Why Attendee Feedback is Important

For most of us, accepting our own mistakes and handling criticism are the two major weaknesses that keep holding us back and breaking us down. That feeling when you spend sleepless nights working on something, and people just manage to look past all that and say, “Well, it could’ve been better, you know…”, you thought all along that you did your best but they don’t think it meets expectations and suddenly, your competence is the biggest question mark on your forehead. Remarks like those have the ability to drag your self-confidence and bury it, if not dealt with wisely.

Yes, there is a positive way of handling that. You, as an event planner, dedicate all your life to make someone else’s evening special. So, your proficiency will be measured by the satisfaction of your attendees. If you aren’t up for healthy criticism, my friend, you’ll be spending most of your nights with an Old friend — the Monk.

To start with, there are two primary reasons why you should have attendees giving their feedbacks after an event,

1. So that you know what improvements can be done the next time, and
2. To show your attendees that you are approachable, and that you respect their inputs.

The above two points are analogous to the two sides of a coin — one for you, one for your attendees, and the next three will tell you exactly how the feedback from your attendees can power your event:

1. TRUST: When you ask for feedback from your audience, they feel valued. And when they honor you by responding to your request, a deeper relationship based on respect and trust brews between you and your attendees. It is this kind of a relationship that makes an attendee a regular for your future events, too.
2. CREATIVITY: Getting opinions from your attendees will tell you about the grass on the other side. These perspectives can help you break out of the pattern you’ve been following and try something new and creative. Once you break barriers through communication, it’s easier to have an inflow of different productive ideas.
3. GROWTH: Similarities bring people together, differences help them grow. You can only learn new things if you challenge what’s old, what’s being said. Difference in opinions often leads to situations where the solutions are disguised as “eureka!” moments. What is the fusion of matter and anti-matter but the greatest source of energy!

Simply having a Feedback form on your page won’t help unless you are actually analyzing what your attendees have to say. Also, don’t forget a Thank You e-card, you don’t want them feeling their opinions aren’t valued.