Giving Effective Feedback

Whether in your communication class, at work, or as a favor to a friend, you may be asked to give oral or written feedback on other people’s presentations. Actively listening to and evaluating other speakers will help you improve your own public-speaking skills. But what should you listen for? Consider the checklist of elements regarding effective speech structure, content, and delivery in Figure 15.1. These elements will help you give useful feedback while evaluating someone else’s speech, as well as receive and use feedback from others on your own speeches.

Feedback is most useful when it’s delivered soon after a rehearsal or the actual presentation and is specific—whether it’s praise or criticism. Examples of useful feedback would include comments like “You maintained good eye contact with everyone in the audience” or “I would have been able to follow your ideas more easily if you had half the number of slides.” When providing feedback to others, keep the following guidelines in mind:

  1. Make sure the recipient is ready to hear what you have to say. Timing is everything when giving feedback. If a speaker has just finished a presentation (whether a rehearsal or real), the person may need a few minutes to collect his or her thoughts or take care of physical needs (e.g., getting a glass of water) before listening to what you have to say.
  2. Start with positive comments. Find something good to say in order to create some rapport with the speaker. This lays the groundwork for any constructive criticism that may follow.
  3. Use descriptive language. Abstract language creates misunderstanding (“You did a great job!”). It is usually best to point out specific things you saw and heard (“The story in your opener had vivid images that helped me see the people you were describing”). Although it’s not easy to do, you will often need to point out problems with a speech to help the speaker improve. You’ll especially want to use descriptive language when offering any constructive criticism (“You were pacing back and forth and it was distracting” or “I didn’t hear a preview of your main points”).
  4. Don’t overload the person with information. People have a limit on how much they can process at a given time. Pick out the two or three things that are most important to say, and leave it at that.
  5. End on a positive note. It’s important to leave on good terms with the person. Find something to say that gives hope or encouragement.