The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.
Thales of Miletus (624—546 BC)
Greek philosopher
You might think that an Evaluation Sheet is merely part of the logistical preparation. It is not! Evaluation is an integral part of the planning process. We recommend taking it seriously. The feedback of your participants is very valuable as it improves not only your future planning. From the feedback you receive you will be able to learn and to improve yourself. The quality of your events increases and your market value will rise.
Remember: Feedback is the breakfast for champions. Only by experience and constant improvement we rise to new levels.
Thus, again leading a workshop gives you the experience and knowledge to become a leader in other ares of life, too.
Three Areas of Evaluation
Usually, an Evaluation Sheet compromises three sections:
- Logistics such as accommodation, seminar room, food etc.
- Moderation and content
- Free area for comments
Logistics
Because people are constantly asked to give their opinion on services (hotels, restaurants, airlines etc.) and as the participants will be filling in the Evaluation Sheet just before going home, they will want to be quick. Thus, make it easy to understand and quick to fill in. This means structure it with very little text!
We recommend to take in few areas:
- accommodation (if applicable)
- food
- venue
- travel (if applicable)
- workshop organization
- pre-workshop communication
Moderation & Content
If you have several facilitators, it’s useful to separate the feedback for each one of them. This allows you to pass the feedback on to them and decide whom you will use for future events.
Choose what are important questions for you to get answered. You can also get inspired by the six balances in a group.
- Content vs. Process
- Workshop was too long vs. too short
- Moderator was too strict vs. no control
- etc.
Free Areas in a Evaluation Sheet
This is a must! On one hand you might have something out, which is important for the participants to express. On the other hand by free comments you often get the best ideas. To collate the free area for a report is more work (often it’s difficult to decipher the handwriting) but it’s worth it.
Branding
Like any other handout or workshop material also the evaluation sheet is yet another chance to brand yourself. Don’t miss it out! Use your logo, type it in your corporate font, have the right values for your color etc. It will be immediately recognizable as one of your papers, something coming from you.
Remember: branding works by repetition, the more the better.