate the actionable items into your presentation skills development strategy.

Enhancing Presentation Skills Through Feedback

We've established that presentation feedback is a powerful tool for improvement. But how exactly can you leverage this feedback to enhance your presentation skills and become a more confident and impactful communicator? 

Here are some ways to turn feedback into action:

Self-Evaluation and Targeted Feedback

Seeking feedback doesn't have to be a one-time event. Develop a habit of self-evaluation after each presentation. Consider areas where you felt strong and areas where you could improve.

Based on your self-assessment, identify specific aspects you'd like to get targeted feedback on from colleagues or mentors. This targeted approach allows you to delve deeper into specific skills and receive focused insights.

Embrace Diverse Feedback Sources

Don't limit yourself to feedback from just one or two people. Seek feedback from a diverse audience whenever possible.

This could include colleagues, managers, clients, or even friends and family who witnessed your presentation.

Each person will have a unique perspective, offering valuable insights into how your message resonated with different audience members.

Leverage Technology

Technology can be a powerful tool for gathering feedback. Consider using online feedback forms or survey tools to collect anonymous feedback from a wider audience.

You can also record your presentations and watch them back to identify areas for improvement in areas like pacing, body language, and vocal variety.

Practice Makes Progress

Once you've identified areas for improvement based on feedback, it's time to put that knowledge into action!

Practice your delivery with a focus on the specific skills you're working on.

Role-play with a colleague, record yourself practicing, or join a public speaking group to gain experience and refine your presentation style.

Consistency Is Key

Remember, presentation skills don't develop overnight. The key to becoming a confident and impactful presenter lies in consistent effort and dedication.

Integrate feedback into your ongoing development plan, actively seek opportunities to present, and continuously strive to refine your craft.

Presentations can be powerful tools for informing, persuading, and inspiring, but mastering the art of delivery takes dedication and continuous improvement.

This blog has equipped you with the knowledge to harness the power of presentation feedback. You've learned how to provide clear, actionable feedback that empowers presenters, and you've explored strategies for receiving feedback with grace and a growth mindset.

Remember, the journey to becoming a captivating presenter is an ongoing process. Embrace the power of feedback, actively seek opportunities to practice, and never stop refining your skills.

By consistently seeking improvement, you'll transform those nervous presentation jitters into the confidence and clarity needed to deliver truly impactful presentations that resonate with any audience.

What Is an Example of Feedback on a Presentation?

Scenario:  You listened to a presentation on the benefits of switching to a new project management software. 

Here's how you could provide constructive feedback:

Positive Aspects:

• Clear Introduction:  "The introduction did a great job of grabbing the audience's attention by highlighting the common pain points associated with traditional project management methods. It effectively set the stage for the presentation."

Areas for Improvement:

• Visual Aids:  "The slides felt a bit text-heavy at times. Consider incorporating more visuals like charts, graphs, or even screenshots to illustrate the features and benefits of the new software."
• Content Depth:  "While you covered the key features of the software, it might be beneficial to delve deeper into how it addresses specific challenges faced by different user groups within the company (e.g., project managers vs. team members)."

Actionable Suggestions:

• "For your next presentation, you could try including a short demo of the software in action to showcase its user-friendliness."
• "Consider adding a slide that compares the new software to existing options, highlighting its unique advantages."

How Do You Comment on a Good Presentation?

Here are some ways to comment on a good presentation:

Highlight Specific Strengths:

• Content:  "The information you presented was clear, concise, and well-organized. It was easy to follow and understand." (focuses on clarity and structure)
• Oral Presentation:  "You delivered the presentation with great enthusiasm and confidence. Your use of vocal variety kept the audience engaged." (highlights delivery skills)
• Visual Aids:  "The slides were visually appealing and effectively complemented your spoken points. They were easy to read and understand." (focuses on visuals)
• Structure:  "The flow of the presentation was logical and well-paced. You transitioned smoothly between topics and kept the audience engaged throughout." (highlights structure and audience engagement)

Focus on Impact:

• "Your presentation was very informative and insightful. I learned a lot about [topic]."
• "You did a great job capturing the audience's attention and keeping them engaged throughout the presentation."
• "Your presentation was well-organized and easy to follow. I felt like I had a clear understanding of the key points."
• "I particularly enjoyed [specific aspect of the presentation, e.g., the real-world example you used, the humor you incorporated]."

Positive and Encouraging Tone:

• "Overall, it was a very impressive presentation. Well done!"
• "I can tell you put a lot of effort into this presentation, and it showed. Great job!"
• "Thank you for sharing your insights with us. It was a very informative presentation."
• "I look forward to seeing more presentations from you in the future."
• Be genuine and specific in your compliments. Make sure you are giving constructive feedback.
• Tailor your comments to the presenter and the presentation content.
• Focus on both the delivery and the content itself.
• End with a positive feedback and encouraging note.

How Do You Give Peer Feedback to a Presentation?

Here are some things to keep in mind when giving peer feedback on presentation:

Before the Feedback:

• Preparation:  Review the presentation topic and objectives beforehand (if available) to understand the presenter's goals.
• Mindset: Approach the feedback with a positive and helpful attitude.

Delivering the Feedback:

• Start Positive:  Start by acknowledging the presenter's effort and highlighting your observed strength.
• Specificity is Key:  Focus on specific aspects of the presentation, both positive and areas for improvement. Avoid vague comments.
• Actionable Suggestions:  Don't just point out problems; offer suggestions for improvement. Use "I" statements to frame your feedback (e.g., "I found the opening story engaging. Perhaps adding a visual element could enhance it further").
• Respectful Tone:  Maintain a respectful and encouraging tone throughout the feedback session.
• Focus on the Future:  Frame your suggestions in a way that guides the presenter towards future presentations.
• Open-Ended Questions:  Consider asking open-ended questions to encourage discussion and reflection (e.g., "How did you feel the audience responded to that statistic?").

Here’s an Example of How You Might Structure Your Feedback:

"Thanks for the presentation, [presenter's name]. I really enjoyed the way you [positive aspect, e.g., explained the technical details clearly and concisely]. I noticed that [area for improvement, e.g., some of the slides seemed text-heavy]. Perhaps you could consider [actionable suggestion, e.g., using bullet points or visuals to break up the text]."

Additional Tips for Constructive Feedback:

• Tailor Your Feedback:  Consider the audience and purpose of the presentation when providing feedback.
• Be Mindful of Time:  Keep your feedback concise and focused on the most important points.
• Offer to Help:  If you have specific skills or resources that could benefit the presenter, offer your help.
• Welcome Questions:  Encourage the presenter to ask clarifying questions or seek further feedback.

How to Draft a Winning Post-Sales Handoff (With Template)

Agile vs. Waterfall vs. Scrum vs. Kanban: What’s the Difference?

Product Owner vs. Product Manager (Explained)

Everything You Need to Know About Roadmap Meetings

Guide to Sales One-on-One Meetings (With Template)

Remote Work vs Work From Home (Which Is Right for You?)

Executive Session Minutes: Explanation + Example

Mentor Meeting: Tips for Mentors and Mentees (With Agenda Template)

Pre-Mortem vs. Post-Mortem: What's the Difference?

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communication (When to Use What)

What Is an ICP for Sales? Everything You Need to Know

How to Run an Emergency Meeting (Mistakes + Solutions)

How to Run a Productive Collaborative Meeting (13 Tips)

Dos and Don’ts for Effective Staff Meetings (+Agenda Template)

Build a Healthy Remote Work Culture With These 17 Tips

Sign up for wudpecker. it's free..

Join professionals and teams supercharging their productivity with Wudpecker.

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices Become a better presenter -- with a little help from your friends

by TED Masterclass Team • May 12, 2020

Getting useful feedback can be a critical step in developing an effective presentation - it can also be harder to find than you might expect. Honest feedback calls on you to be vulnerable, and forces your feedback partner to sometimes deliver difficult constructive criticism. The good news is that this type of deep and authentic feedback can encourage personal growth and a willingness to take creative risks.

Get high-quality feedback that elevates your presentation skills by putting in a little extra preparation and focus.

First, decide who to ask for feedback

Feedback can feel personally risky if it’s coming from a close friend or colleague. Because these relationships are so important to us, honest feedback can end up feeling critical. In these situations, it can become tempting to give non-critical feedback, but that’s not helpful.

The person you work with to give you feedback should be someone:

• You want to learn from, who pushes you to think creatively
• With a different perspective - it can help to look beyond the people you spend a lot of time with personally or professionally
• Who shares your enthusiasm for acquiring new skills and is excited for you to become a better presenter

Then, prepare to receive feedback

Just as important as deciding who will be giving you feedback, is creating an environment and mindset where giving and receiving constructive feedback is easy.

• Create a distraction-free time and space for getting feedback. Ideally both of you should be present, focused, and open. If we’re feeling stressed or pressed for time, it’s hard to be a good feedback partner. That’s why it’s wise to tune in to how you’re feeling before you schedule a session.
• Remind the person that you’re looking for honest feedback to be the best presenter you can be.
• Before getting started, tell the person if there are any specific aspects of your idea or talk that you’d like them to focus feedback on.

Finally, ask the right questions

Giving feedback can be overwhelming for your partner if they don’t know what they should be focusing on. Decide on these areas ahead of time, and let your partner know. Then follow up with questions that will help them hone in on the most helpful feedback points for you.

Get overall feedback using these three questions:

• What works?
• What needs work?
• What’s a suggestion for one thing I might try?

Get specific feedback using these questions:

• Delivery: How is it landing for you overall? Are there places where your attention is wandering? What’s distracting?
• Content: Do you get this - will the audience? What questions do you have? Where are you engaged? Surprised? Moved? Is there a clear takeaway for the audience? Do you have any clarifying questions?

Good feedback is a gift that can really elevate your presentation skills. Make the most of your feedback opportunities with a little preparation.

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

How to give feedback on a presentation

Knowing how to give feedback on a presentation helps people become better presenters, sharpens their message, and gauges audience engagement ahead of time.

December 7, 2022

How many times have you been asked to give feedback on a presentation, and, while trying to organize your thoughts after hearing the presentation in real-time, found it hard to muster anything more than, "It's good"?

Or, you've taken the time to give thoughtful, nuanced advice on how a colleague can improve their presentation, only to find that you don't know exactly how to communicate it, or they don't know exactly how to implement it?

Any kind of creative feedback is difficult to conceptualize without the proper context, and that's doubly true for presentations, where you're often asked to listen to the presentation, absorb the information it's conveying, process your thoughts, and deliver a critique — all in real time. No one can give good feedback that way, but it's not the presenter's fault (or yours!). You just need a better feedback process.

Giving better presentation feedback requires examining two things:

• The feedback itself
• How it's being given (and received)

Ready to learn how to improve them both? Let's get started.

Why it's important to give feedback on a presentation

Giving feedback on a presentation comes with several key benefits.

It promotes growth and builds better presentation skills

No one is born an effective presenter. It takes time, skill, and practice to build public speaking and communication skills to where you can knock a presentation out of the park — every time.

As the old adage goes, practice makes perfect. Giving practice presentations for feedback from trusted peers and colleagues gives you an opportunity to get more presenting time under your belt — with lower stakes.

And by giving effective, actionable feedback (more on that below) to a colleague, you help ensure their next presentation is even better, which can benefit your company or organization.

It helps sharpen the message

When it comes to getting the message exactly right in a presentation, self evaluation can really only go so far. Sometimes it takes another point of view (or several of them, from all across your organization) to collaborate and craft exactly what key points you want attendees to take away from a presentation. Giving feedback allows you to help refine and sharpen the message — and to work with others who are also giving feedback — until it's perfect.

It gauges audience engagement

One of the hardest things about giving a presentation is holding audience attention from the first slide until the last.

This is especially true for an oral presentation that doesn't have any audiovisual components. In this case, it's crucial to know if there are any points where audience members might be more prone to losing focus — like if your presentation gets a little too in the weeds.

Giving feedback allows you to put yourself in the audience's shoes. Try to see and hear the presentation from their perspective, and if there's any point where you feel your mind start to wander, make a note of it — that's a point where audience engagement may be at risk during the real thing.

All feedback is not created equal

It's important to note that not all feedback is good feedback.

Not all feedback provides a benefit to the person giving the presentation. It isn't all actionable. It isn't all relevant. It isn't all useful.

When feedback is bad, it's usually for one of two reasons.

The feedback itself is of poor quality

Even when you have the best of intentions, you might still give bad feedback.

Some examples of poor quality feedback include:

• Feedback that's vague or unclear
• Feedback that's overly personal or meant as an attack
• Feedback that's dishonest, even if intended to spare the presenter's feelings

The feedback isn't communicated effectively

It's also possible to have useful feedback to give to a presenter, but to lack an effective system for communicating it. This can be especially challenging when there are multiple people trying to give feedback on one presentation at the same time. 

That's why bubbles is the best way to give feedback on a presentation. 

The presenter can record their speech, including a video of their screen to capture a Powerpoint presentation or any other visual aid they plan to use. Then, colleagues who are giving feedback can do so by leaving their comments at the exact, time-stamped moment where their feedback applies — and they can give their critique in text, audio, or video. Anyone can respond to a comment within a thread that captures (and preserves) all the context of the conversation so far. This makes it easier for a group to give feedback collaboratively, and makes it possible for the presenter to refer back to feedback at any time.

