Comments on The Chronicle of...: Do you have room for some delicious feedback?

Clearly most of the comments are positive, and the...

2009-03-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Clearly most of the comments are positive, and the main thing that you get out of them should be encouragement, but on the other hand, I don't think the voice comments should just be dismissed as being a product of sexism and ageism. Three people mentioned speaking slower and/or deeper, and the fact that more than one person felt that way indicates that it is a sincere concern, not just something bizarre that one person came up with. I have done a little radio, and sometimes I try to speak slower and deeper when I'm on the radio because it seems to come across better that way. I was at your presentation and had no problem with how you spoke. I was the one who wrote "Jillian is a star." I personally don't think you need to do anything to improve, but I don't like the maligning of people who made comments that were meant to be helpful.

I think that if attendees had had a difficult time...

2009-03-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

I think that if attendees had had a difficult time hearing Jillian that they could/would have stated that on their evals...I can't hear you is quite different from "your voice is high and therefore you are not credible/mature." I immediately associated those type of comments with overt ageism. My partner Wendy and I were chatting about this and she wondered whether or not it was ageism coupled with sexist overtones...

The voice comment was also difficult for me for un...

2009-03-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

The voice comment was also difficult for me for understand. I think your voice is your voice.

Thank you for the positive comments! It was my first go around with this whole presentation thing so I wasn't really sure what to expect from the evals.

Eric,It MAY be (as I wasn't there so I can't say) ...

2009-03-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Eric,
It MAY be (as I wasn't there so I can't say) that it was hard for the older attendees to hear. I do presentations with a woman who (I guess) has a "high" voice, and she's gotten feedback that she can be hard to hear. So, that could be one possible explanation (though I don't think Jillian's voice is "high").
Alan

It sounds like your session went very well :-)"Wor...

2009-03-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

It sounds like your session went very well :-)

"Work on voice; deeper for increased maturity and credibility"
"Good enthusiasm, but lower your voice and slow down a bit."

WTF? I think that whomever wrote those comments should check their own inner biases. Deeper voice = more mature/credible. Unbelievable. Ignore the haters. Their ageism was quite overt with those comments. Talking slower might be something to work on, but the pitch of your voice as something you can change, give me a break. Makes me wonder how those same people perceive their students :(

Keep on keepin' on JR :-)

Thanks for that Alan! It was my first go round and...

2009-03-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks for that Alan! It was my first go round and I wasn't sure if most people were honest with those comments.

Judging by the comments, I think you must have don...

2009-03-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Judging by the comments, I think you must have done a good job! You must have explained well. Because believe me, they'll let you know (negative comments) if you didn't. So, hold your head up high (and yes, I'm sure you can find some things to do to present better the next time!).