Page 24 - Voices April 2018

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Feedback: Getting

It Just Right

James Wantz, DTM

D7 Public Relations Manager

Harsh feedback killed my first club. After every evaluation. “I think you had it in your back
speaker we criticized every part of the speech. pocket and pulled it out at the last minute to
We believed that harsh feedback helped people present. You did not prepare.”
become better speakers. We ripped apart each I thought I did a good job. My mentor was
and every project. Table Topics evaluations aghast.

were just as bad. We had huge turnover in “What do you think you are doing? This is
membership; guests often didn’t come back. The not your club. That doesn’t work out here.”
club is no more. The next evaluator showed me exactly how
No one likes harsh nd dispiriting feedback, yet poor my evaluation skills were. She opened my
it is everywhere around us: work, family, and even eyes to caring and constructive feedback. I knew
in Toastmasters. But if asked, no one will admit I was at fault—and truth be told—I never liked
that they give harsh and dispiriting feedback. the way my club handled feedback. It was mean.
Well, I’m guilty. At my first Area Contest, I gave The only reason I’d renewed membership was
the target speaker mean and uncaring feedback. so I could compete. Once the contests were over,

“You were clearly unprepared to give I never went back.
your speech,” I said at the beginning of my I know that the harsh feedback I’ve given
others turned them off to Toastmasters. I
know that members didn’t join because of the

feedback. A friend in a different club told me
about a conversation she’d had with a guest that
recently came to my club.
“Yeah, I won’t go back there again. They are—
I don’t like how they give feedback. It’s
too critical. I’d feel terrible if I got that

feedback after giving a speech. I get too
much of that at work. I’ll find a nicer club
to join.”
This is the part of the article where I tell you

that I saw the light, vowed never to drive people

24 ONE COMMUNITY