Best new idea: Get rid of speaker evaluation forms

I can't tell you how glad I was to read this post over on We Have Always Done It That Way. And not just because I'm in the process of laying out the program for our 2008 annual meeting, which, of course, includes a pull-out evaluation form.

Stop. Throw these forms away. Never use them again. Go back to the drawing board and ask again (or maybe for the first time?), WHY are you using these sheets? I am guessing that the standard answers are things like, we need to compare the quality of different speakers (or the same speaker over time), or we want to know if participants are satisfied with their experience.

Those are laudable goals, but are the happy sheets really getting you there?

A quick glance at past years' results confirms just what you'd expect: the scores always come out around 4 (on a 1-5 scale). If the feedback we're getting isn't useful, is there an alternative? And I'll make this point -- the evaluations are more than just satisfying to the organizer; the attendees expect to have significant input on the future direction of our meetings.

So there has to be something -- just, hopefully, something that's useful on our end.

For one thing, I'm planning to de-emphasize the 5-point scale scores and add more room for comments. I might even try a 3-point scale -- disappointed in the speaker, satisfied, and double-plus good. Really, does a 3.7 average tell you you've failed, while a 4.1 average tells you you've succeeded?

Tagged: Associations, Conferences, Meetings.