7 Questions to Help with Presentation Feedback

If you want to convey information about a particular topic, then one of the best methods would be through a proper presentation. A presentation gives one the opportunity to include details that will allow people to know more about a topic. A presenter may even share information that audiences might not have even heard about.

However, it is also important that one evaluates these presentations to see if all the information within it is accurate. This is very important as there may be some presenters that were not able to do proper research and may include false information. So it’s very important to provide presenters with feedback regarding how well they were able to inform others about a topic and to tell them any issues .

How to Give Constructive Feedback for Presentations

Follow these steps to ensure that the presenter knows what he or she did right and wrong:

• Phrase whatever criticism you have positively. The aim of feedback is not to put someone down, rather it’s to help that person improve. So be sure that whatever you say only has the intention to help that person. If the presenter did something well, then point it out, if that person did something wrong, then tell that person in a respectful and professional manner.

• Be clear and concise with what you have to say. It will not help if you’re being vague during an evaluation. Point out specific details of the presentation that have either impressed you, or ones you think the presenter should have worked on. So if a presenter has a problem with the PowerPoint presentation, then point out the particulars of the PowerPoint such as the slides, font, or the information it contains.

• Provide feedback regarding the behavior of the presenter. If there are mannerisms that you think the presenter should change, then state it in a way that points it out properly. With proper feedback, you can show the presenter what things he or she needs to change that could help benefit the presentation. A good example would be telling the presenter that a certain outline wasn’t clear enough due to the structure of the presentation being all jumbled.

• Be tough, but not mean when there are mistakes. If you are going to point out the problems of a presentation, make sure you are doing it in a way that doesn’t seem like you are putting the presenter down. If it’s a big problem, then do not be afraid to be clear as to what the problem is, but do in a manner that the presenter understands what the problem is without feeling uncomfortable. It’s also very important that after providing negative feedback, the evaluator must also make suggestions and advice that the presenter can use to solve these problems.

Questions That Will Aid in Post Presentation Feedback

If you’re going to provide feedback on a presentation, then these are the questions that need to be answered for you to be able to tell the presenter how he or she was able to perform:

• Did the presenter run out of time? If the presenter was able to present everything within the time limit, then you take a look at how he or she was able to do so. You will need to see if there was any extra time left, or if the presenter went beyond the agreed time to present a certain topic.

• If the presenter did a PowerPoint presentation, where there any mistakes in the slide contents? This is very important as slides are visual aids that can help one go into detail into a topic by presenting images and information. It could  have had the wrong images or certain information may not be related to the topic at all

• Was the text readable or not? You will need to provide feedback based on how the audience was able to read the text on the visual aids provided by the presenter. If the text is too small, then the audience won’t be able to read it, and there might be important information within the text the presenter might not have mentioned during the discussion.

• Were there any questions that the presenter was not able to answer? This is very important as it will tell you whether or not the presenter was able to properly research whatever was supposed to be presented. During an evaluation, it is always important to test the knowledge of the presenter as it will tell you if the presenter has any knowledge of the topic or if he or she just took whatever she found and claims to have done research.

• Did the presenter follow a proper structure? A presentation should always start with a proper introduction of the topic, followed by information that involves the topic, then finally the conclusion. Some audience members might give complaints regarding how the presenter was able to showcase the topic. So if you think that the structure of the presentation is all jumbled up, then point it out in your feedback.

• Was the presenter well prepared for the presentation? It is always best do an assessment as to whether or not the presenter was able to show that he or she had made all the necessary preparations for a topic that he or she wishes to discuss to an audience. You will need to determine if the presenter was able to clearly talk about the topic, if the structure was well thought out, if additional information was placed in and much more.

• See if the presenter was able to get the point of the topic across. This is the most important question that needs to be answered because there is always a particular reason as to why a topic is presented.  If the presenter was able to make the message clear as to why the topic is important or why the topic is being presented, then one can give that person positive remarks.

If you plan on evaluating presentations, then feel free to make use of documents such as presentation forms in PDF that are available here in which you may print out and utilize.