Comments on: Measuring success in presentations

By: simon

simon — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:14:31 +0000

All good measures Terry - though I’d be very (very!) seriously worried if I ever gave a presentation and these things weren’t happening!

Part of the problem lies, obvisously, in the fact that the presentations can have been a barnstorming sucess at the time but not in the longer term - and that can be for dozens of reasons which aren’t in my control.

By: Terry Gault

Terry Gault — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:28:34 +0000

Simon,

I myself was asked this question recently.

There are a number of metrics I use to determine if it was a success.

While not exactly scientific, most important of all is my basic gut feeling.

Nonetheless, here are some other indicators I use:

The audiences was engaged - giving strong eye contact, taking notes, nodding/smiling/laughing, asking meaningful questions, listening intently, (not playing with their blackberries), the energy in the room was high (which is dictated by my own level of passion and enthusiasm), people approach me afterwards to ask questions or share their experiences.

These are indicators that my talk/presentation was a success.

Thanks for the post!

By: Simon

Simon — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:53:57 +0000

Hi John - fair point: I guess I was thinking in terms of my time in theatres when I was writing about the type of the silence.

By: John

John — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:44:33 +0000

Very much agreed that applause shouldn’t be the measure - nor even the pause before applause, as outside of the theater that is often a bit of an awkward moment - even a poorly received presentation is sometimes applauded out of good manners.