Today is Day 4 of our interview with Rich Hopkins.

Question: How would a Toastmaster improve their evaluation skills?

1. Evaluating every chance you get.
2. Taking  notes on speakers they are not evaluating, and comparing them to what their evaluator says.
3. Trying different note techniques – there are several templates available on the internet  – or make your own.
4. Record your evaluations. You’ll be amazed at what you said, and what you didn’t.
5. Going to other clubs to evaluate speakers they are not familiar with.
6. Competing in the Evaluation Contests.

About Rich Hopkins

In addition to finishing 3rd in the 2006 WCPS, Rich has been a 5 time District Evaluation Contest Finalist, winning 3 of those 5 times.  He has been a Toastmaster for over 10 years and has expanded significantly on Toastmaster evaluation theory as a professional speaker and presentations coach.

Visit Rich’s blog to see his current progress towards making it a 3rd time to the WCPS and also follow Rich on Twitter.

Related Posts

Why Compete?

Posted under Interview

Today is Day 3 of our interview with Rich Hopkins.

Question: What is the difference between a good evaluation and a great evaluation?

A good evaluation covers basics, follows the manual, and encourages  the speaker. This is the least any evaluation should do.

A great evaluation shows, not just tells, a speaker what they can improve on the next time, and gives the speaker enthusiasm to speak again. It also reinforces what they are doing well, leaving them more open to the constructive criticism provided. I often demonstrate to the speaker how I would have used my voice differently, or show them on the same stage where their gestures and body movements could have strengthened their speech.

About Rich Hopkins

In addition to finishing 3rd in the 2006 WCPS, Rich has been a 5 time District Evaluation Contest Finalist, winning 3 of those 5 times.  He has been a Toastmaster for over 10 years and has expanded significantly on Toastmaster evaluation theory as a professional speaker and presentations coach.

Visit Rich’s blog to see his current progress towards making it a 3rd time to the WCPS and also follow Rich on Twitter.

Related Posts

Interview with Colin William

Posted under Interview

Today is Day 2 of our interview with Rich Hopkins.

Question: Were you comfortable evaluating when you first joined Toastmasters?

I was comfortable, but not necessarily effective.

Several years of drama experience in college, watching the directors, dealing with rehearsals, gave me a keen eye for performance     technique. In addition, the graphic design program I was in required regular presentations and evaluations in the classroom on a weekly basis.

It was when I went beyond critiquing technical aspects, and towards helping speakers find more of themselves through technique, that     my evaluations had more impact. If speakers must care about their audience, evaluators must care about their speakers.

Question: What helped you become comfortable as an evaluator?

Becoming a comfortable evaluator is similar to becoming a comfortable speaker. Know your audience – ask your speaker what they need from you beyond the manual guidelines. What are they trying to accomplish.

Stage time – evaluate often, and enter the contests. Even just attending evaluation contests, one gets the opportunity to see top-notch evaluators, and witness the different styles and approaches of each on the same speech.

Accepting that I couldn’t say EVERYTHING in an evaluation. Write more in the manuals, and talk with your speaker afterwards if need be.

About Rich Hopkins

In addition to finishing 3rd in the 2006 WCPS, Rich has been a 5 time District Evaluation Contest Finalist, winning 3 of those 5 times.  He has been a Toastmaster for over 10 years and has expanded significantly on Toastmaster evaluation theory as a professional speaker and presentations coach.

Visit Rich’s blog to see his current progress towards making it a 3rd time to the WCPS and also follow Rich on Twitter.

Related Posts

What is your intent?

Posted under Interview

Today is Day 1 of our interview with Rich Hopkins.

Question: How would you describe evaluations to someone who has never been to a Toastmaster meeting?

An evaluation is an opportunity to hear an individual give you their opinion of your speech delivery in a direct, yet supportive manner. The absence of back and forth discussion provides  the evaluator an opportunity to fully express  several thoughts in a short amount of time. The goal for the evaluator is to single out items to praise and reinforce, as well as identify areas of improvement based on the experience level of the speaker.

For the speaker being evaluated, it is an opportunity to practice discernment. Determining which advice is sound vs. which advice may not apply is a valuable life tool, as well as speaking skill. In the end, it is the speakers job to do what they wish with feedback given.

For others in the room, it becomes an exercise in listening – and applying someone else’s evaluation to their own speaking. A great opportunity to learn from other mis-steps and magnificence.

About Rich Hopkins

In addition to finishing 3rd in the 2006 WCPS, Rich has been a 5 time District Evaluation Contest Finalist, winning 3 of those 5 times.  He has been a Toastmaster for over 10 years and has expanded significantly on Toastmaster evaluation theory as a professional speaker and presentations coach.

Visit Rich’s blog to see his current progress towards making it a 3rd time to the WCPS and also follow Rich on Twitter.

Related Posts

Who learns from a Toastmaster speech?

Posted under Interview

I recently had the pleasure to interview Rich Hopkins, a 2-time competitor in the World Championship of Public Speaking (WCPS), about evaluations.

In addition to finishing 3rd in the 2006 WCPS, Rich has been a 5 time District Evaluation Contest Finalist, winning 3 of those 5 times.  He has been a Toastmaster for over 10 years and has expanded significantly on Toastmaster evaluation theory as a professional speaker and presentations coach.

Visit Rich’s blog to see his current progress towards making it a 3rd time to the WCPS and also follow Rich on Twitter.

Starting Monday on this blog and continuing until Friday, Rich will answer  questions on evaluations including:

• How to describe evaluations to someone that has never been to a Toastmasters meeting.
• How to get more comfortable evaluating speakers.
• How to improve your evaluation skills.
• How evaluations relate to being a professional speech coach.

