Question 8: What if someone is just REALLY awful? How in the WORLD do you give a good evaluation?
This used to be a fear of mine. How to be honest without hurting someones feelings. It seems like a real conundrum… until you remember that the evaluation is not about you as the evaluator. The evaluation is about the speaker. You are delivering them a gift. The gift of feedback that they can use to improve.
With this in mind, the best way to give a good evaluation is to think about the evaluation from the speakers point of view. What feedback do they need to improve?
In the case of a novice speaker that is “REALLY awful,” applauding their willingness to step out in front of an audience may be all they need to develop some confidence to do it again. Maybe you could go on for ages about their vocal variety, gestures, movement, etc. None of this will help this novice speaker. They need a lot of praise and 1 single area for improvement related to an area of praise. As an example, you could praise how the speaker became visibly more comfortable when talking about their pets. Then suggest that they tell some stories about their pets for their next speech to build on that confidence.
In the case of an experienced speaker that is “REALLY awful,” you have more leeway to address the problem. Focus on statements from your point of view using “I” language, such as “I would have liked to see you use those big gestures I saw in your contest speech.” or “I love how confident and spontaneous your table topics have become. I would like to see you take that raw ability and apply it to your prepared speeches.” Don’t forget to follow these suggestions up with concrete examples illustrating how they can achieve these goals.
Remember that the primary intent of the evaluation is to help the speaker.
Posted under Toastmasters
This post was written by john on February 26, 2009
