Have you ever:
- Been told that you are great?
- Seen a customer review for a product that is great?
- Read marketing copy for a product that is great?
What does the word great tell you? Absolutely nothing!
You need to know what was great. What exactly is it that makes the product great?
As an example, the iPhone is great. It is great because it gives you a usable online experience in the palm of your hand. It is great because it combines a real music player with a phone. It is great because it has GPS.
What makes it great is key. In addition though, you need to know more. Specifically you need to know why. Why do these attributes make the product great?
Having an online experience in the palm of your hand is great because having the web at your fingertips wherever you go allows you to do things you couldn’t do before. You can comparison shop online to see if the store price is competitive. Having a real music player combined with a phone is great because you can carry one less device. Having GPS on your phone means that you can find nearby stores with ease, no matter where you are.
The combination of what and why makes for great feedback. Why is it great? Because it gives you specific information about what exactly makes something great and the reason behind it. This allows other people to judge for themselves if it is great for them.
In the area of speech evaluations, you will hear the word great, or one of its synonyms used a lot.
Your speech was great. Your gestures were great. I loved your vocal variety. I liked your movement.
At best, you figure you did something good. This type of evaluation tells you nothing. These are evaluation filler words. They provide no value.
As an evaluator, avoid using this word and its empty cousins. When you do find yourself using it, explain the what and the why:
You had great vocal variety. What was great about it? How you changed the pitch and volume when you changed characters in the story. Why was this vocal variety great? Because it allowed me to differentiate the different characters and enjoy the story more.
When you give feedback in any environment, focus on what was great (or not so great), and why. This gives the recipient something to work with rather than an empty feeling.
When you are a General Evaluator for a Toastmasters meeting, note whether the evaluators in your evaluation team use great without following it up with the what and the why.
Posted under Toastmasters
This post was written by john on September 3, 2008
