Toasmasters Meeting Guide: Individual Speech Evaluator

Your evaluation will develop your listening and communication skills. You will also help and encourage the speaker to advance in skills and confidence.

Here are some reminders to make the evaluation a mutually beneficial exercise.

Before the meeting:
• Discuss with the speaker what areas he would like to improve on or what skills he would like to strengthen. Listen actively, offer useful advice, motivate the speaker to work hard and improve.
• Get the speaker’s manual.
• Review the goals of the speech and the speaker. Study the project objectives as well as the evaluation guide in the manual.
• Check the program to find out when you are to speak.
• Meet briefly with the General Evaluator to confirm the evaluation format.
• Find somebody who can evaluate you using your Leadership Manual.

During the meeting:
• Record your impressions of the speech in the manual along with your answers to the evaluation questions. Be objective.
• When introduced, stand and give your oral evaluation. Address the audience and the speaker you’re evaluating. Begin and end with a note of encouragement or praise. Don’t try to cover too much in your talk, possibly one point on organization, one on delivery, and one on attainment of purpose. Give the speaker deserved praise and tactful suggestions.

After the meeting:
• Return the manual to the speaker. Add a verbal word of encouragement.
• Get your Leadership Manual. Discuss your evaluation if anything is unclear.

Checklist:
• Speaker’s Manual or Evaluation Pages
• Pen
• Your Leadership Manual

Other Pointers for Evaluating Speakers:

•Make the speaker feel good about giving the speech. You want to encourage them to deliver their next speeches.
•Highlight the positive. Studies have shown that organizations where people get feedback in a ratio of four praisings for every criticism are considered to have a positive atmosphere.
•Limit to a maximum of 3 areas for improvement. For new speakers, share 1 or 2 only.
•Focus on the objectives as stated in the manual.
•Be as specific as possible. Don’t just say statements like, “I love your speech.” Or “What a wonderful/great speech.” Tell them exactly what you liked about it, how it inspired you, how glad you are that he had the courage to deliver it, something that you learned about him or his topic.
•End your evaluation by affirming the person.
•Don’t challenge or rebut the content or the message of the speech. Evaluate the delivery and the speech structure.
•If you want to share other comments, you may share them after the meeting instead of during your evaluation speech.