A post-event survey asks attendees, speakers and sponsors what worked and what to change, usually within a day or two. The first answer is often “it was great,” so below are 27 questions for in-person events, webinars and sponsors, each with the follow-up Spoke asks next.
Content landed, logistics didn't. Fix the breaks before the sessions.
An example of the line the Agent Results Brief leads with.A post-event survey is a short set of questions you send to the people who came (attendees, speakers, sponsors) to learn what worked and what to change next time. A good one leads with an open question, like “What's one moment from the event that stuck with you?”, and asks why when the answer is vague.
Send it the same day or within 48 hours, while details are fresh. For attendee feedback, anonymous answers often make it easier to be candid; in ScatterSpoke that's a per-survey setting on paid plans.
Under every question is the follow-up Spoke asks when the first answer is vague. That second question is where the real answer usually is.
What's one moment from the event that stuck with you?
What made that moment stand out from the rest of the day?
What did you hope to get out of coming?
Which part of the event came closest to giving you that?
What's one thing you'd change about the event?
What happened on the day that made you notice it?
How did the event compare with what you expected for the time and cost?
Which part made it feel worth it, or not?
What would make next year's event an easy yes for you?
Which speaker or topic would get you to register the day it opens?
Which session would you tell a colleague about?
What would you tell them they'd get out of it?
Which session was least useful for you?
What were you hoping to hear in that session that you didn't?
Which sessions did you skip?
What were you doing instead during those slots?
How did the length of the sessions feel to you?
Which session felt the wrong length, if any?
What's one idea from a talk that you plan to use?
Where would you try it first?
What did the best speaker do that others didn't?
What's a moment from their talk that showed it?
How did getting in go, from arriving to your first session?
What happened in the first ten minutes after you arrived?
How did the breaks work for you?
What did you spend most of the break doing?
How well did the food and coffee work for you?
Which meal or break stands out, good or bad?
How easy was it to get around the venue?
Which room was hardest to find, if any?
How did meeting other people go for you?
Think of the most useful conversation you had. What made it happen?
What, if anything, made it harder for you to take part?
What would have fixed that for you on the day?
How did joining the session go for you?
What happened in the first few minutes after you clicked the link?
What was happening in the session when your attention drifted?
What would have pulled you back in at that point?
How did asking questions or chatting work for you?
What question did you have that you didn't ask?
What will you do with the recording or slides?
Which part would you rewatch first?
(Hybrid events) How did joining online compare with being there in person?
Which moment made you most aware you were remote?
What did you hope to get from sponsoring?
How will you tell, a month from now, whether you got it?
How did foot traffic at your booth compare with what you expected?
Which slot in the schedule brought the most people by?
What kinds of people stopped at your booth?
Which of those would you want more of next year?
How do the leads from this event compare with your other events?
What made your best lead from this event worth following up?
What would you change about the sponsor package next year?
Which part of this year's package earned its cost?
Every person gets interviewed, not surveyed. Spoke asks, listens, and follows up on what that person actually said. Here's an example.
Read the answer, not the transcripts: themes ranked by how many people raised them, the quotes behind each, and the places where two groups disagree.
Content landed; logistics didn't. Attendees rated sessions warmly but lost time to lines and overruns, and many say that decides whether they come back.
An example Agent Results Brief. The counts, themes and quotes are illustrative, not from a real survey.
People leaving an event are tired and polite, so the first answer is often a compliment or a shrug. Here is what one follow-up turns it into. Examples, not real attendees.
The roundtables, not the main stage, carried the event for this person. A five-star rating wouldn't show that.
Saving all the Q&A for the end loses people in the middle.
People wanted more time to talk to each other, not more sessions.
The booth paid off in one time slot. Placement near lunch matters more than booth size.
Send it while people still remember the details, then ask one more thing once they've had time to use what they learned. Each stage has a question worth adding.
Best for logistics and the moment that stuck, while the details are fresh. Put the survey's QR code on the closing slide so people can answer on the way out.
What's one thing you'd tell the organizers tonight?
What happened today that made you think of it?
The default for attendees and webinar audiences. Send by email or link, and set a reminder a day later for anyone who hasn't answered.
Now that you've slept on it, which session are you still thinking about?
What about it keeps coming back to you?
Ask what people actually used, and who they followed up with. A good time for sponsors and exhibitors too, once they've sorted their leads.
What have you done since the event with something you learned there?
What happened when you tried it?
You don't need all of them. Pick a few from the overall set, add the group that fits, and let the follow-ups fill in the detail.
| Start with | Then add | Keep it to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-person attendees | Two or three from “The event overall” | “Sessions and speakers” or the venue and breaks set | 5 to 8 questions, or a 5-minute interview |
| Online and webinar attendees | “How did joining the session go for you?” | The rest of “Virtual events and webinars” | 4 to 6 questions, or a 5-minute interview |
| Sponsors and exhibitors | “What did you hope to get from sponsoring?” | The rest of “Sponsors and exhibitors” | A separate survey, 4 to 6 questions |
Sponsors want different things from attendees. Sending them their own survey keeps both sets of answers easy to read.
What do you want to learn, and who's answering?
Drafted the spec. Want the keynote called out, or let people bring it up?
Start with one open question about the event overall, then add the group that fits: sessions, venue, online, or sponsors. Five to eight questions is plenty; with Spoke, the follow-ups fill in the detail, and you can cap the interview at 5, 10 or 15 minutes.
The same day or within 48 hours, while people remember the details. Send a reminder to anyone who hasn't answered, and ask sponsors about a week later, once they've sorted their leads.
Ask how joining went, when their attention drifted, and what question they didn't get to ask. The virtual group above has five, each with its follow-up.
For attendee feedback, anonymous usually makes sense; for sponsors, you'll want to know who said what. In ScatterSpoke, anonymous responses are a per-survey setting on paid plans. Attendees don't need a ScatterSpoke account either way: they answer through a link in the browser.
Compare against your own last event rather than an industry number, since rates vary with the event and the audience. To raise it: ask soon, ask fewer questions, put a QR code on the closing slide, and send one reminder a day or so later to people who haven't answered.
It's fine if you want to track the event over time. Pair it with an open question, “What's the main reason for your score?”, because the number alone won't tell you what to change.
Free to start. No card. Your first ten agent surveys are on us.
