http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/146/made-to-stick-watch-the-game-film.html

The 3 club members had typical evaluations.  The guest speaker received a round-robin evaluation from everyone in the room.

I feel that the round-robin evaluation was so much more effective than the other evaluations, not only for the speaker, but also for the other attendees.  The speaker received a lot more feedback and also could see if there were recurring themes.  The attendees were able to hear different viewpoints and build on what others had said.

Round-robin evaluations seem to be mostly confined to advanced clubs and speech contests.  I have seen so much value in them that I would like to see them more often in regular club meetings.

“But I don’t need Toastmasters”

A common phrase by numerous folks. Some say it because it is a worst fear and that seems to be a good answer. Yet others say it because they already speak and even make money doing it. To me the question is actually how well do you listen, not just hear but listen. Many people mistake one for the other. When we listen we actually can communicate better with our audience and craft our talk to them better so they will benefit more. Speaking is much more than getting over the fear part, it is also the ability to present and not distract our audience.

By listening better we can learn how and where to make a few changes that will keep our audience’s attention thereby fulfilling their expectations to get something and our own expectations that we had an attentive audience.

It isn’t really a case of “needing Toastmasters” but more about what I can give and learn so I continually grow and get better.

Check out Cleon’s Job Finder Support Group.

As a long-time member of Toastmasters, I am often referred to as “seasoned.”  Sometimes I picture myself on a grill with salt, pepper and garlic powder being liberally applied…

It’s been a long time since I was “grilled” by a thorough evaluator, though!

More often than not, my evaluators will start off by saying that it’s difficult to evaluate someone with my level of experience.  Next they will point out things that I did well.  After that, they struggle to find something to help me grow my skills.

If it sounds like I’m extolling my talent as a speaker – I’m really not!  I know that I have a lot to work on to continue my path to mastery.  And here’s the thing – if when you are my evaluator, you ask me what I’m trying to improve, I will tell you!  Then you’ll have all the charcoal you need to light a big fire under me!

http://careerepiphany.com/

I picked up golf about seven years ago; what a humbling sport! I quickly became obsessed with the cruel and expensive sport, spent a great deal of time on the range, and was constantly frustrated at my inability to ‘master’ the game. It was fun though and I kept coming back for more.

One day, about 4 years into my love/hate relationship with golf, I was hitting buckets of balls at the Red Tail driving range when I was interrupted by Travis, a Certified Teaching Professional at the course. Travis said to me; “…do you mind if I videotaped you for a bit while you hit balls?” “By all means”, I replied! After about five minutes of recording, he asked me to follow him to his office. A few minutes later, thanks to technology, there I was on a split screen with Tiger Woods. A terrifying moment! Up until this ‘moment of truth’, I had been playing golf religiously for four years. I’ve been building experience for four years. But that day, for the first time years, I was being evaluated.

In slow motion on that split screen, Travis contrasted my swing against that of a PGA tour professional and showed me what I did right (very little) and where I could improve (a lot)! Less than a month after that eye-opening teaching lesson, I had my best score yet (97) and have been improving ever since.

See, you and I can do the wrong thing for 4 years and more without ever making any real measurable progress. My four years could have doubled, even tripled had I not been rescued by Travis; so take it from me, Experience is NOT the best teacher… EVALUATED experience is! Improvement in any area of your life requires constant and never-ending evaluation.

http://www.louradja.com/

As a speaker, to give value to the audience, you need to be able to build a connection with the audience that facilitates the transfer of information. In an effective presentation, as you the speaker provide value, the audience you are speaking with provides feedback on that value, which assists in the flow of information between you and the audience. The Value / Feedback loop can only be built when there is a connection between you the speaker and the audience to which you are presenting.

http://mytoastmastersblog.com/2008/11/11/why-connection-is-so-important-in-speaking-the-value-feedback-loop/

…then how come we don’t get evaluations at District conferences?

…then how come there isn’t a World Championship of Evaluation?