6 ways to give effective feedback on a presentation

Ready to give feedback that will turn a good presentation into a great one? The six tips below will help you give feedback that's effective and useful to the presenter, leaving them with clear takeaways they can use to level up their presentation. Let's get started.

Be specific

When giving feedback, try to be as specific as possible. Rather than saying something like, "I thought the presentation was effective," tell the presenter exactly what was effective. For example, a better piece of feedback is: "The key takeaway from the fifth slide was clear and really resonated with me." It tells the presenter exactly what you thought worked, rather than a vague, catch-all compliment.

If you're having trouble being more specific with your feedback (like if you aren't sure how to articulate your advice), sometimes an example can help! In your bubble comment, use a snippet of your own presentation (or even a Ted Talk or other professional speaking event) to more clearly illustrate what you're asking the presenter to do or change.

When you leave comments on the presenter's bubble, be sure to time-stamp them to the exact part of the presentation where the feedback applies. This can help ensure that the presenter gets the most value from your feedback, and can see what you mean in the proper context.

Be actionable

Even if your feedback is as specific as possible, it won't help the presenter if there's nothing they can do about it. That's why the next tip is to give feedback that's actionable — that is, don't just tell the presenter what they should change, but tell them what steps they can take to improve.

For example, don't just say someone needs to work on their body language while presenting. Tell them, as specifically as possible, how their body language could be improved; for example, if they should make more eye contact with audience members or gesture more with their hands while speaking.

You can even take this a step further and explain why you made this suggestion. For example, this feedback might be something like, "I would suggest making an effort to make eye contact with more members of the audience. This will engage more people and hold their attention, while helping your speech sound more natural."

Be constructive

In the same vein as giving actionable feedback is making sure you're giving constructive feedback — that is, that your feedback is about things the presenter can control and change.

Constructive criticism can be difficult to do well. It requires pointing out ways a presenter can improve — sometimes ways that can feel personal to them as they're on the receiving end of the feedback. But if the feedback is truly constructive, it's better to give it than to sugarcoat your critique to spare a presenter's feelings. And if hurting the presenter's feelings is the goal for the feedback, it's definitely not constructive.

Call out positives along with points of improvement

When giving feedback on a presentation, it can be easy to only focus on things you feel the presenter needs to improve. But it's just as important to give positive feedback that lets them know what they're doing well.

In fact, you might want to work even harder to find the positives than to point out places where the presenter can improve. In one study, conducted by academic Emily Heaphy and consultant Marcial Losada, team effectiveness was measured and compared with the ratio of positive and negative comments that team members made to one another. Heaphy and Losada found that in the most effective teams, the ratio was 5.6 — meaning those team members gave each other nearly six positive comments for every single negative one.

Medium performing teams averaged 1.9 positive comments for each negative one. And low performing teams were more negative than positive, with a 0.36 ratio (nearly three negative comments for every positive one).

The research shows that, as tempting as it may be to only point out ways a presenter can improve, it may help them even more to find as many positives as possible to go along with your constructive criticism.

This is another tip where you have a balance to strike. You should give feedback to the presenter quickly, but not so quickly that you don't have time to absorb their presentation and process your thoughts, first.

Giving feedback in real-time (for example, in a review meeting) can seem effective, since it gives the presenter a way of receiving feedback instantly. However, giving instant feedback isn't always ideal for the colleagues who are critiquing the presentation, who might give more helpful feedback if they have more time to gather their thoughts.

When you use bubbles to give feedback on a presentation, it allows everyone on the team to give feedback at their own pace. It also allows people to watch the presentation more than once, or go back through certain sections they'd like to revisit before giving feedback.

It also eliminates the need to schedule a meeting to deliver presentation feedback. Even if the presenter and people giving feedback are separated by time zones , they can watch the presentation and deliver feedback at times that are convenient for them — and the presenter can access (and action) that feedback whenever they're back online.

Do a few rounds of feedback

As everyone gives their feedback, they can collaborate in comment threads in the bubble. This allows everyone to see what's been said already, including all the context and nuance of the discussion, keeping everyone on the same page. The presenter can follow up with comments, and those giving feedback can watch the presentation more than once to give a few rounds of feedback.

This helps ensure that feedback is as comprehensive as possible, and that the presenter and everyone critiquing their presentation is able to focus on any key messages that come out of the feedback rounds — what changes are most impactful? What will really take this presentation to the next level?

Make feedback more comprehensive and collaborative

Giving feedback on a presentation will be most effective when your entire team can work together, seamlessly, to give comprehensive feedback to the presenter. With bubbles, you can have that conversation together, with all the context necessary to craft the perfect presentation.

Get started today with bubbles' free Chrome extension and start working together, in context.

Make your meetings matter

Use AI to record, transcribe, and summarize meetings into actions. Bubbles is your home for after-meeting collaboration.

Collaborate better with your team

Get your point across using screen, video, and audio messages. Bubbles is free, and offers unlimited recordings with a click of a button.

More from Bubbles

Synchronous vs asynchronous communication: The only guide you need

Synchronous vs asynchronous communication: how to finally get async communication right in a world of remote work — and which tool you need to do it.

How to Record Video on Mac: Step-By-Step (With Photo/Video)

Are you looking for the newest, most efficient way of recording a video on Mac without downloading or installing anything? Look no further than this guide, where you will be taken through a few simple steps to set you on your way to video recording heaven.

How to Improve Team Working: 5 Proven Methods

Looking to strengthen your team's dynamics? Inject some fun and effectiveness with these 5 proven methods that focus on building, developing, and managing teams for improved cohesion, and turn group work into a smooth, enjoyable process as a result!

Revolutionizing Your Work Life with Productive Meetings: the Complete Blueprint

Ready to turn your meetings from time-sinks to productivity powerhouses? Learn how to revamp your work life with this complete blueprint that will transform your gatherings into sessions of efficiency and innovation.

Bubbles raises $8.5 million seed round to fix what’s broken with remote work

We’re eager to build the future of async collaboration together and welcome a new era of remote work. One that is designed FOR remote workers BY remote workers.

8 Proven Collaboration Strategies for a More Efficient Workplace

Communication, collaboration and empathy are essential to getting the most out of technical skills. If collaborating in your workplace has ever appeared to foster chaos instead of creativity, consider these 8 proven strategies to transform collaborative efforts into a well-oiled machine of efficiency and productivity.

Also consider these tools

Droplr vs Vidyard

Evaluate the strengths and shortcomings of Droplr and Vidyard, and discover a superior alternative in our detailed analysis.

Clip vs BombBomb

Explore the features, strengths, and weaknesses of Clip and BombBomb and discover a more powerful alternative in our detailed analysis.

Clip vs Camtasia

Explore an in-depth comparison of Clip and Camtasia, examining their functionalities, strengths, and weaknesses, and uncover a superior solution through our detailed evaluation.

📞 Call Now   800.403.6598 Contact Us - Get Started

No products in the cart.

Collecting Presentation Feedback to Improve Your Skills

Why Is Getting Presentation Feedback So Important?

Collecting presentation feedback is probably low on your list of priorities, especially if you’re terrified of public speaking and not making a fool of yourself in front of a group of people is your biggest concern. But having some sort of response system in place so your audience can provide you with feedback on your presentation is an incredibly useful (not to mention inexpensive) way to improve your public speaking skills and become an even better presenter.

Why is getting presentation feedback so important?

For starters, when people provide you with feedback—even if it’s negative—you know they were paying attention. They were listening and watching, and by telling you what they thought of your presentation, they’re giving you input on your overall message, from what you said to how you said it .

That’s powerful information; it’s the best way for you to know if your presentation is doing what you want it to, whether that’s to inform, persuade, or motivate other people. Who better to tell you than the people in your audience?

Choose The Right Response System

Despite its usefulness, speakers continue to pass up the opportunity to poll audiences to get their feedback on a presentation. Certainly, no one wants to feel rejected or be told their presentation was terrible, but wouldn’t you rather be told your presentation missed the mark, than to continue delivering bad presentations that don’t engage audiences?

Not only that, but without presentation feedback, a speaker is forced to self-evaluate. Some will be overly-critical while others will be self-congratulatory—neither of which are beneficial or inspire the speaker to get better.

Offer a Presentation Feedback Form

In our Presentation Skills Training workshops, we talk about the importance of making a connection with the audience, and that connection doesn’t need to end with the presentation.

An immediate response system, such as providing your audience with a presentation feedback form to fill in and return at the end of the presentation is one way to gauge your performance. You can also encourage audience members to use other methods to provide feedback, such as directly to you through temp email , on social media, or online on Google or Yelp. This way, they’re not only helping you by rating your presentation, but their positive reviews will bolster your reputation, which will encourage others to work with you. And they’re staying connected with you beyond the presentation.

If the thought of having people “judge” your presentation frightens you, think about how getting positive feedback will make you feel. If you’re someone who lacks confidence or tends to be self-critical of your performance, hearing others tell you your presentation was inspiring or enjoyable can go a long way to helping you overcome your feelings of inadequacy.

Using Presentation Feedback to Achieve Your Goals

Whatever the situation that’s brought you to the podium—whether you’re a keynote speaker at a fundraiser or delivering a sales pitch—getting presentation feedback can be energizing. Consider how you feel when a manager or co-worker congratulates you on a job well done. You feel invigorated and motived to continue doing a good job that gets recognized.

The same is true of positive presentation feedback: When you know you’ve achieved your goal of connecting with an audience , you’re motivated to keep making those connections—and make them even better.

So what should your presentation feedback form (or other response system) look like? That’s up to you. But however you decide to collect presentation feedback, use the comments you receive to:

• Assess what you are doing well and where you need to improve
• Understand how your message is being received by others
• Direct you toward achieving your goals (e.g., increase your number of sales)

Not All Feedback is Bad

The term ‘feedback’ has earned a bad rap with some people. They hear it and run because they’re afraid someone will say something negative about them.

Not all feedback is negative, and not all of it is positive. But it should always be constructive, and as a public speaker you should want to hear it all. It’s the best way to know what your audience is getting from your presentation so you can improve your public speaking skills.

Do you provide opportunities for your audiences to give feedback? Tell us about it in the comment section or find us on social media and bring the conversation there. We’re on Facebook , Twitter , Google+ and LinkedIn .

16 Comments

I joined Toastmasters a year ago and have had some good feedback and some not so good. Some of the members were in my shoes, really not sure how to evaluate my presentations very well. Feedback is great but I guess it depends on the person giving the feedback.

Self evaluation is always hard to do. I’m a firm believer in having another person critique your work- it’s an opportunity to learn more about yourself!

Good post! I also had a bad feeling about the feedback until I read this post. I’ll be definitely using feedback form next time. I might still feel a bit uneasy, though.

I would like to get some professional feedback on my delivery. I think I will have someone video my presentation and send it to you guys to evaluate it.

I am a corporate trainer and give presentation feedback to our managers. Most of our folks really appreciate having good feedback so they can make their next presentations better.

Soliciting feedback is scary but necessary if you want to improve and I do…very scary though. Good article 

Since I have written feedback forms for companies myself, I know how they work.But reading this blog set me thinking as to how it helps the presenter. I agree with the author that feedback, whether good or bad, definitely helps us in evaluating oneself.

Yes. I agree with everyone who says feedback can be scary-but it can also be helpful. The key is getting people to use constructive criticism. You are also going to have to get used to the occasional remarks from someone who is just being spiteful. Learn to recognize constructive criticism and take it to heart.

I used to take all feedback as negative. I wasn’t able to differentiate “bad” from “constructive”. This greatly hurt me in the workforce and I actually lost my first job fresh from college over it. I have come a long way but I am still learning and things like this help me a lot. Public speaking on any level has never been easy for me but I have always been way too hard on myself. I see that now.

I have never had anybody give me any feedback on my presentations.

One of the cardinal characters of people who want to succeed is the courage to accept valid criticism. Feedbacks must not be good but it is a necessity that will help to know if you rea making progress

Great feedback is absolutely essential to one’s ability to polish one’s skills even as an experienced speaker. Without it, we are unable to assess our strengths and growth opportunities along the way. Who wants to fall into a rut and never improve when called upon to speak? I would say no one which is why feedback is a must for both amateur and experienced speakers.

Good article. Very knowledgeable and informative. I would like to read new articles related to this! I Would also like you to read our articles related personality development and mental health.

Good article. Very knowledgeable and informative.

Your article provides helpful tips on how to collect feedback to improve our presentation skills.

good bro. Thx!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Giving and Receiving Feedback: It is Harder Than You Think

• Your colleague asks you to listen to them practice their speech practice and give them feedback.
• Your teacher asks you to give feedback to another classmate about their speech.
• Your boss asks, “What did you think about my speech?”

In each case, the person is looking to you to provide feedback. In this chapter, you will learn about how to assess the feedback situation, how to offer constructive criticism, and how to graciously receive criticism. Let’s start with how to ask for feedback and listen graciously.

Receiving Feedback

When you ask for feedback from others, receive their feedback as a gift. Someone is taking their time and giving it to you; someone is putting themselves out there and saying things that might cause discomfort, but they are doing it for you.  Individuals vary on how they receive feedback and how comfortable they are with being evaluated.

