Feedback JourneyHow do you know if a workshop was worth it?
You know a workshop was worth it when participants say it was relevant to their work, and you can compare their answers from one session to the next. Applause shows the session was enjoyable. Scores on relevance, collected before people leave, show whether it was useful. Ask four fixed questions, then act on the lowest score.
In the video, André, a leadership trainer, ends a course to laughter and applause. It feels like a success. Then he asks the participants for honest numbers, and the results tell a more careful story.
Why is applause a poor measure of a workshop?
Applause measures the moment and the performer, not what participants take away. A funny, energetic trainer gets laughter and clapping even when the content does not fit the room. Social pressure helps, because it is awkward to sit still while everyone else claps.
A session can be engaging and still miss. People enjoy it, then go back to work and use none of it. The two things need separate questions, because one does not predict the other.
What should you measure after a workshop?
Score four things. They are subject knowledge, how engaging the session was, how relevant it was, and overall satisfaction. These are the four categories in Feedback Journey’s Workshops and courses survey, which is made for meetings that last from a couple of hours to a couple of days.
| Category | What it asks |
|---|---|
| Subject knowledge | How strong the facilitator’s knowledge of the subject was, whether the content was easy to understand, and whether questions could be answered. |
| Engaging | Whether the content was presented in an engaging way, whether participants could take part, and how they experienced the learning process. |
| Relevance | How relevant and useful the content was to the participant’s needs, compared with what was expected, and whether the information was up to date. |
| Satisfaction | How satisfied the participant was overall, and whether the course or workshop met their expectations. |
Each question is scored from 0 to 10, where 0 means the responder does not know, and there is a text field for a comment. In a short workshop, the facilitator has little chance to build a relationship with each participant. The questions therefore focus on the presentation and the content, not on the working environment.
When should you ask for feedback after a workshop?
Ask before people leave, while the session is fresh. In Feedback Journey, you can share a link that lets participants answer anonymously. This is especially useful for workshop surveys, because you collect the feedback right after the workshop ends.
Participants can answer without giving their name, which makes a candid 7 easier than a polite 9. In the video, André asks them to use the link before they leave. His line is, “Give me honest numbers. A seven teaches me more than applause.”
What does it mean when Engaging is high and Relevance is low?
It means the session entertained but did not connect to what participants need. In the video’s example, Engaging scores 9 and Relevance scores 7. Nothing is wrong with the delivery. The content did not match the participants’ own work closely enough.
A gap like this is easy to miss with applause alone, and easy to see with a score for each category. The lowest category is where the next change belongs. The results card in the video is a drawn example, labelled “Example”. The numbers are illustrations, not real results.
How do you turn a low Relevance score into a goal?
Create an improvement goal from the survey, choose Relevance, and write a plan you can run at the next course. In Feedback Journey, an improvement goal starts from a completed survey. You name the goal, pick the categories to improve, set an end date and write the starting situation and an execution plan.
André names his goal “More relevant courses” and chooses Relevance. His plan has three lines. He will send a question before the course, give shorter talks and leave more time for the participants’ own cases.
New surveys then track development in the category you chose. When the goal ends, you judge whether it worked. In the video, the next course scores 8 on Relevance.
Results from several courses can also be collected in a Journey Card, which you can show to new clients. The card is built from surveys of one type, so a card for courses shows the four course categories. To see why a card works as proof, read how to win a client who has never met you.
How do you compare one course with the next?
Keep the four questions the same, and look at each category on its own. An average across all four hides the gap between Engaging and Relevance. If Relevance is 7.0 at one course and 7.8 at the next, something you changed made a difference. If the questions changed in between, you cannot tell.
Note how many participants answered, too. Eighteen answers from a room of twenty say more than six answers from a room of fifty. Write down what you changed between the two courses, next to the scores. In a year, the list of changes and the scores together show you what worked.
What should a workshop feedback form not ask?
- “Did you enjoy it?” Enjoyment is the easy part, and it hides the gaps.
- Too many questions. People are tired at the end of a session. Four fixed questions and one comment box are enough.
- Questions that change every time. You cannot compare courses if the questions differ.
- Questions that reward applause. Ask about relevance and use, not about performance.
Honest numbers need honest scoring. Read why perfect client scores teach you nothing for how to get them.
What happens in the video?
The video is under a minute long. The text on screen tells the story, so it works without sound. The people in it are fictional, and the video is AI-generated. Here it is as text, in the order it plays.
- Title card. “What does applause tell you?” André, a leadership trainer, is introduced.
- Laughter and applause. On screen, “Laughter and applause. A great course?” André stands in front of a class that laughs and applauds.
- A shared link. On screen, “A shared link, before they leave.” André asks the participants to answer before they go. He says, “Give me honest numbers. A seven teaches me more than applause.”
- Engaging 9, Relevance 7. On screen, “Engaging 9, but Relevance 7.” An example results card, labelled “Example”, shows Workshops and courses, with Subject knowledge 8.6, Engaging 9.0, Relevance 7.0 and Satisfaction 8.2, from 18 answers.
- The goal. An example goal card, labelled “Example”, shows an improvement goal named “More relevant courses”, in the category Relevance. The plan has three lines. Send a question before the course. Shorter talks. More time on their own cases.
- From applause to a plan. An infographic shows three steps. A shared link, answered before they leave. Four scores, not just applause, on Subject knowledge, Engaging, Relevance and Satisfaction. A goal in Relevance, tracked in new surveys.
- The next course. On screen, “Next course: Relevance 8.” André listens to participants who work on their own cases.
- End card. “Ask for honest numbers. Then act on them.” The card shows feedbackjourney.com and the note “AI-generated. Fictional characters.”
Frequently asked questions
Try it with your next client
Create your first client survey in the Feedback Journey app, or read more guides on collecting honest feedback.