Evaluation Comments by Participants / Audience Members
What do people really think about a speaker? Thank you notes from clients are appreciated and give part of the picture.
But I’ve always thought that one of the best performance measures are the anonymous comments people make on evaluations. They’re honest, spontaneous, and immediate. By reading or even just skimming these, we can get the answer to some of the most important questions to ask about a speaker, which include:
- OK, the speech was good, but was the information valuable?
- Do people talk about the usability of the content?
- Do they sound motivated to use it?
- Did people feel this will help them do their job better?
- Was the presentation and examples used tailored and relevant to this audience?
- How skillfully was the information taught? Do people comment on teaching ability? On the learning experience?
- What did it feel like to sit in the seats and listen to this person? What were the pacing, the energy level, and the atmosphere?
- If there was humor, was it just to be funny, or did it help people learn?
- Were there handouts? What was their value to people?
- Does it look like it was good presentation of the “same old thing” or whether it was insightful, creative, or challenging?
- Would they want to hear this speaker again?
Please keep these questions in mind as you click below on a few of the sample organizations listed below. These are just some of the comments from evaluations on file…
National PTA Annual Conference
- The best of the whole show!
- Best I’ve attended at National.
- This is the best workshop I have ever been to. Every thing he told us was valuable.
- Best speaker!! Outstanding!!
- This was absolutely one of the best, probably the very best presentation I have ever seen. Everyone needs to see this.
- Excellent presenter! Information is immediately useful.
- One of the best workshops in all the PTA conventions I’ve attended. Practical stuff I can apply! Way to go!
- The best workshop I have ever attended. It gave me lots of “tools” to use.
- Terrific. Probably the best I heard.
- Probably the best workshop I’ve ever attended at any level. Full of practical, easy advice!
- This was one of the best and most helpful things from the entire conference.
- What in the world could I offer that would improve this??? Thanks—look forward to using some new techniques!
- He was absolutely terrific!
- Five stars.
National Staff Development Council
- I have attended many conferences and sessions — This session was unique. Congratulations on your creativity, resourcefulness and useful ideas/strategies.
- Powerful, exciting, “thumbs up!” I’ve been to entire conferences and not received as much useable information in three days as I did in these three hours. Thank you!
- Invigorating; the energy level was extraordinary. Michael commanded attention with his vitality and related concepts to practice. I came away with many energized ideas!
- Invigorating, insightful, practical; this session provides information that will directly impact classrooms and teachers; great potential for reaching the reluctant learners — the faction we all struggle with. Super!
- I learned many practical things that are immediately applicable; extremely entertaining!
- Excellent presentation – so many useful ideas! The presenter was high energy and very motivating. I loved it!
- Exhilarating, practical ideas; this workshop will give you ideas that can be used immediately to make a classroom come alive for all students. Don’t miss this one!
- Excellent educator!
- Dynamic! Practical! (If a movie review), more than four stars. Great info even for experienced teachers – new approach.
- Immediately transferable; exciting, powerful; a variety of useful attention ideas for teachers
- Michael practices what he preaches – modeling helped cement his ideas; it’s obvious he enjoys his job!; great hand-outs for note-taking; empowering, energetic, informative
- The presenter modeled what he presented. He has been in the classroom, used what he presented, and that provides the validity needed!
- Exhilarating.
- Energizing, invigorating, refreshing; a wonderful way to refresh my outlook on teaching and helping my co-workers develop a new outlook too! Extremely useful and practical!! Thanks.
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD)
- 5 Stars: best presentation I've ever seen --- can't wait to get into my classroom to use these techniques!
- This was an absolutely FANTASTIC, fabulous presentation! Very entertaining and extremely helpful and informative! I'd love to see him again!
- The most practical workshop I've attended in my 25 years of going to conferences.
- Superb speaker. Super techniques -- can be used in any classroom situation.
- Absolutely fabulous --- I can't wait to get back to my classroom to try Michael Brandwein's techniques.
- An excellent, useable look at ideas to effectively increase student success. Specifics are what we need! -- Thanks!
- Wonderful specifics! Gave us the words, the examples, the "exacts."
- Creative, enthusiastic, mind-jerking, refreshingly original and USEFUL. What a magical motivator.
- Gave me more practical things and ideas to use in one hour than I've sometimes received in a SEMESTER class. A breath of fresh air!
- Very on target; does an excellent job of describing techniques which will increase active participation, promote thinking skills, and build self-esteem. Absolutely applicable at all grade levels, enhanced by excellent techniques of motivation.
- Wow! Gave me some great new insights I can't wait to try. Has great enthusiasm and energy; information presented very practical! I can't wait to get back to my classroom. Enthusiastic, dynamic presentation. Delightful style -- uses sense of humor to make a practical point.
