Speech Evaluations
by Lee Shuey

At Toastmasters' clubs all speeches, Table Topic responses, evaluations and other toastmaster roles undertaken are subjected to an evaluation by a fellow Toastmaster.

While there are many ways to conduct an evaluation, at Glen Waverley Toastmasters' Club we prefer the Praise, Improvement, Praise method of evaluating.  (i.e. we open our evaluation by acknowledging and praising the speaker's quality attributes, follow up with only one or two areas where a suggested improvement would enhance the speaker's performance and result in an improvement, then conclude strongly with a summary of good points.)   This provides all participants with honest, supportive and constructive feedback in a friendly environment.

People who are serious about improving their speaking ability don’t want a ‘whitewashed’ evaluation. They want constructive advice or suggestions for improvement which can be addressed in their following speeches, fostering progress in their speaking skills.

In real life most people are not prepared to give you an honest and constructive appraisal of your performance. (e.g. ‘how did I go?’ ‘ Yeah, that was great.’ ) They don’t want to hurt your feelings. In Toastmasters, even the most experienced speakers have areas where they can improve. They expect and want to have these areas pointed out to them. It’s easy to pick out the good points. The sign of an effective evaluator is when you can deal sensitively with drawing attention to areas in need of improvement. Always find at least ONE point for improvement and never more than TWO.

Evaluation is also an effective tool in your working environment where you are working as a team and are able to give each other constructive feedback. Even if there is a list of ten areas for improvement, put forward only one or two because you know that there will be future opportunities for further suggestions.

Be constructive. Don’t demoralize. Don’t patronize.

Remember:

• An evaluation is a mini speech
• It is only one individual’s personal opinion
• Use the PIP sandwich method – Praise, Improvement, Praise
• Don’t whitewash
• Always present one or two points of improvement – give examples if possible
• Leave the speaker feeling positive and looking forward to their next speech

‘Positive feedback is the breakfast of champions.’

Evaluation Summary

by Lee Shuey

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