35 Actionable Conference Survey Questions
In modern business, conferences play an important role in professional development and networking, and as organisers, capturing feedback about these events is instrumental to refining and enhancing the overall attendee experience. A hospitality survey is an invaluable tool in this endeavour. But constructing a meaningful conference survey is more of an art than an exact science. It demands a careful balance between specificity and comprehensiveness. Using any of the questions listed below can serve as a useful guide for conference organisers, enabling them to capture actionable insights and thus built better, more successful events in the future.
Here, we present 35 sample questions that can be woven into any conference survey, keeping in mind various aspects of the event. Most of the examples relate to post-conference feedback, but you can - and should - consider running surveys both pre-conference and during the event.
Example conference feedback questions
Content and topics
1. Did the conference topics align with your professional interests?
2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the relevance of the sessions you attended?
3. Were there any sessions you felt were superfluous or redundant?
4. How useful did you find the resource materials provided?
5. Were there any topics you wish had been covered, but weren't?
Speakers and presenters
6. Which session did you find most informative, and why?
7. On balance, were the presentations coherent and easy to grasp?
8. Did you feel speakers were receptive to audience queries?
9. How would you rate the interactivity of the sessions?
10. Were there any sessions where you felt the speaker lacked depth or expertise?
Logistics and organisation
11. Was the registration desk efficiently managed?
12. Did you find the event schedule timely and well-structured?
13. Were any sessions too rushed or overly prolonged?
14. How did you feel about the allocation of breaks and intervals?
15. Were staff members courteous and knowledgeable?
Venue and facilities
16. How easy was it to commute to the venue?
17. Were the seating arrangements to your satisfaction?
18. How would you rate the quality of the audio-visual equipment?
19. Were restrooms and other facilities adequately clean and accessible?
20. How well did the venue's ambiance contribute to your conference experience?
Networking opportunities
21. Did you forge any significant professional connections during the conference?
22. Were the networking events, such as mixers, useful to you?
23. Did you feel there were ample spaces dedicated for one-on-one discussions?
24. How would you rate the facilitation of attendee interactions?
25. Were there any barriers to networking you experienced?
Overall experience and value
26. Do you believe the conference offered good value for money?
27. Would you attend this conference again?
28. Were there any standout moments or experiences during the event?
29. Is there any element you believe should be excluded for future events?
30. How likely is it that you would recommend [our company] [our conference] to a friend or colleague? (scale of 1 to 10, 1 being 'Not at all likely', 10 being 'Extremely likely') - read more about Net Promoter Score.
Feedback on digital components
31. If applicable, how intuitive did you find the virtual platform?
32. Did you experience any technical hitches during online sessions?
33. Were online sessions as engaging as the in-person ones?
34. How would you rate the balance between online and offline content?
35. Were there any virtual networking tools or features you felt were missing?
Use our conference survey template
Get your survey up and running quickly with our conference evaluation survey template. Ready-made with 9 sample questions it can be used as is or amended to meet your needs.