Giving Presentation Feedback as a Manager - Build with Maggie Crowley Recap

Podcast: Build with Maggie Crowley

Published: 2023-01-03

Duration: 15 min

Summary

Maggie Crowley shares her approach to giving feedback on big presentations as a manager, focusing on detailed analysis and coaching rather than micromanaging.

What Happened

Maggie Crowley revisits her advice on creating great presentations, this time focusing on how managers can effectively provide feedback. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the impact of a big presentation on a team's work and perception. Crowley outlines her step-by-step process, starting with thoroughly listening to or reading the entire presentation before giving feedback. She breaks down key categories to evaluate, including the presentation's goal, audience, clarity, organization, pacing, evidence, and logic.

Crowley advises managers to decide if feedback is necessary or if it's better to let the presenter receive feedback from another source. She stresses the importance of coaching by showing rather than telling, and to avoid dropping random comments without context. For more fundamental feedback, she suggests making a copy of the presentation and demonstrating changes directly.

The episode delves into the nuances of giving stylistic feedback, noting the potential for bias and the need for high trust when addressing presentation styles. Crowley warns managers against imposing their style on team members and emphasizes the importance of focusing on the message and content. She also highlights the importance of recognizing when presentations are good enough and when detailed feedback is unnecessary.

Crowley discusses the significance of aligning feedback with the presenter's goals and the presentation's context, ensuring that feedback contributes positively. She encourages managers to use video walkthroughs to provide comprehensive feedback, offering clear examples and explanations. The episode concludes with a reminder to keep ego out of feedback, focusing instead on supporting the team to shine.

Throughout the episode, Crowley stresses the value of helping teams succeed through thoughtful and strategic feedback. She encourages listeners to share their own strategies and tips for providing effective presentation feedback.

Key Insights

• Managers should evaluate a presentation based on its goal, audience, clarity, organization, pacing, evidence, and logic before providing feedback.
• When giving stylistic feedback on presentations, managers should be aware of potential bias and focus on the message rather than imposing their personal style.
• Using video walkthroughs to provide feedback can offer clear examples and explanations, aligning feedback with the presenter's goals and context.
• Recognizing when a presentation is 'good enough' is crucial, as not all presentations require detailed feedback, allowing teams to focus on their core work.