Professional Business Speaker Traits
A Professional in any arena is one who learns to embrace feedback. A professional business speaker must seek it and yearn for it. I believe the “ball and chain” that impedes our desire to learn from others is our ego. This is our number one enemy—our own EGO! A professional business speaker once told me that he only listens to the feedback of a fellow professional speaker. And I replied sadly, “I’m sorry to hear that.” I responded that way because when it comes to getting some worthwhile information after giving a speech or a training session, some of the best and most practical input you can ever receive is right there on the feedback sheets. And a lot of people don’t even read them. Why? I think it’s that ego. I once attended a three-day training session in San Diego. Overall, it was quite impressive, but at the end of the third day, a participant in the class asked the instructor whether we would have a chance to evaluate the past three days. The business speaker answered, “No, I don’t believe in evaluations or feedback because I think most times only negative things are said, and I’d rather not hear it.” I was slapped by her response and a little insulted. Did she not even care about our experience? I realized that so many of the things that had upset people probably could have been avoided had that conference keynote speaker paid attention to feedback from prior training sessions. So why no feedback? That infernal ego? I will say that you should not take to heart every criticism as a professional business speaker.
There are some people who honestly do not think that they’re properly filling out an speaker’s evaluation sheet unless they throw in some insults, jabs, or caustic responses. It’s helpful (and sometimes comforting) to be aware of that. I suggest you view feedback much like Olympic scoring. With events like figure skating, scorers throw out the high marks and the low marks, and then average the rest.
So, when you read a speakers evaluation form that says:“You are a Professional speaking God!” –as much as you may enjoy hearing something like that—you have to throw it out. Thankfully, if the next person scribes, “You are a Professional speaking Devil!” –you can throw that out, too. With the high and low thrown out, you can pretty much accept the rest of the comments, and hopefully learn from the feedback.
If someone wants great advice, listen to your spouse. Nobody knows you any better, loves you any more, wants to see you succeed more, and who will be more honest.
—Lou Holtz
Tags: conference keynote speaker, corporate motivational speaker, inspirational business speaker, keynote business speaker, Professional Business Speaker