How to Evaluate

Evaluate, in Toastmasters clubs term, means tell your opinion about a speach and a speaker, so as to help him develop and those listening learn. That is the added value, of all the Toastmasters club.

Not only we listen to speakers that prepared their speech after higher and higher difficulty projects, but also someone gives opinion on the strong points and how to improve and always finishes with what he liked most or the speaker strongest points.

That help us develop while not destroying but busting our confidence.

Here are some random observations of yesterday workshop about How to make a great evaluation held at Citicriers Club by Freddy Daniels. I will add here, soon, my speech and the three evaluations of it, and perhaps also so;e of his points. For the moment just from memory.
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Freddy Daniels taught me yesterday a lot.

First, how to held a workshop, then how to speak about a speech and speaker.

How to evaluate him, or her, either in a club, a contest or, at the end, the short Table-topics.

1. Let me begin with the Table-topics, the most difficult to tell opinion about because the shorter.

Find a good point a recommendation and end by the best point; if you have time, if not, only one of the three but developed specific and useful to learn for the club. Write down the first thing you observe, do not wait to the end, as other speakers come in and it is not easy to remember.

For the evaluation of a longer speech when you have more time, write down all you liked and all that could be improved, then note in order which three where the best points, 1, 2 and 3. Begin telling the 2 and 3, then one or two detailed specific recommendations, followed by 1 the strongest from that speech.

At the end, summarize telling what you felt is the strongest point of that speaker or that speach.

Never use BUT in your evaluation. Keep it on the level of the speaker expertise. Do not use "you" but "him" or "she" so you address all the audience whom you speak and who then can learn more about speaking in public and what made great and how it could have been improved and, what you felt was the most wonderful from all.

I was the target speaker yesterday.

It was a humorous speech that could have been more humorous if I was not somewhat disturbet to tell two short four letter words at that Toastmaster meeting. When I was at ease, I got laugher. Good lesson. Also I could have ended like I begun instead of rushing to the end, and even added some, at least one of my setup punch. Paused more in some places, too.

It is recorded, so I wil be able to look and tell more about it, and also listen more carefully to the three evaluations of it, and what else they said, But, yes I can use here but perhaps, the most important is all I got, learned from the great Workshop.

What was the most important I have to remember?

Be always specific. Tell what, where and how. In third person, using I felt, I oberved, and no But. Instead, the speech could have been even stronger, or next time, try also.... Always find a recommendation, at least, and not more then two. End on a very positive point.

Otherwise, look for the Delivery, Structure and Content and try to find some points in each. Content being not the point made, but the short or easy to understand words and sentences, use of story or facts, number and strength of those, and so on.

Not bad all this remembered from memory!

That shows, how wonderful the two hour workshop of Freddy worked.!