How to evaluate your event

Events are usually not organized in isolation. They are something that is organized with a purpose. The result of an event usually has an impact on what comes next:

• An event for your customers is intended to make them happier or more convinced of what you have to offer and so make them buy more;
• An event for your staff is intended to make them more motivated, to align their thoughts and actions with the company’s goals.

Evaluate your event with the future in mind

So when you want to evaluate your event, ask yourself “What information serves my purpose?”, and “What information do I need to support what comes next?”

You cannot change the past, so it’s better to make an evaluation with the future in mind, i.e. focusing on what comes next. A voting system perfectly serves that purpose. It can even have a motivating and mobilizing effect on your audience.

If your question does not help you to achieve the bigger goal after the event then you should really ask yourself whether it is worth asking the question at all.

So next time you plan to add an evaluation round at the end of an event, think about how you can make the evaluation serve your bigger purpose.