When receiving feedback, try doing the following:

• Sit in a non-defensive posture. It is tempting to cross your arms and to tense up all your muscles when receiving oral feedback. Keep your body open and loose. Staying open helps them to feel like you really want their suggestions and closed arms can equal a closed mind — keep an open body.
• Do not take feedback as a personal insult.
• If the feedback is verbal, write down the suggestions, even if you disagree with the suggestions. Respect the other person’s opinions by writing them down. It makes them feel like they have been heard and you appreciate the feedback they are giving. Writing the feedback down also helps you to not cross your arms defensively–see suggestion one– and it helps you remember the suggestions.
• Do not take it as a personal insult. Seriously!
• Avoid the temptation to defend yourself. “I did it this way because…” or, “I thought it would be best to…”  You already know why you did things the way you did. Interrupting them to tell them the reasons you did what you did comes off as defensive and reduces the likelihood they will give you all the feedback they have to offer. You already know what you were thinking and by telling them you haven’t advanced your situation. Use this time to learn what they are thinking.
• Do not take it as a personal insult. Really, this is so important.
• Breathe. Most people feel stress when someone is giving them constructive criticism, breathe and relax so you can really listen.
•  Do not take it personally. Do not take it personally. Do not take it personally. This cannot be emphasized enough! Since it is about your performance or your speech writing, it is hard not to feel criticism of your speech as a criticism of your person. Try to take criticism instead as someone caring enough about you to push you to grow.

After Every Speech, Do a Self-Evaluation

Allison Shapira of Global Speaking suggests you do a self-evaluation after each speech:

• What did I do well?
• What didn’t I do so well?
• What am I going to do differently next time?

Write these down and keep this on file for the next time you give a speech.

Constructive Criticism

There will be times when others look to you to read over their speech or listen to them practice and then give them constructive criticism. Constructive criticism is made up of two words: constructive–the building of something, and criticism–the giving of a critique. So constructive criticism is critiquing with the intention of building something. When we give others constructive criticism, our goal should be to help build them to be better speakers.

Give Them Help

Reagel and Reagle came up with a creative way to remember the goal of feedback, it should HELP : Help the speaker improve Encourage another speech Lift self-esteem Provide useful recommendations

Give Them a Sandwich

One way to give constructive criticism is to use the sandwich method. Say something positive, give feedback about something they can work on to improve, and then say something positive. This way, the first and last words out of your mouth are positive.

Ask Questions

Ask honest questions that can help lead them to solutions or ask questions to soften the sound of negative feedback: “What did you mean by…” “Have you considered? ” “Have you thought about…?” “When you said… did you really mean?”

For example: “Have you considered the impact of showing such a gruesome photo on your slide?” “Have you considered starting with a quote? ” “Have you thought about whether the people in the back will be able to see your poster?” “Have you thought about using a microphone so everyone can hear you?”

Beyond the Sandwich: Data Points and Impact Statements

In her video, called “The Secret to giving Great Feedback”, LeeAnn Renninger refers to a 4 Step “Feedback Formula”.

Watch The secret to giving great feedback | The Way We Work, a TED series on YouTube (0 mins)

Video source: TED. (2020, Feb 10). The secret to giving great feedback – The Way We Work, a TED series. Leanne Renninger. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/wtl5UrrgU8c

In our college class, we will focus on steps 2 & 3.

Data points (or clear examples)

• Name specifically what you saw or heard, and leave out any words that aren’t objective. Avoid “blur words”, which are not specific and could mean different things to different people.
• Convert any blur words into actual data points or observations.  For example, instead of saying, “You didn’t engage your audience”, be specific and say “Your introduction didn’t mention what the benefits are to the audience”
• Being specific is also important with positive feedback. Saying “I really liked your presentation” doesn’t offer the other person any clear ideas of what they should keep doing. Instead, try to name specifics: “You made it very easy to understand the process when you described [give the example],” or “The visuals you included showed that [give the example]”.
• Be as clear as you can, so the presenter knows to continue doing these things!

The Impact statement

• Don’t stop at just giving the “evidence” or describing your observations. Keep going – explain how what you saw and heard impacted you.
• You might say “I really liked how you added those stories, because it helped me grasp the concepts faster,” or “the way you opened your presentation surprised me and got my attention.

By providing data points as well as impact statements, your peer critiques will be clear, specific, and provide your classmate with something they can actually use to work on to improve!

Source: Except where otherwise noted, “Beyond the Sandwich: Data Points and Impact Statements” by Amanda Quibell is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Different People, Different Types of Feedback

It is no surprise that people give and receive feedback differently. One person might take a feedback statement and be grateful for the corrections while the next person might take it as a complete insult.  Below, you’ll learn about some of the most common differences.

High and Low Self Monitors

Psychology researcher Mark Snyder identified people as being either high self-monitors or low self-monitors. High self-monitors typically try to fit in and play the role according to the context. They are about image, and they are motivated to fit in with their peers. They like to know what is expected, so they can adapt to the situation. Giving them useful feedback may mean pointing out how they can make changes in their message to meet the audience’s expectations. When giving feedback to high self-monitors, focus the feedback on how they can elevate their credibility in the eyes of the audience.

On the other hand, low self-monitors tend to be motivated to act based on their inner beliefs and values. They are motivated to be true to their sense of self and to above all– be genuine. When giving low self-monitors feedback, encourage them to be the best speaker they can be while being true to themselves. Focus on giving them feedback in a way that encourages them to harness their unique talents.

While you may not know exactly whether they are high or low self-monitor, you likely have some idea of what motivates them. The more you can tailor your feedback to them, the more likely it is they will hear what you are saying. If you are curious about your type, you can take the quiz. You can have the person giving you feedback take the quiz as well. This can be a helpful exercise to think about how you give and receive feedback.

Take the high and low self-monitor quiz to find out your type

Cultural Differences

When you know your sickness You’re halfway cured. French saying

In the book, The Culture Map, a Dutch businessman is quoted as saying. “It is all a lot of hogwash. All that positive feedback just strikes us in the face and not in the least bit motivating.” People from different cultural groups have different feedback norms.  As our society grows increasingly diverse, it is important to learn not just how to give good feedback, but to give feedback that demonstrates an awareness of how different cultures give and receive feedback.

Erin Meyer does international training to help business professionals understand differences and similarities and how to bridge the gap:

Managers in different parts of the world are conditioned to give feedback in drastically different ways. The Chinese manager learns never to criticize a colleague openly or in front of others, while the Dutch managers learns always to be honest and to give the message straight. Americans are trained to wrap positive messages around negative ones, while the French are trained to criticize passionately and provide positive feedback sparingly. Having a clear understanding of these differences and strategies for navigating them is crucial for leaders of cross-cultural teams. Erin Meyer, The Culture Map

Upgraders and Downgraders

Meyers identifies cultures as Upgraders and Downgraders. Upgraders use words or phrases to make negative feedback feel stronger. An upgrader might say, “this is absolutely inappropriate.” As you read this, see if you identify more as an upgrader or downgrader.

Upgraders say:

• Absolutely–“That was absolutely shameless.”
• Totally–“You totally missed the point.”
• Strongly–” I strongly suggest that you…”

By contrast, downgraders use words to soften the criticism. A downgrader might say, “We are not quite there yet” or “This is just my opinion, but…”

Downgraders say:

• “Kind of”
• “Sort of”
• “A little”
• “Maybe”
• “Slightly”
• “This is just my opinion.”

When giving and receiving feedback across cultures, it is helpful to be aware of these differences so you can “hear” what they are really saying. Take for example this statement as a Dutch person complains about how Americans give feedback.

The problem is that we cant’ tell when the feedback is supposed to register to us as excellent, ok, or really poor. For a Dutchman, the word “excellent” is saved for a rare occasion and “okay” is…well, neutral. But with the Americans, the grid is different. “Excellent” is used all the time, “Okay” seems to mean, “not okay.” “Good” is only a mild complement. And when the message was intended to be bad, you can pretty much assume that, if an American is speaking and the listner is Dutch, the real meaning of the message will be lost all together. Erin Meyer, The Culture Map.

Nannette Ripmeester, Director of Expertise in Labour Mobility, illustrates these differences to her clients with a chart. This chart shows the differences between what the British say, what they mean, and what the Dutch understand. This is a condensed version of her list.

Chances are as you read this list, you identified yourself in some of the statements and identified someone you know who is in the other list. Hopefully, this made you think about how personal style can be as different as cultural style. The big idea here is when you are giving and receiving feedback, it can be helpful to try to identify their communication style and adjust accordingly.

Politeness Strategies

As you already know, whenever you critique someone’s work, there is a potential to hurt their feelings. There are many factors that influence whether the feedback is helpful or hurtful. In communication, we use the term “face” to mean the sense of self a person projects. People can “take face” by creating a situation where someone looks bad to others or people can “lose face” by doing something that diminishes them in the eyes of others. Optimally, we want people to feel like they “gain-face” and feel encouraged. The way that you give feedback as well as the person’s natural tendencies will influence how “face” is affected.

When giving feedback, you should think about how your feedback takes or gives face. You also need to consider what is at stake for the other person. Is this a small speech assignment or is it a career-defining presentation? In addition, critiquing someone privately vs critiquing someone in front of their boss will have different “face” outcomes.

How much you are willing to “take face” from someone may depend on the importance of the feedback. You will likely want to provide more suggestions for someone who is doing a career speech to get their dream job vs that same person doing a college speech worth minimal points. You will likely be more invested in helping a friend polish a speech to make it just right as opposed to someone you barely know.

Finally, the other thing influencing feedback is the power difference between people. You will likely give feedback differently to your little sister than you would to your boss. The status of the individuals and how important power is to them will impact how “face” is taken and given. For example, a high-power country like China would consider an open critique of a teacher, boss, or elder a huge insult, whereas someone from a low-power country, would be less offended.  In any situation, you will be negotiating power, context, and the need to save face.

Taking all these factors into account, Brown and Levinson created Politeness Theory as a way to explain the different ways we give feedback to save face.

Bald on Record: This type of feedback is very direct without concern for the person’s esteem face. This type of feedback is usually given if there is a small fix the speaker would feel strongly about.

Examples of bald on record feedback:

• “Be sure you bold the headings.”
• “Alphabetize the references.”

Positive Politeness: In this type of feedback, you would build up the face or esteem of the other person. You would make them feel good before you make any suggestions. (It looks a lot like the sandwich method, hunh?)

Examples of positive politeness feedback:

• “You are so organized; this one little fix and it will be perfect.”
• “I love the story you told, a few more details would really help me see the character.”

Negative Politeness:  The name of this type of feedback is a little misleading. It doesn’t mean you are negative. It means you acknowledge that getting feedback may make them feel negative.  You would say things that acknowledge their discomfort. You might minimize the criticism so it doesn’t make them feel bad or find other ways to soften the blow of criticism.

Examples of negative politeness feedback: 

• “I know this critique might sound rough and I hope it helps, but I think you really need to work on the middle section.”
• “This is just me making suggestions, but I would be able to understand more if your slide has a heading.”
• I’m not an expert on this, but I think you might need to have a stronger thesis.”
• “I see what you are trying to do here, but I think some of your audience members might not get it.”

Off Record: When you give feedback that is off the record, you are hinting vaguely that they should make a change.

Examples of off the record feedback. 

• “How many sources are we supposed to have?” (Instead of saying, “You need to have more research”)
• “I thought we were supposed to have slides with our speech, maybe I heard that wrong.”
• “Are other people in the class dressing up?”

Avoidance: Some people are afraid of giving feedback so they will avoid the situation altogether.

Avoid the three C’s

Perform the three r’s.

From Westside Toastmasters

Giving Feedback During a Speech

When you are listening to someone speak, you are giving constant nonverbal feedback. Are you leaning forward listening intently or are you leaned back picking at your fingernails? The way you listen lets the speaker know that you value them and what they are saying. It can be reassuring to the speaker to have people who are in the audience smiling and nodding.

Try this little experiment: If you have a speaker who is average or boring, lean in and listen intently. Don’t be insincere and cheesy, but rather try to be an earnest listener. You will find that when the speaker notices you paying attention, they will usually become less monotone and more engaging. The speaker affects the audience, and the audience affects the speaker.

Asking for Feedback During Your Speech

Appoint someone to be your speech buddy who will give you signals and alert you during your speech, for example: to speak louder or to check your microphone. If you know that you tend to pace, lean on the podium, or say um’s, have them give you the signal.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Winston Churchill Former Prime Ministre of the United Kingdom

Key Takeaways

Remember This! 

• Be open to the feedback of others, it can help you improve as a speaker.
• When giving feedback to others consider the context, their needs, the impact on their esteem, and their culture.
• Use the feedback sandwich as a model for giving constructive criticism.

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, this chapter is adapted from “Giving and Receiving Feedback: It is Harder Than You Think ” In Advanced Public Speaking by Lynn Meade, licensed under CC BY 4.0 .

Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1978). Universals in Language Usage: Politeness Phenomena. In E. Goody (Ed.), Questions and Politeness: Strategies in Social Interaction (pp. 56-310). Cambridge University Press.

