Best questions for conference participants survey about speaker effectiveness

Here are some of the best questions for a conference participants survey about speaker effectiveness, plus real-world tips on how to craft them. If you want to quickly generate a tailored survey, Specific makes it easy in just seconds.

Best open-ended questions for conference participants surveys

Open-ended questions allow participants to share experiences and insights in their own words, uncovering perspectives you might never have considered. While these are fantastic for qualitative depth, they’re best used when you want honest, nuanced perspectives—especially about events like conferences, where context matters. Notably, research in Academic Medicine shows even brief free-text answers can reveal valuable content themes or initial patterns. [1] But, keep in mind, they sometimes have higher nonresponse rates—according to Pew, these can be around 18% or more, depending on question type. [2]

1. What stood out to you most about the speaker’s presentation?

2. How did the speaker’s style impact your engagement during the session?

3. In what ways did the speaker clarify complex concepts or ideas?

4. What specific examples from the speaker’s talk resonated with you?

5. Were there topics you wish the speaker had explored further?

6. Describe a moment when the speaker captured the audience’s attention.

7. How relevant did you find the speaker’s content to your interests or work?

8. What improvements would you suggest for future presentations by this speaker?

9. Did the speaker inspire you to take any specific actions? If yes, which ones?

10. Were there parts of the session you found confusing or unclear? Please elaborate.

Mixing in open-ended questions reveals richer insights, especially when you’re exploring speaker influence or gauging participant sentiment in detail. For even more context, see our step-by-step article on building conference surveys.

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for conference participants

Sometimes, you need clear, quantifiable data—or you want to gently prompt respondents to reflect on their experience with fewer barriers. **Single-select multiple-choice questions** are perfect for quickly spotting trends or launching the survey conversation. Respondents can select from options rather than crafting original responses, meaning the experience feels lighter and often yields higher response rates. According to Pew, respondents typically find multiple-choice formats less intimidating, leading to more consistent participation across your audience. [2]

Question: How would you rate the speaker’s overall effectiveness?

• Excellent

• Good

• Fair

• Poor

Question: Was the speaker’s content relevant to your needs?

• Highly Relevant

• Somewhat Relevant

• Not Relevant

Question: What aspect of the presentation made the greatest impact?

• Speaker’s delivery style

• Quality of content

• Audience interaction

• Visual aids

• Other

When to followup with "why?" A "why" follow-up is powerful when you want to dig deeper—say a participant rates a speaker as “Fair.” By prompting “Why did you choose Fair?”, you uncover actionable insights behind the rating—maybe sound issues, or content that felt off-topic. This direct, conversational approach is exactly what makes surveys more insightful, especially when combined with automated AI followup questions.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always include "Other" when asking about potential impacts, major highlights, or reasons for a response. This captures unique nuances you haven’t anticipated, making your data more complete. The best insights sometimes hide in those unexpected “Other” explanations. Use follow-up questions to explore these open responses further.

Using NPS to measure speaker effectiveness

NPS, or Net Promoter Score, is a quick, proven measure of advocacy—essential in conference settings. By asking, “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend this speaker to a colleague or friend?” you reveal both satisfaction and potential for positive buzz. NPS works so well here because it’s simple, universal, and allows for instant segmentation of promoters, passives, and detractors—each prompting specific followup discussions to uncover root causes or highlights. Try generating an NPS survey for conference participants on Specific to see it in action.

The power of follow-up questions

Great feedback rarely ends with one question. The magic happens when you dig deeper—clarifying, probing, and exploring “why.” Automated follow-up questions, like those made possible by Specific’s AI, change the game. Our approach dynamically builds on each respondent’s answer in real time, mimicking expert researchers and maximizing the value of every reply. This isn't just about saving time—though replacing email follow-ups with instant, intelligent conversations is a serious perk—it’s about context. The flow feels organic, like a genuine conversation, and yields meaningfully richer data. This conversational approach leads to more informative and precise answers. As shown in a study on AI-powered conversational interviewing, dynamic probing enhances the detail and value of open-ended responses, even if it sometimes makes surveys feel longer. [3]

• Conference Participant: “The session was okay, but I lost interest halfway.”

• AI follow-up: “What caused you to lose interest during the session?”

How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2-3 well-designed follow-ups are the sweet spot: just enough to clarify and dive deep, but not so many that participants tire out. Specific makes this easy with settings to control follow-up intensity and let respondents move on once their point is made.

This makes it a conversational survey—one that feels natural and engaging, not like a form you have to slog through. That’s what sets Specific apart.

AI analysis, summarize, theme extraction: Even if follow-ups or open-ended responses generate a lot of unstructured text, AI makes it simple to analyze responses instantly. You can summarize, pull themes, ask new questions about sentiment or intent—no data scientist needed.

Automatic followup questions are a fresh take on survey design—try it out with Specific’s AI survey builder to see how much deeper your conversations and feedback can go.

Prompting GPT to brainstorm survey questions

If you’re using ChatGPT or another GPT-based tool to help generate your questions, start simple but offer extra context for best results.

For the basics, prompt:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Conference Participants survey about Speaker Effectiveness.

For even sharper output, add specifics about your audience, goals, or context, like:

I’m organizing a tech conference for early-career professionals. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for a post-event survey focused on the effectiveness of keynote speakers, aiming to improve next year’s agenda.

Next, let AI help you structure your content:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Finally, after reviewing the categories, dive deeper into key themes:

Generate 10 questions for categories Relevance and Delivery Style.

This iterative, context-driven process is exactly what Specific’s AI survey generator does behind the scenes—fast-tracking expert-grade surveys with minimal effort.

What is a conversational survey?

Conversational surveys are exactly what they sound like: feedback tools that engage users in a natural, chat-driven flow. Unlike traditional surveys, which often feel like static forms, AI-generated conversational surveys engage respondents in back-and-forth dialogue, adapting in real time. This leads to more complete, insightful responses, and higher participation because it mirrors the messaging apps we all use every day.

Why use AI for conference participants surveys? AI survey generators let you gather richer, more actionable insights without the manual grind—especially when you’re short on time or unsure what to ask next. With conversational surveys, respondents engage naturally, and you surface what actually matters. For a real-life walkthrough, check our guide to building conference surveys with AI.

Specific delivers a best-in-class user experience—both for creating and answering engaging conversational surveys. This makes feedback collection smooth, insightful, and modern every step of the way.

See this Speaker Effectiveness survey example now

Ready to collect feedback that’s honest, detailed, and actually useful? See how effortless it is to design results-driven, conversational AI surveys with Specific—your shortcut to meaningful conference feedback, powered by AI.