How to get HONEST feedback

Still a few lingering questions from the big Q & A. Rebel Entertainer Justin Morris asked:

"How do I get honest feedback from people who have seen my show?"

Great question Justin. Like most of us, you want your show to be the best that it can be. And that's a great quality.

There are a number of ways to do this. Of course the first thing to do is to invite a trusted friend to see it.

They may be able to give small pointers on ways to improve it. But as we all know, your friends probably aren't going to be brutally honest with you.

Let's face it, all of our Moms think we're the best.

The second way is to send your client (or your audience in some markets) a program or show assessment form. This form will ask your client to give you honest feedback on how you did. You can even have a section on "in your opinion, what could I do to improve my service to you".

You gotta be careful with this one also. Don't believe everything you read. Remember, every client has their own agenda. And THEIR opinion is from THEIR perspective.

Quick story about that. I had been doing a particular routine for years. In the first program assessment I ever received back, a customer said that she was "terribly offended" by that routine. Well, I was devastated. That routine was the cornerstone of my entire show.

So for the next few weeks I asked clients if they were offended by that routine. Most said that it was their favorite part of the show. And, after hundreds of other assessments, I never got that comment again.

So ya gotta be careful. If you get the same comment over and over, then ya' gotta listen.

Lastly. Hire a nonpartisan professional. For magicians, there are a number of people that offer workshops to help tighten your show. Joanie Spina & Jeff McBride are very popular and I've only heard great things about them.

I personally do program reviews for my Rebel Entertainer clients and have been lucky enough to work with a lot of wonderful performers. Send me a personal email if you're interested in hearing more about the program (john@rebelentertainers.com).

Double lastly, take industry workshops. All jugglers, clowns, magicians, dancers etc have conventions that offer workshops for just this sort of thing. Go to the conventions and check it out.

If you take one, two or all of these steps, you will see your show take off.

Looking forward to hearing about your progress,

I welcome your comments.

- John Abrams
Rebel Entertainer and Program Assessor

www.RebelEntertainers.com
www.Facebook.com/rebelentertainer
or follow me on Twitter @johnabrams1