Churchhill Central: Life and words of Sir Winston Churchill. https://www.churchillcentral.com/

Gonzales, M. (2017). How to get feedback on speeches. Global Public Speaking. https://www.globalpublicspeaking.com/get-feedback-speeches/

King, P. E., & Young, M. J. (2002). An information processing perspective on the efficacy of instructional feedback. American Communication Journal, 5 http://ac-journal.org/journal/vol5/iss2/articles/feedback.htm

King, P. E., Young, M. J., & Behnke, R. R. (2000). Public speaking performance improvement as a function of information processing in immediate and delayed feedback interventions. Communication Education, 49, 365–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634520009379224

Mehra, A., Kilduff, M. & Brass, D.J. (2001). The social networks of high and low self-monitors Implications for workplace performance.  Administrative Science Quarterly, 46 (1), 121-146. https://doi.org/10.2307/2667127

Meyer, E. (2014). The culture map: Breaking through the invisible boundaries of global business. Public Affairs.  https://erinmeyer.com/books/the-culture-map/

Meyer, E. (2014). How to say “This is Crap” in different cultures. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/02/how-to-say-this-is-crap-in-different-cultures

Reagle, J.M. & Reagle, J.M. (2015). Reading the comments: Likers, haters, and manipulators at the bottom of the web . MIT Press. https://readingthecomments.mitpress.mit.edu/

Ripmeester, N. Rottier, B., & Bush, A. (2010). Separated by a common translation? How the Brits and the Dutch communicate. Pediatric Pulmonology. 46( 4). 409-411. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.21380

Ripmeester, N. (2015). We all speak English, don’t we? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-all-speak-english-dont-nannette-ripmeester/

Smith, C.D. & King, P.E. (2007). Student feedback sensitivity and the efficacy of feedback interventions in public speaking performance improvement. Communication Education 53 (3). https://doi.org/10.1080/0363452042000265152

Snyder, M. (1974). Self-monitoring of expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 30 (4), 526-537. http://www.communicationcache.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10887248/self-monitoring_of_expressive_behavior.pdf

Toastmasters International. (2017). Giving effective feedback. https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/giving-effective-feedback

Dynamic Presentations Copyright © 2022 by Amanda Quibell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

How To Give & Receive Constructive Presentation Feedback

Table of contents, why feedback is important.

We’ve heard it before, to never stop learning. To strive for continuous growth and personal improvement. As intuitive as it sounds, it can be harder than expected.

How do you know what to improve on or why to improve on certain key points? Our personal bias of performance and fear of failure blinds us from our weaknesses. You pinpoint what needs improvement based on feedback.

Feedback is important because it promotes personal and professional growth by targeting key aspects of one’s performance. With ongoing constructive feedback, an individual is able to hone in on individual skill sets in a very organized way.

Without feedback, the progression of growth is slowed. Bad habits are often overlooked and become permanent habits and giving up is more likely to occur as proper structure and guidance isn’t given.

At Presentation Geeks, we’ve completed multiple presentation designs for some of the world’s best speakers and companies . We’ve created downloadable visual presentations , sizzle reels , e-learning solutions and business forecasts reports. What we’re trying to say is we’ve seen it all. By seeing it all, we’ve also heard it all. Feedback is second nature to us and one of the foundational blocks in which our business is built upon. We know how important receiving and giving feedback is.

With that being said, we’ve outlined and gone into more detail on two reasons why feedback is important.

Gauges Audience Engagement

Feedback is important because it can be used as a gauge for audience engagement.

As perfect as we’d like to think we are, everyone has an opportunity to grow. Even a good presentation has at least a couple of things in which it can improve on. With opportunities to grow means feedback to be received. There will always be feedback to receive whether positive or negative.

If you have just completed a presentation and request feedback but receive none, you might think to yourself, “Excellent! There is absolutely nothing I need to improve on.” which unfortunately can mean quite the opposite.

Receiving no feedback could be an indication that you lost the audience’s attention. How can they provide feedback when they weren’t even listening to begin with?

Before jumping to the worst case scenario, there are a few things you can do to help weed out whether your presentation was not engaging .

First, try adding easier ways for the audience to engage with you and provide feedback. By having audience members sign-up online, you can get their email address and follow up with a feedback form such as SurveyMonkey .

Feedback forms are great because it allows the audience to easily provide feedback without needing to go out of their way to do it.

You might also take the approach of getting direct feedback. If there is an opportunity after the presentation to interact with the crowd and break off into small group chats, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Most people are more than happy to provide feedback and want to!

Improves Presentation Skills

Asking for feedback will also help improve your presentation skills .

When people are asked to give feedback on a presentation, most of the feedback you will receive will be on your delivery or the slides.

You’ll receive feedback such as, “You effectively command attention.” or, “Your slides could be more visually appealing.” or, “You overdid it on the facial expressions and they became a bit distracting.”.

The feedback you’ll receive will be both positive and negative. Don’t forget, it’s up to you to ask for the feedback, receive the feedback and take action on it. By taking action on the feedback as it relates to your presentation skills or your presentation slides, you’ll ultimately improve on your presentation skills.

Now that we know why feedback is important, let’s go over how to give and receive feedback.

How To Give Constructive Presentation Feedback

People are always looking for feedback yet not enough people give honest, good, constructive feedback. The feedback received is rarely helpful.

Giving constructive presentation feedback is an art you should master. By being able to not only receive constructive criticism, but give it as well, you’ll get a better appreciation for other people’s presentation skills and reflect upon yours. It will make navigating your own feedback journey easier.

Below you’ll find ways on how to give constructive feedback next time you’re asked.

Focus On Behaviour, Not The Person

When giving feedback, make sure it’s on the skills a person can control and change such as their behaviour rather than themselves as a person.

When you give feedback which targets a person’s character rather than their behaviour, they’ll become defensive and the feedback comes across as harsh criticism rather than constructive feedback.

Be Actionable

When giving feedback, follow up with an actionable item the person can do to work towards improving.

For example, if you felt their presentation didn’t flow well and you were lost as an audience member, don’t just leave it at that. Expand upon your comment by suggesting they add a slide outlining key agenda items. Take it a step further and explain why you suggested this.

You may say, ” I would suggest adding a slide which outlines key objectives because it will give the audience clear takeaways as to what to expect throughout the presentation. This is something I felt was missing.”

This is an actionable item someone can take away and implement and you’ve backed it up with a strong reason as to why they should do it.

Be Specific

Make sure the feedback you’re providing is specific.

Don’t just say someone needs to improve their communication skills. Be specific!

You could frame the feedback in a way that targets different forms of communication. You could pinpoint to their body language or their oral presentation. Both are forms of communication skills and without being specific, they wouldn’t know what to improve upon.

Be Realistic

Learning and growing is an ongoing progression. We can’t go from 0 – 100 overnight. We need to set realistic boundaries with the feedback we provide.

You want to be realistic when you communicate key points someone can improve on to ensure they don’t get discouraged and quit.

If requested to give feedback, be sure to do it in a timely manner.

Providing feedback in a timely manner will not only benefit the one asking, but you as well as you’re able to provide more accurate feedback.

As time goes on, you’ll begin to forget the small details that made up the entire presentation. By giving feedback in a timely manner, you’ll be able to provide more accurate and effective feedback.

Offer Continuing Support

Continuing support will take your ability to provide feedback to the next level and is immensely helpful.

Offer continuing support will allow you to establish a long-lasting rapport with people. These same people will most likely be providing you with feedback in the future.

Giving ongoing support will also allow you to become a master of your craft. The best way of fully understanding a topic is by teaching it. To become a master of presenting, you also need to be open to giving feedback. It will help you remain consistent.

End On A Positive Note

Lastly, end all feedback on a positive note.

The best growth and learning stems from positive reinforcement which can be as simple as ending things off with a positive note. Be mindful and honest with what positive note you want to end on.

A sincere compliment is far more effective than one that feels forced.

How To Receive Constructive Presentation Feedback

Once you’re able to effectively give good constructive feedback, we can now focus on receiving feedback.

What good is asking and receiving feedback if you don’t know what to do with the information. Instead of squandering golden nuggets of information, here is what you should do when asking for feedback after your own presentation.

Listen Carefully

Once you’ve asked for feedback, stop talking and listen.

Don’t try to justify your reasoning, don’t try and steer the conversation in a direction which favours your actions, just listen.

Be Aware Of Your Responses

Be aware of your responses to feedback. This includes body language, facial expressions and social cues.

You don’t want to come across as if you’re taking the feedback too personally. This will make the person providing the feedback feel like they’re hurting your feelings and they should stop or begin sugarcoating the feedback.

This will only result in inauthentic feedback which is not constructive. You want to be creating a space which can create dialogue surrounding helpful feedback.

You’ll receive a bunch of feedback over your life and the only way to grow is to be completely open with all the feedback you’ll receive.

The moment you start to close yourself off from feedback, is the moment you hinder your progression and growth.

Understand The Message

Before you leave with the feedback, make sure you fully understand what the person was trying to say.

The worst thing you can do is change something that isn’t broken. Before you walk away to start changing things, always make sure you know what you’re about to change is correct.

Reflect & Process

After you received the feedback, take time to reflect and process. This is a perfect time to conduct a self-evaluation on how you believe you did with your presentation.

Does the other person feel the same way? What are the differences they saw in my presentation that I didn’t see?

Don’t forget, we are perfectly imperfect human beings. You will never have a perfect presentation. With varying audiences all interested in something unique, you will have a hard time crafting presentation material with key messages that is compelling to everyone.

Always follow up.

Following up allows you to take action and measure your success to see if you’ve changed for the better.

Following up also makes sure the other person feels heard. What is the point of giving feedback if the person you give it to does nothing with it?

By following up, it shows you’ve taken their feedback to heart and you’re taking action.

Author:  Ryan

Related posts.

FREE PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

Subscribe for free tips, resources, templates, ideas and more from our professional team of presentation designers.

PHILADELPHIA, MAY 9-10 PUBLIC SPEAKING CLASS IS ALMOST FULL! RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW

• Public Speaking Classes
• Corporate Presentation Training
• Online Public Speaking Course
• Northeast Region
• Midwest Region
• Southeast Region
• Central Region
• Western Region
• Presentation Skills
• 101 Public Speaking Tips
• Fear of Public Speaking

How to Collect Feedback on a Presentation

How, exactly do we collect feedback on a presentation? Are there ways to solicit feedback that will help us grow as speakers? The answer is, absolutely, YES! However, the way that you typically ask for feedback may not be the best way to gain confidence as a speaker. In fact, many traditional feedback techniques can actually make you more nervous. In addition, speakers will sometimes make adjustments to their delivery based on anecdotal issues. This can start a snowball effect that leads to terrible presentation skills.

A Funny Example of How Feedback Can Throw You Off Your Game.

A few years after I started The Leaders Institute ®, I was asked to be a keynote speaker at a quarterly meeting. The group loved my presentation so much, they hired me to come back in the next quarter as well. After the second speech, members of the group came to the front of the room and thanked me. They shook my hand and complimented me over and over. I felt really good about the presentation. The last woman to speak to me, though, was the founder of the association. She was long retired from the industry, but since she was the founder, she was still quite involved in the meetings. Just like the other attendees, she started with a nice compliment.

She said, “I really enjoyed your speech! The group had so much fun listening to you. Do you mind if I give you some critical feedback, though?”

I nodded, so she continued. “I’ve noticed that a few times during the speech, you ‘double-clutched.’ My Toastmasters group can probably help you with that.”

I smiled and thanked her for the feedback. However, I didn’t change anything that I was doing as a speaker as a result of the comment. There were over 100 people in the audience. Dozens of these people told me how great the presentation was. The group liked my delivery so much that they paid a fee for me to speak to them… TWICE. And, I got a single, anecdotal, comment to make a change. Most speakers would make a change because of the comment. I didn’t.

Traditional Ways to Collect Feedback on a Presentation

• Printed Exit Survey from the Audience

In the early days of our presentation skills class , we surveyed every graduate. I used the surveys as a way to measure instructor effectiveness.

Out of the blue, I got a phone call from a class member who wanted a partial tuition refund. When I asked him to clarify, he said, “Well, the instructor let us out of class 30 minutes early each day. I want a refund for the missed time.” It was a weird request, so I did some investigating.

I looked at past surveys from this guy’s instructor. The exit surveys for the instructor were all top-notch. I decided to set up an audit of this instructor’s next class. Turns out that the instructor wasn’t following our instructor guidelines. His class members weren’t getting the massive reduction in public speaking fear that we promised. However, they had no way of knowing this. They liked the instructor, so they gave him high marks on the surveys. The results they received were subpar, though.

• Collect Feedback on a Presentation from Friends or Coworkers

For instance, if a speaker talks faster when he/she is nervous, a friend might suggest to slow down. However, this is a symptom of nervousness. Slowing down will just make the person more conscious of the nervousness. So, the nervousness will likely show up in a multitude of additional symptoms.

An analogy for this would be if your “Check Engine” light comes on. You can crawl under the dashboard and snip the electric wire to the light. The light will go off. The problem with the engine will still be there.

It is better to ask these friends for more specific feedback. “Did what I say make sense?” or “Was what I said easy to understand?”

