The Impact Award·Lesson 13 of 30

Acing the Judge Q&A and Using Feedback

Prepare for the 5-minute Q&A with practice questions, and turn the judges' written feedback into an edge.

The Q&A

After your presentation, judges run up to 5 minutes of questions. This is where consistency with your essay is tested and where students who genuinely did the work shine. The official worksheet and judging guidelines list the kinds of questions to expect:

Could you expand on [program]?
How does [program] spread the values of FIRST?
How does your team inspire others?
How do you attract/retain sponsors? How do you engage and support your sponsors?
What's your team's greatest weakness?
How is your team structured?
What do you think the message of FIRST is?
Why do you do [program]? Why do you deserve the Impact Award?
How did you further STEM and the FIRST mission this season?
How did you ensure a sustainable program with sponsors?
How do you pass info and training to each year's new members?
Describe a program from previous years you continued this year.
If you overcame a challenge, what did you learn? If you could restart the season, what would you do differently?

How to prepare

Run mock interviews. Have mentors and alumni fire these questions at rotating groups of students. Every member who might present should be able to answer the sustainability and "why do you deserve it" questions cold.
Know your numbers. If your essay says you Reached 2,000 people, the students must explain the basis instantly.
Answer with how and why, not just what. Judge feedback examples praise teams that explain more about how and why the team does things.
Be honest about weaknesses. The "greatest weakness" and "what would you do differently" questions reward self-awareness plus a plan.
Stay gracious under pressure. Mentors cannot help; students must field everything calmly.

The feedback loop is a competitive advantage

Here is a detail many teams miss. Judges fill out feedback for every team that interviews at an event and enter it into the FIRST Impact Award Judge Portal, which is shared with the team 48 hours after the event. Each feedback covers an area to improve, something that impressed the judges, and an answer to your submitted feedback question.

FIRST states this 48-hour timing exists so teams "receive timely feedback so they can make edits to their presentation if desired." That means if you compete at multiple events in a season, you can read the judges' written feedback after event one and refine your presentation and Q&A (the written submission is locked) before event two. Teams that iterate on feedback dramatically improve their odds at later events.

Make your feedback question count

Because judges answer your submitted feedback question, ask one that yields actionable coaching, e.g., "What is the most effective way for a small team like ours to measure outreach impact?" Avoid "what do we need to win," which judges are instructed to reject as not following guidelines.

Key takeaways

Expect up to 5 minutes of Q&A on programs, sustainability, sponsors, weaknesses, and 'why you deserve it'; mentors cannot help, so every presenter must know the numbers.
Practice mock interviews and answer with how and why, framing weaknesses with a plan.
Judges' written feedback is shared within 48 hours via the Judge Portal, so iterate your live presentation between events; ask a feedback question that yields useful coaching.

Go deeper

Lesson quiz

Required

Answer all 3 questions correctly to complete this lesson.

1.After the team's presentation, how much time do judges have for the Question and Answer portion within the 12-minute Impact Award interview?

2.During the judge Q&A, if a presenter is asked a question they genuinely cannot answer, what do the FIRST judging guidelines say is acceptable?

3.Where is judges' written Impact Award feedback delivered, and when does a team receive it?

Answer every question to submit.