“Good job!”

Whenever I hear someone utter these words to me, I cringe.

And it’s not because I’m a perfectionist who doesn’t know to take a compliment or celebrate an accomplishment (ok…I’m a little of both).

It’s because I know what “good job” as a stand alone phrase means. It means:

“Meh” or just ok.

People don’t want to hurt your feelings. Your audience is filled with lovely people. It’s easier to use a platitude like “good job” than it is to say “I’m not that into your presentation” or “Your presentation left me confused and overwhelmed.”

But as speaker – we mistake “good job” to mean we were full of awesome instead of a polite way of saying – you were “ok”.

Never settle for a good presentation. Strive to create an outstanding experience for your audience.

If “good job” doesn’t mean good – then how do you know if your presentation was a success?

Here are 4 better ways to measure your presentation success:

#1 Good job AND….

Good job by itself is not good, but good job followed by an explanation of what they took away from your talk is an excellent sign that you were effective.

I recently spoke at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Seattle about speaking with confidence. Being the amazing organization that they are, they sent me a lovely thank you note.

Each person wrote exactly what they took away from the presentation. Apparently, teaching them Amy Cuddy’s superman pose for more confidence was a hit. Some people were using it nearly every day.

That’s more than a good job. I made an impact.

Strive for making an impact.

#2 Book another gig

This is every speaker’s dream scenario.

You finish speaking, and a person walks up and says “Good job. My organization needs your message. Let’s talk about how we can get you in front of our group.”

YES, YES, A thousand times YES to this.

You know you’re outstanding when someone wants to help spread your message.

Get their business card and for the love of all things good – FOLLOW UP!

#3 Story time

This is my favorite measure of success.

An audience member approaches and says “Your story reminded me of an experience I had…”

Then she starts sharing her story. It’s such a gift to you: to listen to another person’s story, hearing about her similar (or sometimes not so similar) tale.

This means your message penetrated her heart and her head. Your message is being integrated into the very fabric of who this person is. And she’ll remember how you touched her life.

This is the most intimate, personal, and best measure of presentation success. You have made a difference.

#4 Taking the relationship deeper

I see a presentation as a first date. The audience is getting to know you. You’re getting to know all of those beautiful people.

At the end of the speech, the audience gets to decide if this was a one-time cup of coffee or if they want to see you again.

Seeing you again could mean following you on twitter, buying your book, signing up for your newsletter or giving you their business card. (Most of the time it does not mean buying your high priced thing – that’s a little like having a coffee date followed by buying a house together).

Last summer I gave a presentation and during Q&A an audience member said “I have to leave, but I want your book, and you need to sign it.” He ran to the stage with his money in hand.

The next thing I knew I was surrounded by people who wanted to buy my book and chat. I barely finished my presentation. It was an amazing feeling.

When the audience wants more of you and wants to keep the relationship going, you have changed them and your presentation was a success.

Set your presentation up for excellence. Get feedback, get a coach, but never settle for “good job.”

How are you committing to speaking excellence in 2015? Leave your commitment in the comment section below!