Flipping to the last slide of my remote Outlook training.
55 people on the other side of the Teams meeting. And I proceed with the two magic words.

Any feedback? – Silence.

The first time it is uncomfortable, the second time I start to get used to it, and the third time …
The third time I want to understand the why.

The why is our nature.
Our human nature.
We do not like to hurt each other with our opinion, especially in front of large audiences.

Still, I wanted to get feedback. The feedback about my Outlook training.

If like me,
you want as well to get feedback in a fast and simple way - there is an option.
Let me introduce you to my friend, Microsoft Form.

How to create a Microsoft Form to gather feedback on remote training sessions

How does Microsoft Form work

In simple words,
Microsoft Form is your one-stop place whenever you want to create surveys, quizzes, and polls. Microsoft Form allows you to see the real-time results as they're submitted and export your results into Excel for further analysis.
On top of this,
it includes my favourite feature – the Insights option that shows you in a very visual way an analysis of the most common answers to your question – see below an example of the October 22 training with more than 55 people.

Why use Microsoft Form
Included in your Microsoft office package
Microsoft Form is your go-to option whenever you want to gather quality and actionable feedback in a very simple way.
My favourite three Fs why to use Microsoft Form:

• Free
• Fast
• Friendly
  
  

What type of questions you can ask in your Microsoft Form? – keep reading.

Microsoft Form question types

By default,
Microsoft Form is offering you the option to choose between 4 different standard-type questions.

Choice
These would be the typical Yes/No questions.
Example:
Were the training objectives clearly defined?

Text
The type of question when you would like people to elaborate more on their feedback.
You can choose between short and long answer types.

Example:
What did you like the most about the training?

Rating
This would be the type of question when you are asking for a score.
You can choose between different levels (range between 2 and 10) and use different symbols (Star, Number, Smiles…)

Example:
How would you rate the training overall?

Date
My favourite option when I want to ask for the desired date for a follow-up session.

Example:
When would you like to have a follow-up training?

For every question, you have the chance either to make the question required or optional.
What does it mean and how can you do it?
If you mark a question as required,
this question must be answered – otherwise, the form cannot be submitted.

Making a question required is very simple.
You need only to activate the Required option in your form.

By default, all the Microsoft Form questions appear as optional (meaning no Required)

Step-by-step guide on how to create a Microsoft Form

Open your navigator and go to: forms.office.com
The following screen will appear.

Click on New Form

This is the moment when you need to bring out your creative side.
Time to create your first Microsoft Form!

Include the title of the Form and the description.
In my case a Form about Effective Workload Management with Outlook.

Jumping from one email to another, not able to focus on one task at a time? You are not the only one, I show you here the reason why you are not having your Inbox under control and how to take your productivity to the next level.

Good to know:
Forget about clicking and saving all the time.
One interesting functionality of Microsoft Form is the autosaving mode,
you can create your Form stress-free – the latest version of your Form will be always available for you.

We get started with the questions.
Time to include your first question in the Form – Click on Add new

Select the type of question that you want.
In my case I will include a choice question making it mandatory

This is what it would look like,
my question is: Were the training objectives clearly defined?
I make it required by activating the required field.

Continue adding as many questions as you want.
(in case you need inspiration on what to ask in the form, keep reading till the end where you will find my favourite questions while requesting feedback).
After adding some questions – this is how your Form will be looking like:

How to collect responses and change settings of your Microsoft Form

A Form without feedback is like a car without wheels – it does not make sense.

Time to share the Form with your audience. Two main parts we need to focus on.
Collect responses and amend the setting of the Form.

Collect responses

Click on the top right side of the screen

Here you can get anything that you would need to share your Form.
URL link to your form (both the long URL and the shortened URL), you can generate your own QR for the survey and even you can get the HTML code to include in your site

The settings of the Form.
Click on the 3 dots (…) on the top right side.

Click on Settings

Who can fill out this form
You are able to choose who can respond and if you want to make the Form anonymous.
My recommendation is always to make the Form anonymous.
Why: People will not be afraid of openly sharing their opinion.
How to make the Form anonymous:
Do not tick the box Record name

Options for responses

In this section, you can determine if the Form will be open forever,
or to the contrary, you would like to determine certain days/times when people can fill in your form.

Customize your message
This is a good place for brand awareness.
Include a catchy message and if you have a site where people can find more information, this is a good place where to include a link – in my example:

¨The best way of learning about anything is by doing¨

Do you want more Outlook shortcuts?- Click here: https://misterpaton.com/best-outlook-shortcuts/

Thank you for your feedback.

Response receipts
You are able to customize the Form in a way that you will get an email every time someone will fill in the Form

Microsoft Form question examples

No matter if you want to gather questions regarding training you recently led or gather feedback from your manager or peers.
Feedback is always a good option to become the best version of yourself.

I bring you here my favourite questions when I want to request feedback.

Choice questions

Were the training objectives clearly defined?

Was the content well-organized and easy to follow?

Did the trainer provide relevant examples during the training?

Was the trainer able to answer all your questions and concerns?

Would you recommend this training to a friend or colleague?

Text questions

What did you like the most about the training? (OPTIONAL)

What would you change about the training? (OPTIONAL)

How could this training be improved? (OPTIONAL)

Score questions

How would you rate the training overall?

How would you rate the trainer's proficiency?

Tell me down below which questions you like to use when requesting feedback! 😊