After competing in my club evaluation contest last week, a veteran Toastmaster made a very interesting comment to me. I look up to this Toastmaster a lot. I have learned a lot about evaluations from him.
He told me that he really liked the organization of my evaluation, especially because I wasn’t obvious about it. I didn’t say something like “There are three areas I would like to discuss today, area 1, area 2, area 3.” Many evaluators will say practically the same thing because it is typical to use groups of three. It can be repetitive and boring.
I didn’t use this technique last week. It wasn’t a conscious decision although I have noticed that I do it less in contests.
Why is being less obvious about the organization better?
I believe being less obvious about the organization is better because you reduce the mechanics of an evaluation. The mechanics get in the way of being genuine and sincere with your gift to the speaker. I have mentioned before that I dislike acronyms in evaluations. Often the acronym gets in the way of the evaluation.
There are various techniques that can make your evaluations easier to deliver. Remember though that the goal of an evaluation is not to make it easier for you, but to deliver the best possible feedback to the speaker.
Posted under Toastmasters
This post was written by john on March 31, 2009