National Smart Start Early Childhood Conference
- Excellent plus. One of the best presentations I’ve ever been to. And I have been to a lot!
- Loved the handouts, sense of humor—many practical things to use.
- Michael is wonderful. He’s energetic, caring, and a great teacher. He has such important lessons to teach. I will take them with me.
- Love him! I could listen to him for several more hours.
- Wonderful presenter. Information that can be taken home and used in everyday situations.
- Please ask Michael back next year—he is tremendous! Great training!! We need the skills he teaches!
- Great session. I saw some definite changes I’ll make personally. Thanks!
- I want more!!
- Outstanding.
- Brilliant man! Excellent speaker!
- Awesome!
SASH, Statewide Advocacy for School Health
- Absolutely phenomenal.
- This was the most outstanding speaker of the event!
- Mr. Brandwein was the best keynoter of the all the keynoters—and all were good. Clear, focused, excellent points, and boundless energy.
- How refreshing to have a speaker who has original thoughts, ideas, insights, and doesn’t rely on tired old clichés of others.
- By far the best presentation of the week. Michael hit home on some really key points. He has made a major impact on how I will react to my students and people in general. Truly awe-inspiring.
- Excellent! Practical strategies and techniques I can use today!
- This is one of the best keynotes I’ve heard because you gave a message and useful tips to work with children.
- Wonderful! Gave me lots to think about and more importantly tools to use to make positive changes in my classroom and life! Wow! Excellent!
- Excellent presentation. All teachers should attend this.
- I want more! This had the greatest impact on me (and on my students) at this conference. Michael was so inspirational! Thanks! I WANT MORE!
- Best presentation of the week. Excellent, enthusiastic, useful information!
Head Start Annual Midwest Conference
- The best workshop I have ever been to! It was so much fun to laugh and learn at the same time.
- Extremely dynamic.
- Super presenter, super presentation.
- I learned so much, words cannot express it. My whole trip to the conference was worth my time because of this workshop. I will use the L.A.S.E.R.B.E.A.M. techniques in my classroom, but as a parent I will use it every day in my own family. This workshop could have been the entire reason for the conference!
- Absolutely recommended!
- Wonderful.
- Finally, someone has given some real insight on behavior.
- Fantastic!
- Refreshing!!
- I love hearing Michael (this is my 3rd time) and I wouldn’t miss him! He makes me excited about improving staff-child relationships. A must for all people who deal with people: little people, big people, old people, young people, loved ones. It will change their lives.
- Message is clear. Provides immediately useful techniques for changing behavior.
- Definitely recommended! Wish every parent and head start teacher heard him.
National Louis University,
Center for Early Childhood Leadership Annual Conference
- Fabulous!!
- This was one of the best workshops I’ve ever been to.
- I was honored to hear this presentation. Amazing!
- Easily one of the best workshops I have been to. I was so impressed.
- Speaker is awesome!
- A superb presenter! Inspiring, motivating—I love your non-theory approach.
- I have listened to Michael for three years in a row. He is excellent and there are far too many important things I learned to begin to note them. Truly a wonderful guy!
- Mr. Brandwein provided an excellent presentation—informative, inclusive, entertaining, and provided information that can be practiced.
- Love the handouts!
- Michael was fantastic! A high energy, Wood Allen!
- I will use so much of this workshop!
- Thanks for teaching “an old dog” new tricks!
- I would attend any workshop by Michael. He is fantastic.
Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Canada
- The workshop was the best I’ve ever attended. It was extremely useful to me.
- Fabulous!!
- By far the most enjoyable and informative session I sat in.
- Excellent! Best speaker of the week!
- The presenter is absolutely superb.
- Marvelous! Good examples—so constructive and learnable.
- Fantastic!!!!
- Not only will this improve our club’s service, I am a better human being.
Colorado Annual Child Welfare Conference
- Probably one of the best presentations I’ve ever attended. Do have him come back. Outstanding presentation.
- The best I’ve been to.
- This is by far the most fabulous training ever. Bring him back. Loved it!
- This is the third time I’ve seen Mr. Brandwein. He is always stimulating and engaging.
- Very funny and educational.
- Practical tools to take home and use.
- Wonderful combination of knowledge and energy.
- Excellent presentation. I learned so much and would see him again!
- Amazing, useful techniques. Dynamic speaker.
- He’s wonderful. I learned so much.
- I work with many families and have learned new skills that I can use with parents and children alike. Thank you!
- Enthusiastic, engaging presentation. Variety of learning tools and teaching methods used. Would really enjoy seeing him again.
