How to Get Truthful Feedback About your Event

Once your event comes to an end, it is time to reflect. Did you reach your goals? Did you come up short in key areas? Are you unsure of whether or not your event was truly a success?

While you can attempt to answer all these questions on your own, there is a better idea to consider: ask your audience for feedback.

Attendee feedback is important for a number of reasons:

• Helps you see what you did right and wrong
• Allows you to adjust your approach accordingly in the future
• Gives you a chance to connect with attendees one last time

With so many benefits, it is important for you to get as much feedback as possible. But before you go around calling people on the phone, asking for feedback, here is the one key word to consider: truthful.

If you ask somebody to their face (or via telephone) what they thought of your event, there is a good chance they will lie. After all, they don’t want to hurt your feelings. This type of feedback doesn’t do you any good. What you really want is truthful feedback.

Here is the best way to get the truth from your attendees:

1. Offer an incentive. You want to give people a reason to provide feedback. For example, you could offer a discount on a future event for completing a short survey.
2. Send out a survey that will remain anonymous. This is the best thing you can do, as it means you will not be directly communicating with your audience. Best yet, you are guaranteeing that you will not know who provided the answers. This is as simple as using free online survey software. Not only is it fast and efficient to send out the survey, but it is just as easy to receive and compare the results.

3. Ask the right questions. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not thinking about the questions you ask. You need to drill down deep, ensuring that the responses you receive are as truthful, targeted, and detailed as possible.

For example, there is a big difference between:

• What was your overall impression of the event?
• What was your overall impression of the way day two activities were managed and operated?

Detailed questions lead to detailed, accurate, and truthful answers.

Don’t let anybody tell you that obtaining truthful feedback is impossible. If you follow the advice above, you will find yourself on the right track. Once you have all the feedback you need, you can properly assess your event and adjust accordingly for the future.