Toastmasters Speech Evaluator

Dear All

Being an Evaluator is one of the hardest challenges but most worthwhile as a Toastmaster. Why? Not only will you hone in your skills in many areas, you will have a hand in pushing someone onward and upward. The Toastmasters Competent Leadership manual has four projects addressing this role.

Do read your manuals ~~

Turn to page 76 on the Role of Toastmaster, here are the projects: 1, 2, 3, 8.

(The word "leader" refers to a Toastmaster taking on a particular role. In this case, Speech Evaluator.)

Project 1 - Listening and Leadership
Page 11
The evaluator listens carefully to a speaker presenting a manual speech, then offers suggestions for improvement and comments on what the speaker did well.

Toastmasters Evaluation Guide Questions
Page 12
- Was the leader's manner attentive? Did the leader's posture
indicate interest in what the speaker was saying?
- Did the leader's verbal evaluation indicate he/she had listened to
and understood the speech's content?
- Did the leader appear to keep an open mind when evaluating the
presentation, even if the leader may not have agreed with the
speaker's perspective?
- What could the leader have done differently to listen better?
- What particular listening skills did the leader demonstrate?

Project 2 - Critical Thinking
Page 15
The evaluator listens carefully to a speaker presenting a manual speech, then offers suggestions for improvement and comments on what the speaker did well.

Evaluation Guide Questions
Page 17
- Did the leader appear to give careful consideration to the speech
in the evaluation?
- How effectively did the leader demonstrate critical thinking
skills in the verbal evaluation? Was the leader able to be
objective and unbiased in the evaluation?
- What could the leader have done differently to provide a more
thoughtful and helpful evaluation?
- What part(s) of the evaluation did the leader do well?

Project 3 - Giving Feedback
Page 21
The evaluator listens carefully to a speaker presenting a manual speech,then offers suggestions for improvement and comments on what the speaker did well. The evaluator presents a short verbal evaluation during the meeting, prepares a written evaluation that is given to the speaker after the meetingand may meet with the speaker (at the speaker's discretion) to discuss the speech in more detail. The evaluation should be helpful and encouraging.

Evaluation Guide Questions
Page 22
- Did the leader's evaluation focus on the speaker's presentation,
not on the speaker's personality or qualities?
- How effectively did the leader cite examples of what the speaker
did well during the presentation?
- How effectively did the leader offer the speaker specific
suggestions for improvement? Did the leader provide examples?
- What could the leader have done differently to provide a more
helpful evaluation?
- What part(s) of the evaluation did the leader do well?

Project 8 - Motivating People
Page 50
The evaluator listens carefully to a speaker presenting a manual speech, then offers suggestions for improvement and comments on what the speaker did well, following the evaluation guide for the project. The evaluator is enthusiastic and positive, encouraging the speaker and motivating him or her to keep learning or give more speeches.

Evaluation Guide Questions
Page 52-53
- Did the leader point out areas of the speech that could be
enhanced and offer helpful, specific suggestions for improvement
in a way that was encouraging and motivating?
- Did the leader comment on and praise the speaker when the speaker
did something well?
- What could the leader have done differently that would have
increased the speaker's motivation to do better next time?
- What did the leader do well that helped motivate the speaker to do
better next time?

Ever onward, ever upward ~~

DTM Laura Rotinsulu
Metropolitan Toastmasters Club

Comments

John said…
I believe that evaluations are the heart of Toastmaters and growth in general.

You can see evidence of this at my site World Champion Evaluator where I focus on evaluations. A recent post that may be of interest is on whitewashes.

I liked your article, and look forward to reading more.
. said…
Hi John,

Thank you for you comment to Laura's article. She will contact you later.
I have seen you site and I like it.
I shall be very grateful if you could evaluate this blog.

Best regards,
Harry Nizam
. said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said…
Dear Laura,

Right.
Now, only the presentation of the evaluation in the contest is different. The evaluator must have a STYLE. And usually the sample speaker is very good. I was lucky for having heard the evaluation of winner. I was contestant number 3. I was so amazed.

Cheers,
Attie S.

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