It is generally thought that whitewashing with respect to feedback on a speech is bad. I have even told you on this blog how to avoid giving whitewashes.
What if there was something good to be had from a whitewash?
When you deliver an evaluation with only praise, you are (contrary to popular belief) providing value:
- You practice your active listening skills.
- You tell the speaker what they did that was good (they may not know).
- You are telling everyone else in the room what to model.
- You are practicing public speaking with little preparation.
- You are providing the General Evaluator an opportunity to suggest something you may have missed.
The above does assume that you are specific with your whitewash. I am not suggesting that you can get away with an evaluation where you say, “I loved your vocal variety and your wonderful gestures, and great storytelling.”
The typical sandwich evaluation is expected and very little attention paid to it. A whitewash on the other hand gets everyone thinking about what the speaker could have done. Having the audience actively thinking is a good thing!
On the flip side, an evaluation full of areas for improvement will also make the audience think. This type of evaluation should be given to someone that can take it otherwise you risk alienating the speaker.
Often we as Toastmasters see a whitewash and think it is such a missed opportunity. I believe the real opportunity missed is making the most of the situation. Don’t be so quick to dismiss whitewashes.
Posted under Public Speaking
This post was written by john on October 29, 2009
I agree, and would totally underscore the need to at least give specific examples as to what you liked.
It’s also an opportunity to open the floor to other club members to share their ideas about how the speech could improve.
An interactive evaluation! I’ve done it and it’s an interesting change of pace for everyone.
A whitewash due to lack of preparation, can’t think of anything to say (possible lack of attention)or just faking it is of no value to anyone. Whitewash, meaning all praise, can have value when specific examples are show what was especially done well, where and when.Large emphasis on what really worked. I can definitely see this with a world class speaker etc. Even then though the game is to find some little area that might be improved next time.
John, you make a good point about the potential value of whitewash to everyone, especially for the GE to suggest something that you have missed. Yet as simple and supportive as whitewash may be for the speaker, it is the evaluator who misses the opportunity. Without pushing themself to find at least one potential improvement in a speaker, the evaluator will never know what they are truly capable of when pushed to their limits. Our true growth comes when we realize we can reach beyond our fingertips.
Great comments Jen, Cleon and Mark.
I don’t think that finding room for improvement is hard for people. Everyone is overflowing with opinions. I think the aversion is more likely expressing “criticism” to the speaker.