• Self-Criticism from Video Presentation Feedback

This final type of feedback is the most detrimental. We are our own worst critic. So, I would never encourage you to video yourself as a way to improve your presentation performance. You will knit-pick every negative thing that you see about yourself. When we conduct video feedback in our presentation seminars, we focus on the positive. If you focus on your natural strengths, you will grow as a speaker. If you focus on your weaknesses, they will grow.

How to Collect Feedback on a Presentation that Will Increase Your Presentation Skills

If you want better feedback on your presentation skills, here are a few that work every time!

• The Way Your Audience Reacts to You Is a Much Better Way to Judge Your Effectiveness

Are audience members on their cellphones? If so, you are likely less interesting to them than what they are looking at. You should change something.

Are people getting up and leaving the room. If so, you have likely spoken too long without giving them a break.

Are they looking at you and nodding when you speak? If so, you are probably doing really well. They are agreeing with you and paying attention.

• Visual Feedback from Friends or Coworkers.

Although the verbal feedback from friends and coworkers can throw you off, the visual feedback can be helpful. One of the tips we give folks in our classes is to practice your presentation with a partner. (We do this in our classes before most presentations.) As you run through your presentation with another person, you get to see how they react. When you say things that they understand, they nod in agreement. When you say something confusing, their facial expressions will change. This allows you to alter and adapt your delivery. If you practice alone, you don’t get this important feedback on a presentation.

• Get Feedback on a Presentation from a Professional Coach.

Eventually, you may get to a point where you want some professional help with presentations. Investing in a good presentation can be a wise decision. If you have a big presentation where a lot is on the line, feedback from an independent third-party can help.

This is the way that I began helping companies with “shortlist” presentations. A company in Houston had a series of high-level sales presentations which amounted to millions of dollars. They wanted someone outside of their company to help them deliver the best presentations possible. After helping them with a few of these, I got better and better as a coach. In fact, we went on a run where we won about 12 of these presentations in a row.

People who attend our presentation training classes often come for this type of coaching as well. They have a big presentation coming up and want to do their best. So a class can be a good way to get access to a professional coach without the expense of one-on-one coaching.

Good Feedback Helps You Improve. Bad Feedback Can Stunt Your Growth

Free Public Speaking Tips , Podcasts

View More Posts By Category: Free Public Speaking Tips | leadership tips | Online Courses | Past Fearless Presentations ® Classes | Podcasts | presentation skills | Uncategorized

How to Give Feedback on a Presentation Professionally

Master the art of professional communication in business settings with expert guidance. Learn how to give feedback on a presentation professionally.

As professionals, we frequently find ourselves in situations where we need to provide feedback on presentations. Whether it's in a corporate setting, educational institution, or any other professional environment, the ability to offer constructive criticism is a valuable skill. This guide aims to provide comprehensive insights and practical strategies for effectively giving feedback on presentations, ensuring a positive and growth-oriented approach.

Understanding the importance of giving professional presentation feedback

Enhancing the Learning Experience for the Presenter

Providing feedback on a presentation plays a vital role in enhancing the learning experience for the presenter. It offers them an opportunity to gain valuable insights into their strengths and areas for improvement. By providing constructive feedback, presenters can refine their skills, leading to continuous growth and development. When feedback is given professionally, presenters feel encouraged and supported in their efforts to improve, fostering a positive learning environment.

Fostering a Culture of Improvement and Growth

Understanding the art of giving professional presentation feedback helps in fostering a culture of improvement and growth within a team or organization. When feedback is delivered effectively, it promotes a mindset of openness and continuous learning. This, in turn, creates an environment where individuals are motivated to strive for excellence, leading to overall progress and success.

Building Constructive Relationships Through Honest Feedback

Professional presentation feedback allows for the building of constructive relationships between the presenter and the audience. It demonstrates a commitment to the presenter's success and professional development, fostering trust and transparency. By offering feedback in a professional manner, relationships are strengthened, leading to enhanced collaboration and communication.

Use Lark Messenger to elevate your team communication.

Practical examples of dealing with proper presentation feedback

Scenario : In a team meeting, a colleague presents a project but lacks clarity and coherence.

Common Mistakes :

Providing vague or unclear feedback that doesn't address the specific issues in the presentation.

Using a confrontational tone that may demoralize the presenter.

Best Expression : "I appreciate the effort you put into the presentation. It would be helpful to streamline the content for better clarity and precision. Let's work together to ensure the next presentation is impactful and well-structured."

Scenario : A team member exhibits nervousness and lacks confidence during a presentation.

Overlooking the emotional aspect and focusing solely on technical errors.

Criticizing without acknowledging any positive aspects of the presentation.

Best Expression : "Your dedication and effort are evident. Let's focus on building confidence through practice and incorporating storytelling techniques. Your passion for the topic will undoubtedly resonate with the audience when presented more confidently."

Scenario : Providing feedback to a team leader on their presentation.

Feeling intimidated and hesitant to provide honest feedback.

Overemphasizing minor issues, which may dilute the impact of the feedback.

Best Expression : "Your insights were valuable. Let's further emphasize the key points to provide a more impactful message. With enhanced clarity, the presentation will effectively drive our team's objectives."

Consequences of inadequate presentation feedback

Impeding the Presenter's Growth and Development

Inadequate feedback can hinder the presenter's growth and development. Without constructive criticism, the presenter may continue to exhibit the same shortcomings, impeding their professional advancement.

Hindering Team Progress Within Professional Settings

Insufficient feedback can hinder team progress within professional settings. When presentations lack constructive input, it may lead to a stagnation of ideas and innovation within the team, impacting overall productivity.

Creating an Environment of Ineffectual Communication and Ambiguity

Failure to provide professional feedback on presentations can create an environment of ineffectual communication and ambiguity. It may lead to misunderstandings and a lack of clarity in conveying ideas and information, affecting the organization's effectiveness.

7 Pro Tips for Effective Cross-border Collaboration Strategies | Lark Blog

Learn more about Lark x Communication

Step-by-step instructions on providing professional presentation feedback

Understanding the context and objectives of the presentation

To provide effective feedback, it's essential to gain a thorough understanding of the context and objectives of the presentation. Consider the audience, the purpose of the presentation, and the key messages that need to be conveyed.

Utilizing a structured approach to formulating and delivering feedback

Structure the feedback by addressing specific areas such as content, delivery, and overall impact. This provides a clear framework for the presenter to assess their performance and work on areas that need refinement.

Incorporating empathy and constructive criticism in the feedback process

Approach the feedback process with empathy, recognizing the effort and dedication of the presenter. Combine this with constructive criticism to guide them towards improvement while maintaining a positive and supportive tone.

Providing actionable recommendations for improvement

Offer actionable recommendations by suggesting specific strategies for improvement. This empowers the presenter to implement practical changes, thereby fostering continuous growth and development.

Articulating professional presentation feedback

When articulating professional presentation feedback, it's essential to focus on building rapport and trust while employing encouraging language that emphasizes growth and improvement. Emphasizing the importance of clarity and specificity in feedback further ensures the effectiveness of the communication process.

Professional feedback: do's and dont's

In conclusion, understanding how to give feedback on a presentation professionally is an invaluable skill that contributes to personal and professional growth. By recognizing its importance, incorporating best practices, and leveraging practical examples, individuals can navigate the feedback process with confidence and proficiency, ultimately fostering an environment of continuous improvement and excellence.

How can i offer criticism without demoralizing the presenter?

Offering criticism without demoralizing the presenter involves framing feedback constructively, focusing on the potential for improvement, and recognizing the efforts made by the presenter.

What if the presenter disagrees with the feedback provided?

In the event of disagreement, it's important to engage in open dialogue, understanding the presenter's perspective, and collectively working towards finding common ground for constructive feedback.

How do i deliver feedback to a superior or manager professionally?

When providing feedback to a superior or manager, it's essential to approach the conversation with respect, clarity, and a solutions-oriented mindset, ensuring that the feedback is aligned with the professional context and objectives.

Lark, bringing it all together

All your team need is Lark

Explore More in Business Communication

• link for presentation enquiry emails
• link to presentations on twitter
• buy Presentation Genius on Amazon
• Presentation Genius YouTube channel
• Presentation Genius on Facebook
• simon on Linked In
• mobile phone

How to give feedback about a presentation

As Saturday, June 1st is officially #SaySomethingNiceDay , I thought it might be “interesting” to research (and blog about!) something I’ve personally always found difficult – how to give feedback on a presentation. As that’s a significant part of my work as a presentations trainer, it’s something I’ve done a lot of, but I’m not really thinking about that kind of thing.

I’m more thinking of the time when you sit through something-or-other-but-you’re-not-sure-what from Fred in Finance. He bounds up to you at the water cooler later and grins at you. Your heart sinks…

Pick the right measure of a successful presentation

The thing about presentations is that we tend to judge them by the wrong measures. Because we’re all sat in the audience, possibly chewing off our own toe-nails in an attempt to find interest and/or meaning to the presentation and the slides, we judge presentations by how well it kept our interest and entertained us. The thing is, “keeping us entertained” is not (usually) the key metric for a presentation.

Of course, if we’re not interested in the presentation it’s hard to learn anything from it, so “being interesting enough” is the baseline for a successful presentation, but that doesn’t make it how you should measure it beyond that.

What you should do to measure whether a presentation was good or not was to ask two questions:

• what was the presentation supposed to do?
• did it do it?

If the answer to that question was “yes”, then you can go ahead an indulge praising Fred From Finance. Even if you’ve bitten off three of your toe-nails in the process.

But what about a failed presentation?

So far so good, but what do you do if the answer to the question above was “no”? That rather depends on if your job (or something similarly important) depends on the good graces of Fred From Finance. But let’s assume that you want to be reasonably honest and at the same time, reasonably positive?

How should you give feedback on a presentation?

Pretty clearly, the best option here is to get Fred to do a critique of his own work, so that you don’t need to be the one to point out the painful to him. And don’t forget, you have a moral obligation to help Fred here. Presentations cost your organisation money and morale, so letting Fred continue to get away with it is wasting time and money. Worse, bad presentations reduce the love of life! 😉

Start with something specific and concrete . For example, you might want to look at the slide’s colour scheme.

Once you’ve picked your “point of entry” for feeding back, go for a question. Use an open question, not something Fred can close down with a simple yes/no. An example might be something like “I love how much work you put into the slide design – what was it that made you pick those colours?”.

By couching it in those terms, Fred won’t automatically hear what you said as a critisism. Critisism makes people defensive. After all, they’ve done what they thought was right, and telling people they’re wrong is a direct challenge. By asking for more information you open up a conversation about the thinking process involved (assuming their was one! 🙂 ).

The important thing is to work with Fred on the problem, so that he’s receptive to change. If you work on Fred as the problem, he’ll resist.

Pro-tip – make sure the open question you use isn’t “Why?”. That’s pretty much always taken as a challenge. Compare the question above with “Why did you pick those colours for the slides?”.

If someone said that about your slides you’d automatically assume they thought the the choice was a bad one, wouldn’t you?

Oh, and don’t try to provide feedback on more than one (or two) things at a time. Too much critisism makes people feel like they’re being battered by a heavy weight – and they’re less likely to take things on board.

… and once you’ve got Fred talking about his processes, you can follow on with a hidden suggestion. Try something like “Oh, cool. I wondered if it was something like that. Have you come across the colour advice at XYZ?”

When Fred says no, you’re in the position of doing him a favour by giving him a tool to make his next presentation even better!

What about triaging the presentation?

Errrmmm… what’s triage, Simon? Triage is the act/art of splitting things into three bits:

• this can’t be helped no matter what
• this is on the borderline and can be helped with effort
• this is okay and doesn’t need to be helped

Side note: triage is originally a medical term, looking at the order in which casualties are to be treated.

In terms of Fred From Finance’s presentation this boils down to making sure the feedback you give him is in the middle bit. Don’t pick on the colour scheme of slides if it’s so damned bad that nothing you can do will save it. Similarly don’t feedback on the volume of Fred’s voice if it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Instead, pick on something about the presentation that’s on the cusp of being good enough – something that, once you improve it – will make a clear difference to how well the presentation goes.

The idea is to pick something that even Fred can see was useful, so that the next presentation is better and which in turn means that the next round of feedback is easier to give.

In short, pick your fights!

Think carefully about which bit of the presentation it’s worth giving feedback on and don’t just list everything that was wrong!

Have you ever been brutal, Simon?

Yes. That will come as no surprise, for long-time readers. I’ve walked out on public presenters because they were getting paid – but they were so bloody bad (as presenters, I’m sure they were lovely people) that they were wasting everyone’s time. That’s rare though. Normally I just find something else to do on my iPhone.

I semi-famously told someone who became a friend of mine “That was by far, the least crap presentation of today.” (If you’re interested, they held onto that line to use at a presentation of mine recently when I came off stage!)

The point is – and this is personal, not based on research… so ignore it if you want – that by not giving people some help, you’re actually doing them a disservice, along with everyone else in the audience.

On the other hand, if you’re on the receiving end of feedback, take a long hard look at whether your presentations will benefit from following it!

Love it! This is always a tricky subject to approach in my line of work. So thanks!

Hi Laura – I can imagine how tricky it is to give feedback on headshots and images. The phrase “What were you thinking?!?!” probably wouldn’t work too well! 🙂

Fun topic for #SaySomethingNiceDay : )) I saw a presentation a while ago. I disagreed with something fundamental the person said. But I just swallowed it. Your advice has encouraged me to tackle this sort of thing in future (perhaps…)

That’s interesting Janine – when I wrote it I was thinking more of ‘bad’ presentations rather than things in what might be good presentations (or bad ones) that we disagree with. I guess the principles remain the same though!

