Am I the only one who can't figure out why organizations put so much stock in "smiley sheets?" These are the sheets participants complete after they have attended a conference or a presentation. Here's what these sheets usually reveal. They indicate that the participants really can't wait to leave the conference, so they'll just check off whatever boxes they can so they can hit the road. What they don't do is measure how well the participant has assimilated the information or what they will do with this information, which is really the reason companies hire speakers.

That's why I'm proposing that you don't waste your time having audience members fill out these forms. For the sake of my nine-year old and your children, let's save the planet. Instead send out a follow-up e-mail a week after the program asking participants to share with you what specific actions they have taken since attending last week's session.

Be specific and ask the following:
 
1.  After last week's session, what changes have you made upon returning to your workplaces?
2.  Specifically, what (if any) thought have you given to the topic at hand?
3.  What, if anything, have you decided to do differently as a result of what you learned?
4.  Of the ideas we discussed, which ideas have you begun to implement? Which ideas will you implement within the next 30 days?

The feedback you receive from asking these types of questions is much more valuable than asking someone how engaging the speaker was. This approach will allow you follow up with participants and reinforce any learning. After all, wasn't the objective of bringing in an outside speaker to get people thinking about making some changes?

Roberta

Roberta Chinsky Matuson
President
Human Resource Solutions
413-582-1840
Roberta@yourhrexperts.com
www.yourhrexperts.com http://www.yourhrexperts.com

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