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
This post was written by john on February 23, 2009
