The Speech Evaluator observes the speeches and offers evaluations of their efforts.
The Evaluation you present can make the difference between a worthwhile or a wasted speech for your Speaker. The purpose of Evaluation is to help the Speaker become less self-conscious and a better Speaker. This requires that you be fully aware of the Speaker’s skill level, habits and mannerisms, as well as his or her progress to date. If the Speaker uses a technique or some gesture that receives a good response from the audience, tell the Speaker so that they will be encouraged to use it again.
As the Speech Evaluator, it is your responsibility to ask the Speaker you’ve been assigned to evaluate, what they will present and what they wish to achieve. Then provide objective verbal and written evaluations for them.
Before the meeting
- Arrive at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts
- Let the Toastmaster know that you’re here
- Meet briefly with General Evaluator to confirm the Evaluation section format
- Make sure you sit in a spot where you can see and hear the Speaker properly
- Retrieve the Evaluation Form from the Speaker (It’s their responsibility to print it and give it to you to fill out)
- Talk to the Speaker for any last-minute updates
During the Meeting
- When you’re introduced by the Toastmaster, read the Purpose Statements in the Evaluation Form. Your responsibility is to tell other members what the purpose of the speech is.
- Take notes when necessary, but be careful not to put all of your focus on note-taking
- Record your impressions of the speech. Be as objective as possible and remember that good Evaluations may give new life to discouraged members and poor Evaluations may dishearten members who tried their best.
- Remember, always give the Speaker specific methods for improving for each recommendation.
- Remember to give scores objectively, don’t be shy on giving a speaker a low score if you consider that to be the case; people learn more from their mistakes than from their successes
- To evaluate, use the following criteria as a guideline. A Speaker with a score of:
- 1 – is starting to develop the skill
- 2 – has some skill, but it’s emerging
- 3 – has accomplished the skill successfully, meaning that the speaker has met the expectation
- 4 – excels at that skill
- 5 – is an example of how public speaking should be done
- Deliver your evaluation by stating the observed behaviours in an honest and respectful way
Helpful Resources
Making the Most of Evaluations
The Secret to a Meaningful Evaluation
Video Examples