Good approaches here, Simon. It definitely sounds right to take the conciliatory/supportive approach rather than the “37 reasons why your presentation sucked ass (and why you’re even worse than that)” approach.

I’ve never heard of #SaySomethingNiceDay – what a world.

Hi John – to be honest, I’d not heard of it either until something arrived in my in-box. Nice that we’ve got such a day, but a shame that the world needs it!

Thanks Simon. This could be applied to any feedback. Particularly like the triage idea.

Leave a Comment Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Address:

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.

ReleuctantStoryTeller

Are your presentations "okay on the day" but don't have an impact ? Adding stories to your presentations will make the biggest difference, helping you really engage with your audience. But not sure how to get started?

This will close in 23 seconds

14 effective feedback techniques and methods for giving better feedback

Effective feedback is a gift. When we use feedback techniques to share how we feel, what changes we'd like to see and give appreciation or constructive criticism, we create opportunities for growth and change. But for too many teams, feedback is a loaded word that can create a fear of judgement and negativity.

Use proven techniques for giving and receiving feedback to help your team feel heard, show appreciation and be honest about what needs to change. These methods below are great for holding a productive feedback session while also building the skills necessary for a continuous feedback culture. Let's dive in!

Design your next session with SessionLab

Join the 150,000+ facilitators 
using SessionLab.

Recommended Articles

A step-by-step guide to planning a workshop, how to create an unforgettable training session in 8 simple steps, 47 useful online tools for workshop planning and meeting facilitation, techniques for group feedback.

Finding space to give constructive feedback on a specific project or general group performance is an effective way to explore opportunities for improvement and make changes as a team.

While these techniques can also be used when giving personal feedback, they are most effective when looking at both individual and team performance in a group context. That is, having more public discussions that might come as part of a general reflection or retrospective. Bring them to your workshop or meetings to help small groups give each other feedback or reflect on a project.

It’s worth noting that some these feedback methods may not be suitable for delivering feedback that is sensitive in nature. If you’re looking for more formal feedback techniques you might use in a 1-1 employee feedback scenario, take a look at personal feedback techniques in the next section.

Start, Stop, Continue

Giving feedback can be daunting if teams haven’t yet developed the vocabulary or skillset. Frameworks that make it easy to give both constructive feedback are great ways to start encouraging regular feedback and build those muscles.

In Start, Stop, Continue, participants are given a short statement they must complete for each other member of their group or team. “Something I would like you to START doing is… Something I would like you to STOP doing is… Something I would like you to CONTINUE doing is… Signed _____.”

By using this three-step structure, everyone can give feedback to everyone else in a direct and simple manner. Think of it as a feedback sandwich that is loaded with opportunities for action and which doesn’t compromise the idea that feedback is a gift!

Feedback: Start, Stop, Continue   #hyperisland   #skills   #feedback   #remote-friendly   Regular, effective feedback is one of the most important ingredients in building constructive relationships and thriving teams. Openness creates trust and trust creates more openness. Feedback exercises aim to support groups to build trust and openness and for individuals to gain self-awareness and insight. Feedback exercises should always be conducted with thoughtfulness and high awareness of group dynamics. This is an exercise for groups or teams that have worked together for some time and are familiar with giving and receiving feedback. It uses the words “stop”, “start” and “continue” to guide the feedback messages.

Encouraging everyone to give informal feedback when closing a project is a great way to create closure and positivity. Bus Trip is an activity that can help you end a session on a positive note and create space for appreciation and positive feedback within a group.

Start by setting out chairs into rows like the seating on a bus. Inform participants that they’ll be powering the bus with positive energy and then get everyone seated. Ask people on one row of the bus to give as much positive feedback to the person in the other row as they can in 45 seconds. Swap roles and then mix up seating so that everyone gets to give feedback to everyone in the group.

This feedback method is wonderful to end a session in a positive manner. By using peer-to-peer employee feedback, it can also help build feedback skills and connections that will continue after the activity is complete.

Bus Trip   #feedback   #communication   #appreciation   #closing   #thiagi   #team   This is one of my favourite feedback games. I use Bus Trip at the end of a training session or a meeting, and I use it all the time. The game creates a massive amount of energy with lots of smiles, laughs, and sometimes even a teardrop or two.

Providing feedback should be a gift, though teams often get caught up in ideas of their being scary negative feedback that is meant to punish, and positive feedback, which is lovely, but potentially less useful. Starfish is an effective feedback method that is great for reframing a feedback session not solely as punishment or praise, but as an opportunity for growth.

With a five point star, participants are encouraged to write what they want the subject of feedback to keep doing, do more of, do less of, start doing, stop doing. It’s particularly effective when giving feedback on an event or situation, but it can equally be used when discussing team performance. It’s great for generating actions as a result of feedback, rather than just saying, this was good, or this was bad.

The visual element of the star is helpful for both creating a sense of equivalence between feedback items, but also for generating scattergrams that help capture group sentiment.

Starfish   #retrospective   #feedback   #visual methods   #review   The Starfish can be used wherever you want to get an overview over how people perceive the status quo. It can be used as a gather data exercise in retrospectives or as feedback tool after events.

Thirty five for debriefing

Getting feedback from a large number of people at once can be an effective way to gain insights quickly, but without the right framework, it can easily become choatic or unproductive.

In this feedback method, group members are encouraged to reflect on past events or give feedback on a chosen topic and write down a lesson they learned on a flash card.

After writing their feedback, participants are then invited to wander the room and exchange cards multiple times before then getting into pairs. Pairs then distribute 7 points between the two cards they have based on the merit of the ideas or lesson. Repeat a few rounds before then finding out which cards got the most points and share them with the group.

Debrief by discussing the feedback process and top comments with the group. You’ll find that this method is not only effective for getting lots of feedback quickly, but also for building the essential skill of interpreting and reacting to feedback in a positive manner.

Thirty-five for Debriefing   #debriefing   #closing   #thiagi   #action   #skills   You might be familiar with Thirty-Five as a structured-sharing activity. Thirty-Five can also be used as an effective debriefing game. In this version, participants reflect on an earlier experience and identify important lessons they learned. They write one of these lessons as a brief item. The winner in this activity is not the best player, but the best lesson learned.

One Breath Feedback

One common pitfall of interpersonal feedback is lack of focus and clarity. One person may give carefully delivered feedback in a direct and clear way, while another may feel quite hurt and bring up instances of past behaviour, be defensive or otherwise go off on a tangent. Creating space for these feelings is important, but it’s often not the focus of a feedback session, especially in group settings.

One breath feedback is an effective technique for giving effective feedback very quickly and giving everyone in the group an opportunity to suggest ideas and share their opinion. The idea is simple: everyone has the space of one full breath in which to give their feedback on a particular topic or theme. It’s great for encouraging succinct feedback, especially as people only have time and space to mention the most important things on their mind.

One breath feedback   #closing   #feedback   #action   This is a feedback round in just one breath that excels in maintaining attention: each participants is able to speak during just one breath … for most people that’s around 20 to 25 seconds … unless of course you’ve been a deep sea diver in which case you’ll be able to do it for longer.

AIR Feedback model

Pretty much all of the feedback methods above can be used in a personal setting, though these techniques also shine when using them in small groups where you might be trying to encourage our team to get into a habit of giving more feedback.

The AIR feedback model (action, impact, request) is a simple framework for constructive criticism and feedback. The emphasis is on making a SMART request so that the person receiving feedback can meaningfully act on what is a reasonable and well considered request. Because groups are also instructed to uphold principles such as being non-judgemental and asking people if they would like to receive feedback, AIR is an especially effective tool for teaching feedback skills.

AIR Feedback Model   #hyperisland   #feedback   #team   Constructive feedback is feedback regarding an individual’s performance that can be used to build (construct) connection, successful habits and behaviors. The constructive (building) component is key because with this mindset and approach, seemingly negative feedback doesn’t become discouraging. Rather, a launch pad for creating opportunities for learning and development.

Techniques for personal feedback

In most cases, personal feedback will be given in a 1-1 scenario between two people. This might be formal or informal, but the key is that both the person giving and receiving feedback feel best positioned to have that conversation without feeling judged or shamed.

Giving negative feedback in front of an entire team is likely to do more harm than good, and some issues are more sensitive in nature. Use these feedback techniques to host an effective conversation that will help both parties engage with feedback in a more closed setting.

As with any of these techniques, developing strong facilitation skills can help you run these methods more effectively. The other big ingredient for successful feedback is practice, so try giving and receiving with your team at the next opportunity.

Feedback Wrap

One common feedback technique that’s come under some scrutiny of late is the feedback sandwich. With that technique, the idea was to sandwich one piece of constructive or negative feedback between two pieces of positive feedback. One problem with this method is how it frames feedback under these two binaries and how it conflicts with the idea that feedback is a gift and an opportunity.

A feedback wrap is a more advanced method of providing feedback that provides enough context to move things forward without things turning into a blame game. Here’s how it works.

1. Start by providing some context of the situation to help the other person understand where you’re coming from. 2. List specific observations and further information about the situation. 3. Let the other person know how this makes you feel. 4. Explain what your needs are and why they are important to you. 5. Give space for the other person to figure out a solution but also feel free to make suggestions if you have them.

Team of Two

Our interpersonal relationships are important in every aspect of our lives. In the workplace, it’s not uncommon for issues or grievances to go unchecked and unresolved. But there’s a better way!

Team of Two is one of my favorite employee feedback techniques because it encourages both people in a working relationship to think about how they could help and be helped by the other.

Start by having two people who work together a lot write down they ways they might help the other person and the ways in which the other person might help them. Next, both people share and respond to the requests one by one, taking the opportunity to provide more detail or further context. The end result is a series of agreements for how both people will work together in the future.

Team of Two   #communication   #active listening   #issue analysis   #conflict resolution   #issue resolution   #remote-friendly   #team   Much of the business of an organisation takes place between pairs of people. These interactions can be positive and developing or frustrating and destructive. You can improve them using simple methods, providing people are willing to listen to each other. “Team of two” will work between secretaries and managers, managers and directors, consultants and clients or engineers working on a job together. It will even work between life partners.

Feed forward

In some scenarios, it can be more impactful to look to the future rather than looking to the past. If you’ve ever felt the struggle between wanting to draw a line under something but still have needs which are being unmet, feed forward can be an effective feedback technique to try.

The idea of the feed forward method is to focus only on ideas for the future and get agreement and alignment on what you might do to make those things happen. The ideas suggested during a feed forward are based on areas for improvement, just the same as when giving feedback, but by focusing on what could go right, rather than what went wrong, it can sometimes be easier to see positive behaviour change.

Feed forward   #feedback   #remote-friendly   #team   #leadership   #skills   An engaging variation on a feedback activity that focuses on future changes and positive action, rather than dwelling on what went wrong.

GROW coaching model

At its best, a feedback culture facilitates personal reflection and development. This coaching method isn’t a direct method for soliciting feedback like the above, but it does create space for feedback and reflection to happen.

In essence, this method asks coachees to give themselves feedback on their progress and then work with their mentor to figure out next steps. It’s a different approach, but a skilled leader or coach can use this framework to bring up feedback as and when it’s asked for and is appropriate. As part of an ongoing personal development process, it’s incredibly effective and organic.

The GROW Coaching Model   #hyperisland   #coaching   #growth   #goal setting   The GROW Model is a coaching framework used in conversations, meetings, and everyday leadership to unlock potential and possibilities. It’s a simple & effective framework for structuring your coaching & mentoring sessions and great coaching conversations. Easy to use for both face-to-face and online meetings. GROW is an acronym that stands for Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options, and Will.

Feedback techniques for improving feedback culture

A culture of consistent feedback is a habit of a high performing team. When individuals are given the skills and opportunities to give and receive feedback that can help them grow, the results can be transformative. But without the right framework or setting, it’s possible for negative feedback or unhelpful criticism to become order of the day.

These feedback methods are designed to help give teams the skillset and context for delivering feedback more regularly and effectively. If you want to improve employee feedback and create a culture that cherishes and provides consistent feedback, these methods are for you!

Principles of Effective Feedback

Creating a shared understanding of how and when your team wants to give, receive and explore feedback is vital for creating a healthy feedback culture. This method creates a space for groups to discuss, define, and agree on what good feedback looks like to them and how they would like to receive it.

Start by asking participants to share examples of when they’ve received helpful feedback and then extrapolate some underlying principles they’ll use as the basis for a feedback agreement on the team. End by asking for how the group will make this happen and ensure they use these principles. Not only will you have clear guidelines for how to give and receive feedback in your organization, but you’ll have people eager to start the process too!

Principles of Effective Feedback   #hyperisland   #skills   #feedback   The purpose of this exercise is for a group to discuss, define, and come to agreement around key principles of effective feedback. Participants discuss examples of effective and ineffective feedback in pairs, then work together to define “effective feedback.” Then, as a group, they create a list of principles that they will aim to work by.

Quick reviews in 1 minute

Not all feedback sessions need to take a lot of time. When trying to encourage employee feedback, it can be helpful to start small and give very easy opportunities for everyone to share what they think.

