Question 5: What are the pitfalls to avoid?

For speech evaluations, you need to avoid offending the speaker and the audience.

One of the simplest ways to avoid offending people is to use “I” language rather than “You” language.  This shifts the onus onto yourself rather than the speaker.  The speaker can choose to address the problem but it is not a specific failing on their part.  Describe how you felt and what you thought from your perspective.

For contests, the biggest pitfall is to not have a strong conclusion.  Often evaluations come down to how good the conclusion was especially at the higher levels (Division and District).

Finally, become familiar with the judging criteria.  Many contestants don’t read the judging criteria, but a lot of judges do.  Ignore the criteria at your peril.

Question 4: Is there a single preferred format for an evaluation as judged in an evaluation contest?

This question comes down to whether judges prefer a particular format.  I have found very little consistency with judges until you get to District level.  Even at District, you really cannot trust that the judges will vote a particular way.

My suggestion is to go with what you feel most comfortable with.  This suggestion unfortunately doesn’t do much to answer the question at hand.  I can though make some general suggestions.

1. A simple sandwich technique is likely not sufficient at the District level.  You will need to incorporate more layers.
2. If you go last and there are 5 or more contestants, you will need to go the extra mile either with humor, delivery, or something else to distinguish yourself from the preceding evaluators.
3. I personally suggest avoidance of acronyms.  They don’t help the audience and are really just a way for the evaluator to remember the areas to address.  You could use an acronym, but don’t tell anyone.  An exception is when the model speaker uses an acronym and you can complement what they did by doing it yourself.
4. I recommend that the evaluation should be a speech unto itself.
5. Finally, the evaluation should have a clear beginning, body and conclusion.  As in regular speeches it is important to nail the beginning and conclusion.  Often the conclusion is left lacking in an evaluation.

Don’t forget to read the judging criteria.  Also, for more information on evaluation contests visit these two sites:

Six Minutes Blog

Secrets of a National Evaluation Champion

Question 3: What is the most helpful advice you have received regarding how to do an evaluation?

The most helpful advice I have received regarding how to do evaluations was for the Toastmasters evaluation contests.  The advice was to incorporate some aspect of the model speech in the evaluation.

As an example, one speech I evaluated was based on various works of English literature.  The speech was good, but the gestures were distracting.  The speaker used the same two gestures throughout the speech.  I started off my evaluation by giving it a title, “A Tale of Two Gestures.”  How many evaluations have a title?  It captured the audiences attention.  My evaluation revolved around that theme, expanding on the gestures and giving concrete examples of other gestures that may be more appropriate.

In one contest, the model speaker captured the audiences attention with a very emotional speech.  At one point he said “you could have heard a pin drop in a field of grass.”  I started out my evaluation with a slightly modified version of the speaker’s powerful line with the same dramatic pause.  I showed rather than told and in the process captured the attention of the audience for the remainder of my evaluation.

Informative speeches can work well if the speaker makes three points.  Often you can repurpose those three points in your evaluation.  Recently I evaluated a speech where one of the points was to practice mindfulness.  I used that point to illustrate how the speaker could use pauses to slow down her speech rate and appear to be more present.

I believe that incorporating parts of the model speech works well because it shows that the evaluator has not only listened to the speech, but also internalized it.

Don’t wait for a speech contest to try this out.  Practice in your club.  It will take a while to develop this skill.  Don’t expect it to work every time although it does get easier the more you do it.  When you can do this consistently, notice how your evaluations and speaking in general have improved.

Question 2: Is there such a thing as a perfect speech?

The simple answer to this is “no.”  It gets harder to say this when you talk about speeches in the upper levels of the Toastmasters International Speech Contest.  These speeches are harder to evaluate, especially the winners.

One of my favorite Toastmaster contest speeches available on You Tube was from last year’s International Speech Contest.  Robert MacKenzie’s winning speech at Region II.  Watch the video.

Robert’s speech is a masterpiece, yet there are a number of things that could be improved.  I have posted my evaluation of this speech here.

The last piece of evidence that there is no such thing as a perfect speech is to simply ask the speaker if there was anything that could have been improved in their speech.  We are our toughest critics, and sometimes you have to dig deep when faced with evaluating a great speech.  The last thing an accomplished speaker wants to hear is “I could find nothing to improve in your speech.”

Question 1: What is the most important consideration in providing an evaluation?

The single important consideration for an evaluation is the speaker.  Your evaluation is in response to a speech.  Many people will learn from your evaluation including yourself, but they are all secondary to the speaker.

You can actually relieve some of your anxiety of giving an evaluation when you fully understand that the evaluation is not about yourself.  You are giving a gift to the speaker.  True feedback is rare, and Toastmasters creates a safe environment to give it.  If you have any doubt, remember how you feel when you get great feedback.

Next time you give an evaluation, think of yourself as purely the delivery mechanism for the awesome gift you are presenting.  What is the most awesome gift that this speaker can receive right now?