Most presentation feedback is useless. “Thank you for your excellent presentation. I very much enjoyed it.” This really is not the critical review you hoped it would be. Feedback needs to be actively sought, shared in the spirit of improvement and as part of a conversation. Vague, polite platitudes unsolicitedly offered and based on what the listener felt are useless when it comes to development of presentation skills.
Feedback is a big topic. A great review is here at St Emlyn’s. All feedback should be pre-planned and requested. There is never a place for approaching a presenter with a loaded weapon in the coffee break, “Can I give you some feedback on that?” Effective feedback comes from a confederate. The hot debrief happens soon after the presentation. It captures the feeling, impressions and the moment. It is supportive and not an in-depth analysis, but perhaps a simple question, “What landed?” The detail will be examined later in the cold debrief, in a safe space, again with permission and as part of a conversation.
There is value in a feedback conversation having a relatable structure. The p³ model offers precisely that. Starting with p₁, could you identify the message? Was it appropriate for this audience? Did it flow? Did the p₂ add to the message? Was it supportive or distracting? Did you discern a theme? Lastly, consider the delivery, p₃. Were you engaged, or did you have to focus on the speaker? Was the speaker present or distracted by the media? Did the speech seem relatable, intentional or forced and unnatural? Did the presentation finish on time? This is not about criticism or judging performance, but discussing observations, understanding the rationale and offering reflection. “I saw you used a data table from the journal. I was confused by that and lost concentration. Could you improve on that?“
Skills don’t improve from silence, platitudes or criticism. They grow from conversation, understanding and reflection. There are multiple approaches, but advocacy with enquiry offers answers from curiosity. Development of presentation skills involves understanding that it is a journey, sometimes with decisions that wouldn’t be repeated and offering new ideas for improvement. Such feedback is never useless.