Mike Domitrz argues that applause and standing ovations don't measure a good talk. What matters is whether the audience changes how they act afterward. Speakers who actually shift behavior get re-booked.
It's the audience's experience that matters, not us, the speaker. How good we are from the stage— here's a no BS moment— doesn't mean anything unless it's an amazing experience for the audience. So if you tell me you got a standing ovation at the end of the speech, but nobody changes their behavior in that room when they leave the room, how great of a presentation was it? It might have been entertaining, but how impactful was it? Behavior is what matters. People bring back speakers who impact behavior over applause, over laughter, over anything else. That's what really is critical here.