In this method, you’ll find various strategies for enabling a group to give feedback in just 1 minute. Whether it’s encouraging everyone to share three words for how they’re feeling, give a temperature level for how they’re feeling or share positive suggestions, bringing these ideas into your regular sessions can have a cumulative effect on your feedback culture.

Quick Reviews in 1 minute   #reflection   #closing   #remote-friendly   #online   Easy and fun way to review content or atmosphere at the end of a group activity (or in between) in 1 minute.

Meeting closing round

Continuous improvement is the ultimate goal of a productive feedback culture. But does your team use every possible opportunity to review team performance and how they employees work together? Meeting closing round is a wonderfully simply and effective feedback technique you can use at the end of every meeting, workshop or other collaborative session.

At the end of your meeting, ask three simple questions: what went well, what could have gone differently and any other ideas? You’ll often find suggestions for improvement you can action immediately, alongside things you might try in order to improve performance moving forward. Use this method consistently and your employees will start building these feedback skills and considering other places where things could be better too!

Meeting closing round (+ – !)   #feedback   #closing activity   #remote-friendly   #hybrid-friendly   #meeting facilitation   Continuously improve your organization’s meetings with this simple round of closing feedback: what did you enjoy most? What could have been better? Any other ideas on our meetings?

Feedback Map

In especially large teams, it can be hard for people to understand who, when and how they should provide feedback. Aligning on these items is an essential part of creating a culture of feedback, and this method helps you do just that.

Begin by scattering the names of everyone in a group or project on a whiteboard. Next, agree on a timeframe and then invite participants to draw lines connecting one another based on how they’ve worked with. Have employees circle three interactions they’d like to address with feedback and then choose an appropriate feedback method (Start, Stop, Continue or AIR are two great options.) for people to give feedback to those people.

Feedback Map   #hyperisland   #skills   #feedback   This is a feedback exercise to support participants to deliver feedback that is clear and specific, especially after working in multiple project teams over a longer period of time. The team maps the connections between individuals, then uses specific points of interaction to prompt feedback.

In conclusion

Giving and receiving feedback is hard. You can’t expect people to navigate potentially sensitive or emotionally activating situations without a little help. We hope that these feedback techniques gives you and your team some meaningful ways to give and receive feedback and also improve your feedback culture in general.

Want to run a feedback workshop with your team to build those constructive feedback skills? Check out out effective feedback workshop template for an example session you can run when seeking to build a culture of consistent feedback.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Going from a mere idea to a workshop that delivers results for your clients can feel like a daunting task. In this piece, we will shine a light on all the work behind the scenes and help you learn how to plan a workshop from start to finish. On a good day, facilitation can feel like effortless magic, but that is mostly the result of backstage work, foresight, and a lot of careful planning. Read on to learn a step-by-step approach to breaking the process of planning a workshop into small, manageable chunks.  The flow starts with the first meeting with a client to define the purposes of a workshop.…

How does learning work? A clever 9-year-old once told me: “I know I am learning something new when I am surprised.” The science of adult learning tells us that, in order to learn new skills (which, unsurprisingly, is harder for adults to do than kids) grown-ups need to first get into a specific headspace.  In a business, this approach is often employed in a training session where employees learn new skills or work on professional development. But how do you ensure your training is effective? In this guide, we'll explore how to create an effective training session plan and run engaging training sessions. As team leader, project manager, or consultant,…

Effective online tools are a necessity for smooth and engaging virtual workshops and meetings. But how do you choose the right ones? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or MS Office toolkit and email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing and delivering your workshop? Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools to make your life easier when you need to facilitate a meeting and lead workshops. In this post, we’ll share our favorite online tools you can use to make your job as a facilitator easier. In fact, there are plenty of free online workshop tools and meeting facilitation software you can…

Design your next workshop with SessionLab

Join the 150,000 facilitators using SessionLab

Sign up for free

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Give (and Receive) Critical Feedback

• Patrick Thean

It can make or break your relationships with your team.

New leaders often procrastinate difficult discussions at the expense of themselves and their teams. At the root of this feeling is usually a lack of experience and practice — both of which can be gained with intention and time. Here are two especially “spicy” conversations that all new managers face, and how to navigate them now and in the future:

• Giving Feedback to Direct Reports: You should be having regular weekly or biweekly one-on-one meetings with each of your team members to check in on their work and offer your support. This is a great time to share feedback (both positive and negative). When delivering critical or negative feedback, take a coaching approach. Instead of telling your direct report, “Hey, you filled this report out all wrong. I need you to fix it,” begin by giving them the benefit of the doubt and then offer them guidance.
• Receiving Feedback from Direct Reports: First, you need to create a psychologically safe space where your team members feel comfortable expressing thoughts, doubts, and perspectives without the fear of a consequence. You can do this by sharing vulnerably when the opportunity arises and openly appreciating team members who do the same. If people seem hesitant to approach you, directly ask for feedback and show your appreciation by taking it seriously when received. When a direct report expresses their opinions and frustrations, repeat back what they say to you to be sure you’re on the same page.

What’s the biggest challenge new managers face when trying to grow in their roles? Answers could include broad, complex, and difficult-to-qualify problems like figuring out how to fulfill the company’s vision, retain clientele, or lead a productive team. While these goals are worthy of pursuit, there is one overarching skill needed to see them come to fruition: building strong relationships with your direct reports.

• PT Patrick Thean is an international speaker, USA TODAY, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, CEO coach and serial entrepreneur. He is the author of Rhythm: How to Achieve Breakthrough Execution and Accelerate Growth .

Partner Center

Try Process AI free

How to display customer feedback in a presentation.

Are you tired of boring, text-heavy presentations that fail to engage your audience? Do you struggle with finding effective ways to showcase customer feedback in your presentations? Look no further, because this article has the solution you’ve been searching for. Learn how to display customer feedback in a way that captivates your audience and elevates your presentation skills.

Why Is Customer Feedback Important?

Customer feedback is crucial for business growth and improvement. It provides insights into customer satisfaction, product performance, and areas for enhancement. Understanding ‘why is customer feedback important’ helps in refining products, enhancing customer experience, and building brand loyalty. Additionally, it aids in identifying trends, addressing issues promptly, and fostering a customer-centric approach.

How to Gather Customer Feedback

In today’s competitive business landscape, customer feedback is a crucial element in understanding and improving the customer experience. However, gathering this feedback can be a daunting task. In this section, we will discuss three effective methods for collecting customer feedback: surveys, social media monitoring, and customer reviews. Each of these methods offers unique insights into the thoughts and opinions of your customers, allowing you to create a comprehensive understanding of their needs and preferences.

• Create the survey questions to collect specific, actionable feedback that aligns with your objectives.
• Choose the survey method – online, in-person, or phone – based on the preferences of your target audience.
• Include clear instructions and ensure the survey is user-friendly to encourage easy participation.
• Consider offering incentives to boost survey response rates and engagement.
• Analyze and interpret the survey data to draw meaningful insights and actionable conclusions.

2. Social Media Monitoring

• Utilize social media monitoring tools to track brand mentions and conversations across multiple platforms.
• Analyze the gathered data to gain insight into customer sentiments, identify trends, and pinpoint areas for improvement.
• Engage with customers by responding to their comments, addressing concerns, and acknowledging positive feedback.
• Leverage the insights gained from social media monitoring to improve products, services, and customer experiences.

3. Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are essential for businesses as they provide genuine insights into product experiences. When evaluating customer reviews, prioritize those that are detailed and genuine, highlighting specific aspects of the product or service. Look for consistency in the comments to get an overall understanding of customer sentiment.

Positive reviews can be used to showcase the benefits of the product, while addressing negative feedback shows transparency and a dedication to improvement. For instance, a restaurant can use feedback to improve its menu offerings and service quality, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.

How to Choose the Right Feedback to Display

When it comes to incorporating customer feedback into a presentation, it’s important to choose the right feedback to display. This not only ensures that your presentation is concise and impactful, but also accurately represents the sentiments of your customers. In this section, we’ll discuss the key factors to consider when selecting feedback for your presentation. From focusing on relevant feedback to highlighting both positive and negative comments, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make the best choices for your presentation.

1. Focus on Relevant Feedback

• Identify the purpose of collecting feedback.
• Define key areas for improvement or validation.
• Analyze feedback related to targeted areas.
• Eliminate non-essential or generic feedback.
• Focus on relevant feedback that directly impacts the defined objectives.

2. Look for Consistency

• Compare feedback across different channels to identify recurring themes or issues.
• Look for similarities in feedback from different customer segments to validate consistency.
• Examine feedback over time to ensure consistency in customer sentiment.

Pro-tip: Consistency in customer feedback is a key indicator of underlying issues or strengths in your product or service. In particular, looking for consistency can help identify potential issues or strengths.

3. Highlight Positive and Negative Feedback

• Identify key themes in both positive and negative feedback.
• Provide specific examples to illustrate points made in the feedback.
• Address negative feedback constructively, showing how it has led to improvements.

Pro-tip: When highlighting positive and negative feedback, remember to use real customer quotes to add authenticity to your presentation.

When presenting to a business audience, it is important to effectively convey the impact of customer feedback. In this section, we will discuss various ways to display customer feedback in a presentation. From incorporating visuals and quotes, to sharing statistics and customer testimonials, we will explore the most effective methods to showcase the value of customer feedback. By the end, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively utilize customer feedback in your presentations to impress and engage your audience.

1. Use Visuals

• Incorporate visually appealing graphs, charts, and infographics that complement the feedback data.
• Ensure the visuals are easy to understand and directly relate to the feedback being presented.
• Utilize color coding to differentiate between positive and negative feedback, making it visually impactful.

Pro-tip: By utilizing visuals, engagement is enhanced and complex feedback is simplified for easier comprehension.

2. Incorporate Quotes

• Select impactful quotes that directly illustrate customer experiences and satisfaction levels.
• Ensure the quotes are concise and relevant to the specific aspect of the product or service being discussed.
• Integrate quotes seamlessly into the presentation to support key points and create an emotional connection with the audience.
• Attribute the quotes to specific customers or demographics to add credibility and context.

3. Share Statistics

• Collect applicable statistical data from customer feedback surveys or analytics tools.
• Sort the statistics to identify trends, patterns, and key metrics.
• Display the statistics using visual aids such as graphs, charts, or infographics to improve comprehension.
• Verify the accuracy, currency, and representation of the statistical data in relation to the overall feedback.

When presenting statistics, it is important to provide context for the numbers, explain any fluctuations, and utilize statistics to strengthen key points.

4. Use Customer Testimonials

• Select satisfied customers who can provide specific details about their positive experiences with your product or service.
• Obtain permission to use their testimonial in your presentation, ensuring authenticity and legality.
• Incorporate the customer’s name, job title, and company to add credibility to the testimonial.
• Include before-and-after scenarios if applicable, demonstrating the positive impact of your product or service.

Fact: 4. Utilize customer testimonials to enhance the credibility of your presentation, as 92% of consumers trust organic, user-generated content over traditional advertising.

Best Practices for Presenting Customer Feedback

Sharing customer feedback in a presentation is a powerful way to showcase the satisfaction and loyalty of your customers. However, not all feedback is created equal and it’s important to present it in a way that is effective and impactful. In this section, we will discuss best practices for presenting customer feedback, including keeping it concise, using a variety of feedback, providing context, and being transparent. These tips will help you create a compelling and informative presentation that highlights the value of your customers’ opinions.

1. Keep it Concise

• Start with a clear objective for the concise feedback presentation.
• Summarize key points and trends instead of overwhelming with excessive data.
• Use visuals like charts or graphs to convey information efficiently.
• Include only the most impactful quotes and testimonials.

2. Use a Variety of Feedback

• Collect feedback through surveys, social media, and customer reviews.
• Utilize diverse sources such as ratings, testimonials, and comments.
• Incorporate feedback from different customer segments and demographics.

When seeking a variety of feedback, consider utilizing multiple channels, engaging various customer groups, and capturing both positive and negative experiences to gain comprehensive insights.

3. Provide Context

• Understand the situation: Offer background information or details about the specific customer experience.
• Clarify the circumstances: Explain any relevant factors or events surrounding the feedback to provide a comprehensive understanding.
• Offer insights: Present additional data or anecdotes to support and enrich the feedback context.

When providing context for customer feedback, it’s essential to ensure that the audience understands the complete picture, leading to informed decisions or actions.

4. Be Transparent

• Provide clear and complete information about the feedback collection process.
• Disclose any potential conflicts of interest or biases that may influence the feedback.
• Explain the methodology used to gather and analyze the feedback to ensure transparency.
• Be transparent about the entire feedback process.

No credit card required

Your projects are processes, Take control of them today.

Presentation Skills: 40 Useful Performance Feedback Phrases

Presentation Skills: Use these sample phrases to craft meaningful performance evaluations, drive change and motivate your workforce.

Presentation Skills are useful in getting your message or opinion out there in many aspects of life and work, though they are mostly used in businesses, sales, teaching, lecturing, and training.

