What it is to be an Evaluator at E&Y Toastmasters Club
“Feedback is the food of champions”…. At toastmasters, we are required to give feedback to our members on their C&L speaking assignments. We do this by evaluating their speech.
Who can evaluate?
E&Y TM Club, doesn’t have hard and fast rules about who can be an evaluator. We do however have a few requirements:
* You should be fairly proficient with your public speaking.
* You ideally should be at a higher C&L level than the person you are evaluating. (This does not apply to AC&L speakers).
What is required of you as an evaluator?
As an evaluator, your job is not simply to stand up at the meeting and tell the speaker what you thought of there talk, ideally you will do more than this.
* If possible, call the speaker a few days before the meeting and introduce yourself and give them some words of encouragement. Remind them to bring their manual with them to the meeting.
* On the evening, approach the speaker as soon as possible after they arrive and give them some encouragement. Make sure you get their manual and you know the title of their speech.
* Before the speech, if you are not familiar with the objectives, quickly remind yourself of the requirements and read the evaluation form at the end of the assignment. It will tell you what in particular you should be looking out for.
* You may be asked by the Toastmaster of the evening to introduce the speech. The customary way of introducing the speech is to explain very briefly what the speech is about, introduce the objectives of the speech. Very important is to clearly state the person’s name, and the title of their speech. Lead the applause and continue to clap until the person arrives at the front.
* During their speech, make sure you take notes of their strengths and developmental areas. Jot down interesting things that the person said, humorous sayings etc.
* It is also a good idea to take some notes on the other speakers that are talking that evening as you will share these opinions with the other evaluators
* When the club breaks for coffee, be sure that you are first in the line to get coffee and desert and take it with you into the separate room where the evaluators will meet. Time is usually very short for this break so don’t be late.
* During the break, you will meet with the other evaluators and discuss each speech and share ideas. The more senior evaluators will give you lots of help if you ask for it.
* When club reconvenes, the evaluators will be called upon to speak in the same order as the speeches.
* It is customary to address the club when you start your evaluation something like … “Thank you Mr (or Ms) Toastmaster, Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen and especially (Speakers name)”
* Remember that although you are addressing the speaker, you are also speaking to the whole audience, so be sure to remember to include them aswell.
* It is quite acceptable to refer to your notes when giving an evaluation.
Key points to remember when you are an evaluator
* Keep it positive. Even if the person you are evaluating asks you to be brutally honest, you can do so in a positive way. Remember that other people in the club hear your evaluation, and a “rough” evaluation even if not targeted at them may put them off speaking.
* Remember that the E&Y has a very high standard. Although many people choose to speak without using any notes, it is not a requirement for the early speeches. Make sure you know what you are looking for.
* Keep it brief and to the point. An evaluation should be no longer than half the length of the speech. (For example if you are evaluating a 4 to 6 minutes, your evaluation should be 2 to 3 minutes). And evaluation should NEVER be longer than 4 minutes even if you are evaluating a AC&L (15 minute speech).
* At E&Y TM Club, we do not fail an assignment. Should you really feel that the person did not fulfill the objectives of the speech, you may tell them where you feel they could have improve, and maybe suggest that they consider redoing the assignment, but it is not the evaluators job to fail them.
* An evaluation is your opinion of the speech. Although other evaluators will give you some help, remember that this is your take on the speech so talk from the heart and tell the speaker how you felt during the speech. Others may feel differently, but this is your opinion.
Fill in the Speakers Manual.
* Fill in the evaluation for that speech in the person’s manual. Make sure the Title, Date and your name are included. Take some time to fill this in immediately after the meeting. Don’t leave it till later as you might forget.
* Remember to also record the time as per the timekeeper’s report for the speech.
