Speakers

Purpose: The purpose of the speakers giving their talks and sharing their own Cups of Trembling on the afternoon of the second day (in the middle of the long Cup of Trembling day) was to model the "radical authenticity" and set the bar for honesty and depth even higher.

Question 1: How would you evaluate your speaker?

Ineffective	Somewhat effective	Good	Very good	Phenomenal
1	2	3	4	5

Number of responses: 121
Avg Response: 3.92 (just shy of "Very Good")

Question 2: What did you like most about your speaker (or his/her presentation)?

• 53 comments about honesty, candidness, authenticity, openness, frankness, etc.
• 8 comments about incredible, wild stories told with enthusiasm and intimacy
• 7 comments about dedication and commitment to the journey
• 7 comments about conviction coupled personal with acceptance of others
• 4 comments on good presentation of "cup of trembling" and sharing his own spiritual development and how and where he finds God and spirituality in his daily life
• 4 comments that he answered questions
• 2 comments about dispelling myths about gurus and "what to look for in a spiritual teacher"

• 5 comments about wishing it weren't a talk but rather more of a dialogue
• 3 comments that a speaker was negative, boring or offered no advice
• 2 comments about not getting deeply enough into personal realizations or beliefs
• 2 comments about "$ could inspire us to change"; ego and personal gain
• 2 comments about "focused on 1 individual—Rose"; "said gurus are/can be good"
• 2 comments on "quiet voice"; "little boring, dragged"
• 2 comments on "self-centered...seemed like therapy for him"; "don't think he has totally synthesized his experience yet."
• Remainder of comments available in the Full Eval Survey Report.

Stats

• 40 positive, 6 negative
• 6 would have liked to heard all, or more of the speakers
• Most common positive response was that of being impressed with the honesty and openness with which the speakers shared their stories.
• There were no common negative responses

• "It was very personal and real and had really good, practical info about how to be real and find truth. Very religiously/spiritually sensitive to all beliefs."
• "He's a cool guy and more religious leaders need to take his open-minded approach."
• "Moved me deeply"
• "Extremely motivational"
• "A blessing that I heard him speak."
• More comments available in the Full Eval Survey Report.

• "I just wanted him to go farther and tell me how it applies to our lives."
• "Personally, hearing about spirituality in general without being grounded in religion doesn't move me."
• "Weird"

"Passing It On"

Please provide general comments on Tuesday's programming:

Question 1: Passing It On

This section had an overwhelming positive response. People appreciated having the wrap-up time and a closing time with their groups. Most liked the contract and letter home, commenting positively on those aspects in particular. There was a small minority that thought there was too much paperwork or did not like the contract. A number of people did not think that the idea of "passing it on" was explained clearly enough. A number of people wanted more time.

Question 2: Conference Processing

The content of Tuesday's last session was extremely well received and appreciated—common comments included "powerful, very emotional, truthful, beautiful." The video clips are probably the best way to get an accurate feel for this particular event. The main criticism was that it took so long and that the conference was running behind schedule. Suggestions included having a facilitator to keep things moving along. A few people noted and appreciated that the group of students who were most unhappy had the opportunity to share as well. One interesting and unique comment: "Sorry, but this felt like an 'old church revival' to me. As a student affairs professional, I do have concerns about the emotional impact of this conference on students."