Presentation Skills: Exceeds Expectations Phrases

• Always prepares well before making any form of presentation whether formal or non-formal.
• Gives a clear and well-structured delivery when making a presentation.
• Exhibits excellent skill when it comes to expressing ideas and opinions with clarity.
• Knows the audience well enough to use proper language and terms.
• Engages well with audiences before, during and after delivering a presentation.
• Gives the audiences ample and appropriate time to ask questions.
• Creates a very lively and positive outlook when delivering a presentation.
• Adjusts very well to the new surrounding and exudes a great aura of confidence.
• Knows how to get and maintain the attention of the audience.
• Responds well to questions and issues raised by the audience.

Presentation Skills: Meets Expectations Phrases

• Organizes a good, balanced and dynamic presentation with high impact results.
• Demonstrates good ability to use visual aids most appropriately during presentations.
• Speaks in a good speech rate not so fast and at the same time not too slow.
• Explains each point to the fullest and only tries to emphasize the key points.
• Demonstrates a good logical order when presenting ideas not to confuse the audience.
• Uses non-verbal forms of communication such as facial expressions in a good way.
• Does proper research on the topic to be presented to gather all updated facts and figures.
• Delivers short and powerful presentations that create interest and excitement.
• Knows how to use true stories in between the presentation to pass across a point or to grab the audience's attention.
• Makes good eye contact with the audience from the start of the presentation to the end.

Presentation Skills: Needs Improvement Phrases

• Does not make good and consistent eye contact with the audience.
• Has minimal movement on stage and does not walk around the presentation room.
• Does not talk in a very engaging and positive way something that creates a dull presentation.
• Does not exude confidence and poise when delivering a presentation.
• Uses old facts and figures when presenting as a result of not doing enough research.
• Gives long presentations and does little to get the attention of the audience.
• Does not use the visual aids to help deliver a powerful conversation.
• Does not know the audience well and uses hard words that they do not understand.
• Does not give audiences ample time to raise questions and to seek clarification if need be.
• Presents ideas in a non-logical manner that creates confusion to the audience.

Presentation Skills: Self Evaluation Questions

• Have you ever gone for presentation without preparing well? How did the presentation go?
• How frequently do you engage your audience during any presentation?
• What was the highest score or reviews you received for any presentation that you have made so far?
• Give an instance your presentation backfired and what was your backup plan?
• How do you normally conclude your presentations and how can you rate it?
• How well do you deal with questions and issues raised by the audience?
• When it comes to nervousness, how do you manage or deal with it before hand?
• How can you rate your experience level when it comes to giving presentations?
• What do you like or dislike most about giving presentations?
• What presentation method do you like and why do you like it?

These articles may interest you

Recent articles.

• Good Employee Performance Feedback: Senior Clinical Data Specialist
• Outstanding Employee Performance Feedback: Research Greenhouse Supervisor
• Poor Employee Performance Feedback: Tax Auditor
• Employee Engagement Ideas For Managers
• 20 Critical Decision-Making Interview Questions
• Employee Performance Goals Sample: Oracle/Sybase Database Administrator
• Poor Employee Performance Feedback: Claims Quality Assurance Auditor
• Good Employee Performance Feedback: Database Administration Manager
• Top 10 Employee Productivity Metrics Explained
• Good Employee Performance Feedback: Accounting Compliance Officer
• Outstanding Employee Performance Feedback: Auxiliary Engineer
• Employee Selection Definition, Formula And Examples
• Employee Performance Goals Sample: Quality Assurance Director
• Top Employee Performance Questions
• Poor Employee Performance Feedback: Forensic Accounting Manager

6 Ways You Can Evaluate Your Own Presentation

Hrideep barot.

• Body Language & Delivery , Presentation , Public Speaking

Naturally, giving a presentation is a skill that falls on the professional side of the spectrum. It involves a lot of formality along with practice to get good at it. 

But how do you decide what exactly it is that you need to work on? Read on to find out about six ways to evaluate your presentation skills.

Evaluating your presentation requires the ability to analyze your performance based on some very specific criteria related to delivery and content. More importantly, you must do it in an objective sense, without letting your self-bias come in the way.

Importance and benefits of evaluating your presentations yourself

Public speaking requires skills that are developed over time. Whether you’re a pro at it or a beginner, there is always room to grow because people have a varying set of abilities. 

Presentations are all about influence. You aim to create a dynamic with your audience so they buy into whatever it is that you’re trying to convey. 

And if you keep innovating your techniques and find your strength (which all comes with self-evaluating), you’ll essentially be enhancing your power to influence. 

In addition to that, it makes you a better presenter. The lack of being told what to do by someone else gives you a sense of self-confidence and patience. 

Additionally, you being a good presenter would mean more successful meetings, which in turn means you’d profit your business.

Basically, the better your presentation, the more likely are your chances to successfully fulfill your agenda. So grab a paper and a pen and embark upon your journey of getting better!

What criteria do I need to follow for evaluation?

Let’s address the skills we need for pulling off a good presentation.

Quality of content

• Engagement with audience
• Visual aids
• Focusing on strengths. 

Based on these categories, you need to form criteria to test yourself. Think of it like setting a frame of reference for yourself, placing yourself on a scale ranging between good and bad would help you track your progress. 

Following are the pointers you need to keep in mind while evaluating your presentation skills-

The two most things to keep in mind about structure is that you need to have a very intriguing start to your presentation, something that hooks the audience. (an anecdote, perhaps)

Secondly, make sure your ending is clear and in alignment with the purpose of the presentation. And include a call to action. For example, if your presentation is about mental health awareness, make sure one of your end slides has a comprehensive contact list of psychologists/therapists. 

Apart from that, the transitions between your pointers have to be smooth. Try adding segues (which is basically building context for your next point) In the previous example, a personal anecdote involving someone with depression can be a good segue to talk about the importance of mental health. 

If you’re new to structuring content or making presentations, here’s an article of ours that might help- The Ultimate Guide to Structuring a Speech

Delivery is everything. From gestures to hand movements, your body language must emphasize CONVEYING something. 

When you say something especially important, there must be some emphasis on part of your delivery. Like slowing your speech, or knocking the table, or repetition of the point, etc. 

There should be some sort of continuity to your narrative, the ‘flow’ must come naturally. This can be done using the smooth transition technique mentioned above. 

Adding a story-like quality to your speech might help. (having proper segregation between the beginning, middle, and end)

You cannot be providing generic content. Always remember, in presentations, quality surpasses quantity. 

Rambling about your topic on and on would not only bore your audience but also hinder the aforementioned flow and transitions that are so important. 

You need to make sure you’re adding something of value that is unique to you, and not general. You may refer to our article that might help further with this- Should a Presentation Have an Agenda?

Engagement with the audience

Your content must always be altered according to your audience. Knowing your audience is a very crucial step. You cannot say the same things in front of an MNC board meeting members as you would in front of a bunch of college students.

Knowing your audience helps you decide your content, flow, transition, practically everything. 

Also, engagement with the audience means the interaction that takes place between you and them. You need to appear approachable for them to talk to you. 

But at the same time, you need to prepare yourself in advance to be able to answer the questions that might come your way. A little prediction here and there can save you a lot of anxiety. 

Visual Aids

Visual aids during a presentation include everything from the design and arrangement of content in your presentation to your appearance. (But mostly the former)

Now when it comes to visual aids in a PPT, there is no better advice than the 5 by 5 rule.

The Powerpoint 5×5 slide rule states that-

a. Each of your slides should have no more than 5 lines.

b. Each of those lines should have no more than 5 words.

It ensures keeping your content crisp and to the point. A tip to apply this rule would be to not focus on including the main content in the ppt. Instead, write only pointers and elaborate on them yourself.

This way, you prevent your audience from getting too caught up in reading the slides hence getting distracted from you. 

How exactly do I evaluate my presentation?

Here are the six-pointers that will guide you through it step-by-step.

Identify patterns

Keeping in mind the above-mentioned pointers, start looking for what you’re doing wrong.

Is there something that you repetitively keep doing wrong? Maybe the topics you choose aren’t relevant, maybe you use too much text in slides, maybe you don’t captivate your audience by raising vocals, maybe you don’t move enough. 

There are always patterns. You need to develop attention to detail. 

Focus on the audience

Your audience engagement can make or break the deal. While you’re presenting, make sure you make eye contact with as many people as you can. And keep an eye out for people’s reactions. It helps you get real-time feedback. 

Now there’s a chance this might not work and you get distracted or disheartened. In which case, drop this tactic. Nothing is worth blowing your confidence down during the presentation. 

Take feedback

Part of the reward for good audience engagement is honest feedback. If people like your content but find your delivery a little off, if you engage well with them, they will be a little more open to bringing it to your attention.

Maybe to make it a little more certain, announce at the end that you’re open to constructive criticism. It also adds to the impression you make. People find people who are willing to admit their flaws, admirable. 

Make sure you maintain a record of your progress, right from making those criteria scales to your speeches through successive presentations. You could do it on paper or a device, whatever is more comfortable. 

Make notes about what you need to work on right after presentations, and tick them off when you do in the next ones. It brings along a sense of accomplishment. 

In reference to keeping track of practicing, you may check out our 13 Tips For Rehearsing A Presentation

Objective set of eyes

Ask a friend or a colleague to give you honest advice. Truth is, no matter what, your clients would always be skeptical of telling you what’s wrong. And there’s only so much you would criticize about yourself.

Asking someone you trust can help you get a fresh perspective on your progress since we get a little over in our heads sometimes. 

Use your strengths and weaknesses

After having acquainted yourself with this whole system of evaluation, it is no doubt you’d be very aware of your strong and weak points. It is a good thing. 

Honestly, there could always be some little things here and there that we cannot wrap our heads around, and that’s okay. Because we also have our strengths to cover up for them.

For example, you could be a little off with a smooth transition between subpoints, but if you drop a super-strong call to action, in the end, it gets compensated. 

And the best part is, only you can use them to your benefit since you’re the only one who knows about them!

Additionally, watching content related to your topic can be of massive help too. For example, if your speech is on mental health , then maybe watching a TEDTalk by a mental health professional can add on to the authenticity of your content.

To go that extra mile, you could also record yourself while giving the speech in front of a camera and review the recording to see where exactly you went wrong. Sometimes, watching your presentation from the audience’s perspective gives you a peak into what they see, and consequently, allows you to have a bigger impact on them.

Here’s a checklist to keep in mind while self-evaluating:

Print the checklist out for easy accessibility, mark yes or no after every presentation to keep track of your progress.

Practical Tools to use for self-evaluation

Feedback forms.

Feedback from your audience is important, as stated before. However, you can’t store all of the verbal feedback in your brain, let alone use it for self-evaluation later. Moreover, sometimes the audience might be vague with how they respond and that is unhelpful.

What you can do, instead, is devise a feedback form enlisting specific questions, the answers to which would be relevant for your purpose. This not only lifts the burden of remembering all you heard after presenting, but also eliminates unnecessary jargon from the audience.

Self-reflection

Self-reflection is the most important part of this process. Now, this does not only involve you going to the feedback forms but also reviewing specific areas that you need extra work on. You can make a categorized list or a scale of easily ‘fixable issues’ to issues that need relatively more practice and work.

If there is an issue that you don’t seem to be able to work around, another form of self-reflection you can do is record yourself. As mentioned before, use the camera and present as you would in the conference room. Looking at a tape of yourself after presenting(as opposed to while presenting in front of the mirror), can help you detect what’s wrong in a better way. Plus, it helps you check body language.

Presentation rubrics are one of the handiest tools you can use for evaluation. It is a specific set of criteria that sets qualitative standards for the things/skills you need to have in your presentation to qualify as a good one.

For example, For a college research paper, the categories of criteria would be creativity, research element, use of sources and references, innovative aspects, etc. These categories would then be assessed on a scale of good to excellent or 1 to 5 and be marked accordingly.

It provides a quantified version of assessment which helps tremendously to analyze where specifically, and how much do you need to work on.

Apart from this, if you’re a techno-savvy person who is not inclined to write with a journal to keep track or implicate any of the other tools, worry not! We happen to have just the thing to help you! In today’s technology and smart phone driven world where most things are online, we can do self-evaluation up there too!

Here is a detailed and comprehensive article about 34 Best Smartphone Apps for Presenters and Professional Speakers that will guide you through that process.

Well, with all these tools and techniques, you’re all set to begin your self-evaluation! Remember, different techniques work for different people. It’s all a matter of trial and error. Some patience and practice can take you a long way to become the presenter you aspire to be.

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

How to Negotiate: The Art of Getting What You Want

10 Hand Gestures That Will Make You More Confident and Efficient

Interrupted while Speaking: 8 Ways to Prevent and Manage Interruptions

• [email protected]
• +91 98203 57888

Get our latest tips and tricks in your inbox always

Copyright © 2023 Frantically Speaking All rights reserved

Kindly drop your contact details so that we can arrange call back

Select Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria AmericanSamoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Rwanda Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe land Islands Antarctica Bolivia, Plurinational State of Brunei Darussalam Cocos (Keeling) Islands Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cote d'Ivoire Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Guernsey Holy See (Vatican City State) Hong Kong Iran, Islamic Republic of Isle of Man Jersey Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Lao People's Democratic Republic Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Mozambique Palestinian Territory, Occupied Pitcairn Réunion Russia Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sao Tome and Principe Somalia Svalbard and Jan Mayen Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tanzania, United Republic of Timor-Leste Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S.