World Champion Evaluator evaluating like a champion

Question 7: What is your check-list for listening to a speech and preparing an evaluation?

I actually don’t have a formal check-list for listening to a speech or for preparing an evaluation.  I start with a blank piece of paper and start writing as the speech unfolds.

I know that some people prepare the piece of paper before the speech begins.  Some people split it vertically into 2 sections, 1 for strengths and 1 for weaknesses.  Others split horizontally into 3 sections, 1 for beginning, 1 for body, and 1 for conclusion.  I also know that some people split the piece of paper into areas of a speech that they are going to look at such as vocal variety, gestures, etc.

I think that using a prepared format or a check-list can be very helpful for beginning evaluators.  It has the advantage of providing a framework.  It unfortunately has the disadvantage of boxing the evaluator in.  I would be worried that I miss something by focusing less on the speech and more on my logistics.  It really comes down to whether the evaluation is more about you as the evaluator or the speaker.

If you do use a format or a check-list, vary it so you don’t get comfortable with it.  Step out of your boundaries and you will grow.

Posted under Toastmasters

Question 6: What is whitewashing and how can it be avoided?

I previously talked about whitewashing here.  The definition from Dictionary.com:

anything, as deceptive words or actions, used to cover up or gloss over faults, errors, or wrongdoings, or absolve a wrongdoer from blame.

As I have pointed out previously, there really is no such thing as a perfect speech.  If we assume that to be true, then an evaluation that doesn’t suggest improvement is a whitewash.

I have noticed an increase in whitewash evaluations.  Typically it is a result of a Toastmaster giving an evaluation to a more experienced Toastmaster.  It can be daunting to evaluate someone very good at speaking.  But, by not giving honest areas for improvement, you are short changing the speaker.

One way to avoid whitewashing is to ask the speaker ahead of time for areas to concentrate on in the evaluation.  We are our own toughest critics, so this may give areas where the speaker is weak.  Another question to ask is what the speakers goals are for the speech and address whether they met those goals.  Often speakers will meet some but not all goals, so again this is an area that can be fruitful.

The bottom line though is that you need to treat evaluations as a gift to the speaker.  They really want to know how to improve.  It is one of the main reasons that Toastmasters is so useful.

Posted under Toastmasters

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.

Posted under Toastmasters

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

Posted under Toastmasters

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.

Posted under Toastmasters

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.”

Posted under Toastmasters

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?

Posted under Toastmasters

Today I did something new.  I did a hot-seat speech based on questions from the audience.  The topic, of course, was evaluations.  I received 15 questions all of them unique.  I didn’t have enough time to address many of them in 7 minutes, so I am going to take the time to answer each one in detail on this blog.  I hope that the answers will prove useful to others.

My plan is to answer one question each day for the next 15 days.  If you have evaluation questions you would like answered, please let me know and I will add them to the list.

Posted under Toastmasters

There have been a number of critiques of Steve Jobs’ presentations.  He is indeed a master presenter.  The critiques focus on how to emulate his style.

If you dig a little deeper, these critiques also provide information to help an evaluator deliver more powerful evaluations.

I will use this article by Carmine Gallo as an illustration.

When a speaker uses meaningless words such as “maybe”, “I think”, “well, you know”, “kinda”, etc. – point these out to the speaker.  Note what aspect of the speech the speaker talked about when they used these words and suggest that they might need more conviction around those areas.  Suggest words to use such as “awesome”, “incredible”, “exciting”, etc.

If you become lost in the speech you are evaluating, don’t just tell the speaker you were confused.  Instead, suggest some ways they can add structure to the speech.  There’s an excellent example in Carmine’s article.

See if the speaker is illustrating a problem and selling the solution.  Even an informative speech can illustrate the price of ignorance and the benefit of knowledge.

Lastly, Carmine lists 4 (ironically) ways to paint a picture in a speech:

1. Stick to the rule of three
2. Use personal stories
3. Keep it visual
4. Rehearse

Each of these ways of painting a picture can be used as the basis of an evaluation.  These ways take a speech and make it 3-dimensional.  A speech that comes alive will be one that will be remembered.  Highlight this advantage to your speaker and then suggest some concrete ways they can paint their picture.

Look deeper into the articles discussing speaking or presentations skills.  Don’t assume that they are just for people wanting to be the next head of Apple Inc.  A lot of effort went into these articles.  Spend some time looking over them to see what you can learn.

Posted under Public Speaking, Toastmasters

Pit your evaluation skills against the rest of the universe in the evaluation challenge!

Posted under Evaluation Challenge