It’s something I should have done a long time ago, but I confess I never have. What is it? Ask my clients to evaluate my services after I’ve written a speech for them. I know it’s the right thing to do in an uber-competitive, consumer-driven, customer-feedback world. And I know it’s the professional thing to do in terms of good customer relations management and service improvement. But, in truth, I’m dreading it.
I’m trying to figure out why. Maybe it has to with that primal sense of shame we all carry – you know, the one that makes us feel guilty in the presence of a police officer, even when we’ve done nothing wrong. The conviction (no pun intended) that if we were ever to take a lie-detector test, we’d fail.
My mother remembers a skit from the old “Sid Caesar Show,” in which Howie Morris is the attorney for Sid Caesar, who’s in court for a traffic ticket. Morris encourages Caesar to let him fight the ticket and Caesar agrees. But Morris is such a bumbling, incompetent attorney that in the end Caesar is sent to the electric chair. This would happen to me.
But I digress.
In constructing my evaluation form, I’m looking to my speechwriter friends in the blogosphere to give me some advice. What are the questions I should ask? Where in the process should I solicit comments? Right after the speech has been delivered?
Thanks so much for your help.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Cindy - I would say deliver a questionnaire via email 3-7 days after the speech was delivered. I would probably limit the number of questions to 5 or 6 and focus on the following:
- Were you satisfied with the quality and frequency of my communication?
- Did you feel we maintained a good balance in our partnership on this work? (In other words, you didn’t steamroll them, nor did they have to provide everything for you)
- Did I contribute elements that were unexpected but valuable?
- Did you feel our styles complimented each other? (Maybe you should give them a 1-5 scale to rank a question like this)
- Did you feel I was respectful of your time?
- In future projects, would you be interested in presentation coaching as well as speechwriting? (Assuming you didn’t already offer this to them)
- Did working with me make you feel more comfortable or confident in this presentation?
- In your mind, what was the most valuable contribution I made to this project?
- What could I contribute in our next project that would make the experience even more pleasant and productive for you?
Okay, I know this is more than 5 or 6 questions. Let us know what you end up with!
I agree with Allison that a short e-mail questionaire a few days after the speech was given would probably be the best time. She sugested some excellent questions, too. I’d go with Yes, No, and Somewhat check boxes, followed by blank lines for comments. I intensely dislike the scaled ranking questions on a lot of evaluation surveys.
Hi Cindy — I agree that a reality check is always excellent. Sometimes I just send a short, informal email asking the speaker to comment on their experience overall — keeping it open-ended. But usually, I talk to the speaker face-to-face (or on the phone) after gathering some audience feedback — makes it more personal. A lot of execs I work for send a text message to me (or talk to me) right after the speech. But if you send a questionnaire, you may want to add the questions: Do you think this was a strong venue for you? Were you comfortable with the subject matter?