- Wish I would have had these skills 10 years ago!
- Excellent topic and presentation. Very helpful in my practice. I recommend this.
Governors Conference on Public Health, Drake University
- He was great! The perfect way to end the conference!
- Best session of the conference.
- The very best program of the 2 days!!!
- Best motivation speaker I have heard. Great mix of humor and promotion of change, with much that is truly applicable.
- Outstanding.
- Super. Great info.
- Absolutely marvelous.
- Great! Perfect ending to conference.
- The best!
- Bravo.
- I really enjoyed this presentation because it made me look at myself more closely.
- Fantastic!
- Great, funny, and informative speaker. Very useful information!
- He is terrific!
- Very entertaining way to present a serious message.
- Wonderful!
Ontario Camp Association (Canada)
- Absolutely fabulous.
- Best speaker. Worth the price of the conference!
- Amazing as always! I’ve spent this entire school year in a teacher education program. I should have just come here…
- Michael Brandwein is a Camp God!
- Phenomenal.
- Michael is still the best I have heard in 30 years of OCA conventions.
- Simply the best!
- Unbelievable! This is the most amazing person I have ever heard speak.
- Brandwein is the best trainer I’ve ever experienced.
- Magnificent work! Felt like 3 minutes, not 3 hours.
- Stupendous. Superb presentation—a real model for trainers.
- Once again, fabulous! So practical…the handouts are much appreciated. Every minute was worthwhile.
- Unbelievable! Helped me to learn a tremendous amount of techniques to us in staff training and throughout the summer. Thanks so much!
- Wow! Not only did you make the problem as clear as can be, but you gave us great tools to use!
- Wonderful ideas, can’t wait to use them.
- I’ve been in a real rut at work lately…Now I feel motivated, thank you.
- The most energetic and enthusiastic speaker I have heard in a long time. Michael provided excellent information that will help me to better supervise and better teach my staff.
- Brilliant!
New Hampshire Schools
- The most inspiring workshop in my 18 years. Bring him back!
- This man understands children! He provides indispensable techniques; a must for survival!! Absolutely recommended. Thank you, thank you for real answers to real problems!
- This is my third time I've listened to Mr. Brandwein and I still can't get enough.
- Practical suggestions make all the difference between a "feel good" workshop and a workshop that will help me be a more effective teacher. Thanks!
- Michael has an uncanny ability to speak the language of teachers -- and his advice and suggestions are practical and on the mark.
- Makes me wish school started tomorrow. I'm certainly going to change thanks to Mr. Brandwein.
- Positively wonderful; probably the most useful presentation I've attended to date.
- This is one of the most useful workshops I've ever attended. This information will be invaluable with the children.
- His enthusiasm fills me, a first year teacher, with the confidence to tackle anything! Thank you!
- Superior presentation. Can't wait to try these techniques. Very inspirational.
- Extremely workable and useable ideas. This will be a great deal of help to me in my classroom.
- I'm filled with an incredible feeling of excitement about having the opportunity to teach!
Freshwater Education District, Minnesota
- Michael was a great presenter.
- Very energetic. A great speaker.
- Fabulous presentation! Great way to start off the year.
- He was very fun to listen to.
- Great way to start the year—loved it!
- Made a person think.
- The presenter was great!
- I though he was great. I enjoy when presenters use humor to get the point across.
- Presented in a very concrete manner. It’s great to be refreshed in our thinking and to realize how our prior experiences develop our “selves.”
- Could have listened to him for an entire day.
- I really enjoyed his style, his information, and the personal work we did along with the presentation.
- Very encouraging.
- Great motivation.
- Bring him back.
York University College of Education, Ontario Teacher’s Seminar
- Michael Brandwein is the best speaker I have ever heard -- by far! His techniques are fantastic.
- He's absolutely dynamite! This is the best workshop I've ever attended. Time flew by too fast.
- To have someone who consistently practiced what he preached was an inspiration.
- Michael Brandwein was fabulous.
- Excellent! I feel intrigued, excited, and anxious to implement the techniques in my classroom.
- A dynamic speaker and excellent teacher. Can really put his principles to work. I just can't begin to express how inspiring it's been.
- Because of this excellent day, I am full of energy and enthusiasm and ideas to help my style of teaching.
- This was the best conference I've attended. So many practical suggestions -- helped me understand myself and others in more depth.
- The best day conference I have ever been to!! A terrific guy!
- Brilliant speaker -- enlightening, practical, usable.
- Very captivating, very practical. Michael obviously knows kids.
- It is nice to have practical things to do in real life situations. Thanks.
- Wonderful! Absolutely great!
- Superb speaker.
