When I repeat the same mistake a thousand times, I’ve perfected my mistake. It will make me the most fluent, elegant, and well-prepared mistake-maker imaginable. But ultimately, I’ll still get it wrong.
“Practice makes perfect.” That’s what my parents, teachers, coaches, and everyone else in a guiding or coaching position told me for years. And they’re not wrong. But it’s not just practice. To get better, repeating the same thing over and over again isn’t enough. You need to be told and understand what’s going well and what needs improvement. Only then will you be able to become perfect (or as close as possible).
Let’s be honest
We need to be brutally honest with ourselves: the feedback culture in WordCamps is miles behind our code. Every piece of code is reviewed at least once before it’s merged into the core of WordPress. But somehow, we haven’t been able to translate this mindset to our events. And more specifically, to the sessions at our events.
WordPress is a welcoming and friendly environment
Generally speaking, I’d consider the WordPress community a diverse group of people who strongly believe in building a safe, friendly, and open community. And while we’re not quite there yet, I’m convinced we’re miles ahead of the rest of the world regarding diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
Again, generally speaking, as a community, we’re pretty good at being open and friendly, and we’re pretty good at avoiding conflict. Maybe even a little too good.
Are we celebrating the wrong thing?
In WordPress, we typically celebrate the fact that someone has the guts to get up on that stage. We celebrate the effort they put into their presentation. Even if a WordCamp offers a space to leave feedback on a session, they’re hardly ever filled out by attendees. When they are, the input is oftentimes not forwarded to the speaker, and that’s a problem in itself. So, the average WordCamp speaker will only hear praise from the audience.
Providing feedback is the kind thing to do
Of course, when you walk off-stage after your presentation, you don’t want to hear all the things that could have been better. For most people, that’s not the time or place to hear their English isn’t good enough or that they’re uhm-ing all the time. But not providing that feedback at all robs the speaker of the opportunity to learn, grow, and become the best version of themselves.
Giving constructive feedback is not harsh or unfriendly. It’s not creating a tense or even hostile environment. And it’s not punishing new speakers. It’s, in fact, providing the speaker with an opportunity to learn and reflect on how they were perceived, what parts went well, and where they can improve. Giving them this chance is the kind thing to do.
It’s not a competition or school
Some conferences take this to the extreme. They’ll score your performance, and you’re not allowed back on stage if you’re not making the mark. While that is a way to increase the overall quality of presentations, I don’t think we should do that in WordCamps. We should not aim to punish those who are not the best; we should encourage everyone to become better.
No one’s handing out A+ or detention slips. No one’s going to exile you for saying ‘um’. But if we never say it aloud, how will you know what to work on? It’s not school, it’s not a competition, and you can’t “win” a WordCamp. It’s about helping you improve yourself.
Giving feedback
The practical side of facilitating feedback is on the event organizer. They need to set up a (better) way to gather feedback about the sessions, invite the event’s attendees to provide that feedback, process the results, and finally, give those results to their speakers.
And then there’s a burden on all of us, the WordPress community. Next to celebrating the fact that someone got on a stage. We should celebrate their growth as public speakers. That starts with someone getting on a stage for the first time. That’s a huge accomplishment, and it’s worth celebrating. It’s also the perfect time to introduce the feedback loop to help them be even better the next time.
It’s no secret that giving good, valuable feedback isn’t easy. Online, you can find a gazillion courses on providing feedback and at least an equal number of blog articles on the topic, like “Receiving and Giving Effective Feedback”, “Nine Tips for Giving Better Feedback at Work”, and “The Role of Feedback in Improving Public Speaking Training Skills.” That too is a skill you need to develop.
So next time you’re invited to give feedback on a session you attended, please carve out some time to really put the effort in. What can you tell them to help them be even better next time? It’ll be much appreciated!
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