Posted under Interview

There is a very interesting conversation on ToastmastersPrime about evaluations.  The discussion centers around evaluations that center around the content of the model speech without giving any opinions.  I have experienced a number of situations where the evaluator effectively created a summary of the model speech.  Some evaluators even go as far as to repeat all of the humor of the model speech sometimes getting more laughs!

Check out ToastmastersPrime and join in on the conversation.

Posted under evaluations

A few days ago I posted 20 things I learned from Patricia Fripp.  I decided to put a few of them into practice:

#1: Dialogue is key to making stories come alive. & #4:You must record your presentations AND watch them.

I recorded a speech I did on Tuesday.  In addition I used dialogue more than I ever have.  I haven’t yet watched my speech, but I will do so.  I know I will hate it, but I have heard that after a few times I will get over it.

#15: You cannot be creative in isolation & #16: Create a mastermind group

I organized a meeting with 3 other speakers present on Monday and also 1 other speaker that wanted to be there.  We met for 2 hours and the synergy is evident.  The creativity was definitely flowing in this group of 5 people.

We have one other person that is interested in joining, making a group of 6 speakers ready to propel their speaking to the next level.  We are going to meet every other week for 2 hours where we can practice and get feedback.  We think 6 people will be our limit although we may change that once we have our first meeting.

Thank you Patricia for bringing us together and for providing excellent ideas to start our group with.

Posted under Public Speaking

I received the following article yesterday in my email from JA Gamache.  It was very timely as Patricia said Monday night that recording your speech is necessary to be a better speaker.  So, between Fripp and JA I decided to record my speech yesterday.  Not only did I record it, but I also plan to watch it!!!

How do you Improve a Speech?

by J.A. Gamache: Third place Champion at the 2001 Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking

When you have to deliver the same speech several times, I suggest you record every one of your live performances. You will improve your text by working from the recording. Here’s why I record all my speeches:

1- To Capture the Inspiration of the Moment

During a performance, I often have some really good ideas. Sometimes a participant says something that makes me think of something relevant that I spontaneously add to my speech. This new idea often turns into a real gem of a text. If I don’t record my performance, there’s a good chance that I won’t remember that specific moment of inspiration.

2-To Keep the BestWording

I often express myself better when I am on stage. Small improvements to my text naturally come to mind. And the recording helps me remember them. These changes are precious especially when you want to include humor. A joke works best when it is delivered in the right way with the right use of words.

3- To Unveil the Potential for Humor in Your Speech

A recording helps you seize every reaction of your audience, no matter how small. When I hear someone giggle, it shows me there is potential for humor in what I have just said. A sentence or the context in which I said it was funny for a few people. By reworking my text and my delivery, there’s a good chance I’ll find the RIGHT combination which next time will make the whole audience laugh.

I hope the reasons mentioned above will inspire you to record each one of your live presentations. It’s a great way to improve your speeches. You won’t loose the gems you come up with spontaneously during a speech. You will be able to listen to the audience’s reaction to uncover the humorous potential of your talk.

©MMIX J.A. Gamache www.jagamache.com. All rights reserved.

———————————
PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRODUCE THIS ARTICLE in whole or in part if a copy of the reproduced text is sent to J.A. Gamache at info@jagamache.com after publication and also provided that this byline, including  the following paragraph, appears along with the reproduced text:

This article was reproduced from “Speaking in Public with J.A.”, a FREE electronic magazine authored by J.A. Gamache, International Inspirational Speaker. To subscribe to his FREE e-zine or to find out more about his presentations, visit: http://www.jagamache.com.

Posted under Guest Article

Patricia Fripp came to town last night!  What a treat!  I learned a lot from her 2.5 hour presentation.  Here are some of the highlights:

1. Dialogue is key to making stories come alive.
2. Having a good I/You ratio is an excellent technique for connecting with the audience.
3. Your dialogue does not have to come from people.
4. You must record your presentations AND watch them.
5. We need to fall in love with our own content.
6. Have someone else transcribe your speeches if possible.
7. Move with purpose using movement specific phrases.
8. Stand still at the start of your presentation.
9. You can connect intellectually or emotionally.
10. If you don’t know what questions your audience has, you don’t know your audience.
11. Storytelling for speeches also works for blogs.
12. Lead your audience from what they can do to how you can provide it.
13. Use the words of your clients in your presentations.
14. You can make eye contact on silence too.
15. You cannot be creative in isolation.
16. Create a mastermind group.
17. Make the people in the audience the heroes.
18. Use phrasing to punctuate your speeches.
19. Punch words need to go at the end of a phrase.
20. Take your audience along with you in your presentation.

This really only scratches the surface of what I learned.  I will come back to many of these comments on this blog.

Posted under Public Speaking

In You should write your speeches and presentations, Frank Adamo tells us that we should write out our speeches so that we can refine, massage, and condense them.  He quotes David Brooks, the 1990 World Champion of Public Speaking:

It is absolutely necessary to write a speech and refine the speech as many times as necessary.

It is important to have a speech written down so that you CAN edit it.  This does not mean that you have to write it first.  To keep your speech conversational, many experts suggest that you use a voice recorder to capture the speech and then transcribe it.

I agree with this advice when it relates to a 7:30 Toastmasters contest speech.  Every second counts.  When it comes to an hour long speech, I think being genuine and conversational is much more important than culling a few words here and there.

Packing more into a speech may not be what the audience really needs.  They may need to feel a connection with a real human being who isn’t concentrating on giving a highly optimzed speech.

My recommendation is to record your speech.  Transcribe your speech.  Then, take key areas of that speech and edit those.  Internalize, but don’t memorize.  Don’t edit the whole thing – unless it is for the World Championship of Public Speaking contest.  Even if it is for the contest, determine if highly edited speech is your style.

Posted under Toastmasters