Lyons Township (IL) Staff Development Workshop
- May be the most valuable speaker I've heard in 21 years.
- Best ever!
- One of the best workshops I've ever attended!!! Great! Superb!
- Best speaker I've ever heard. I never noticed how long I could sit -- could have listened much longer!
- Dynamic speaker; finally a workshop of useful, practical information.
- Dynamic. Anyone who can maintain an audience immediately after lunch for two hours deserves respect and praise!
- One of the first times I've ever learned HOW to do something rather that just hear what the problems are.
- Super, practical ideas that can be used in any classroom.
- Living example of what he preaches: good communicator!
- Entertaining, practical, applicable to classroom use immediately.
- One of the best sessions I have attended. I could have sat through another hour.
District 67, Lake Forest (IL) Teacher Staff Development
- In 16 years of District 67 workshops, this is definitely the best institute day we've ever had!! Outstanding!! I loved every minute of this in-service.
- What a great workshop! I have attended workshops in various districts over the last 11 years and NEVER have I had so much fun and left with so much valuable information!
- Life-saving!
- As school starts, we entered with knots in stomachs and leave with confidence and optimism and a smile. We can do it!
- Super work -- absolutely dynamite!
- Terrific and applicable! Mr. Brandwein conveyed the topic in such an enthusiastic manner that it will be IMPOSSIBLE to forget!
- Bravo -- I love the bag of tools. I can't wait for Monday -- many thanks!
- Fantastic! Can't wait to try out new things!
- A great inspiration! My method of teaching is going to change. Yes -- let's have him back.
- Outstanding presentation. Made me want to use many of his ideas next week!
- This was an inspiring and fun workshop. Michael presented practical ways to communicate with children -- ways I can use IMMEDIATELY in my teaching.
- Wow! One of the very best we've ever had. It was thrilling to learn new techniques!
- This is the 3rd time I've heard Mr. Brandwein speak. Each time he was thoroughly entertaining, but most importantly, he was educational and presented information that could (and will) be used in my classroom!
GIRL SCOUTS OF THE U.S.A.
National Training Center & Association of
Girl Scout
Executive Staff
- A super-trainer!
- The best workshop I have ever been to!
- One of the best speakers I've ever heard; I had a fantastic time. I learned more than I think I ever will about behavior.
- I'm speechless in delight; content easy to take home and apply.
- He is a magnificent speaker; so energetic.
- Absolutely marvelous. Held the audience in the palm of his hand.
- I'm totally overwhelmed! Cannot believe the knowledge gained!
- Excellent: best thing about the presentation was that it isn't theory -- everything can be put to use today!
- The whole thing was really super. He gave us so many useful ideas -- he really knows what he is talking about.
- Outstanding! Most exhilarating.
- Michael Brandwein was absolutely wonderful! -- he helped renew my enthusiasm for my job.
Florida Recreation and Park Association
- This has to be the best seminar I’ve attended. (And, I’ve been to quite a few.) The value of this was limitless. I just hope I can incorporate half of what I learned today.
- Really the best workshop for me. Like the way he broke down his topics to basics and then made them applicable.
- Michael Brandwein was excellent; he had a great deal of practical material for leadership problems.
- Fantastic!
- Super quality.
- Excellent program.
- Superb.
Illinois Park & Recreation Association
- Definitely a great speaker!
- Speaker dynamic.
- Useful information that can be put to use right away.
- Interactive, made me think of my own situation.
- Content was excellent.
- Actual examples I can use.
- It is very useful; can’t wait to get the opportunity to apply what I have learned.
- Handout outline made it easy to take notes and have the ability to pay attention to what he is saying.
- Great information.
- Speaker enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and energetic.
- Excellent speaker.
American Camp Association
- Absolutely the best motivational, educational presenter I've ever experienced.
- This man is excellent. The best session I have had in my 27 years as a director.
- Fabulous -- the best thing so far.
- This has been the best program of the conference for practical and helpful information.
- Michael Brandwein is dynamite! The best workshop I've ever attended.
- Excellent: on the edge of my chair in excitement!
- His delivery is entertaining, but his message has great depth.
- Was captivating and exciting -- the content very meaningful in helping me change the camp program.
- Presented new material -- as usual -- he is excellent and is better than any other speaker that presented anything on motivation, self-esteem, and child behavior. He is a resource that we cannot do without.
- The gentleman cannot be surpassed nor improved upon.
- The whole convention was worth it for this information!
- It was an outstanding job and the best session I've been to.
- Excellent information -- presentation unforgettable!
- I extremely enjoyed this session: information that you can take home and USE, and not tuck away with your convention paperwork.
- Presentation was superb; specific suggestions of techniques are a real treasure.