The purpose of any speech is to convey a message as clearly as possible. If parts of the message are not getting through to the listeners, the evaluator attempts to identify "why" this is happening. Merely stating "well done" is not evaluating a speech, but rather is judging a speech.

The purpose of the evaluation is to help the speaker become less self-conscious. This requires that you become fully aware of the speaker's skill level, habits and mannerisms as well as their progress to date. If you already know the speaker, some reflection on their past performances may assist with your evaluation. In addition to your oral evaluation, you will also give the speaker a written evaluation from the manual. The evaluation presented by you can make the difference between a worthwhile or a wasted meeting for your speaker.

PRIOR TO THE MEETING:
Talk with the speaker ahead of time to find out the speech number/title and discuss the objectives of the speech. Ask about their goals of the speech and what they hope to achieve. Find out exactly which skills or techniques the speaker hopes to strengthen through this objective.

Once you know which manual and speech the speaker is going to use, review the information provided on the pages prior to the evaluation page. Also study the objectives of the project as well as the evaluation guide. This will enable you to know more of what behaviors or skills to evaluate. Remember, the purpose of evaluation is to help people develop their speaking skills in various situations, including platform presentations, discussions and meetings. Achievement equals the sum of ability and motivation. By actively listening and gently offering useful advice, you will motivate the speaker to work hard and improve. When you show the way to improvement, you've opened the door to strengthening their ability.

Prepare a brief but thorough summary of the purpose, techniques, and benefits of evaluations that explains your role in the program to visiting guests.

AS YOU ARRIVE AT THE MEETING:
Ask the General Evaluator to confirm the format of the evaluation portion of the meeting. Then confer with the speaker one last time to see if they have any specific things for you to watch for during the speech.

Borrow the speaker's manual for your written evaluation and review the evaluation guidelines therein if you have not had an opportunity before the meeting.

DURING THE MEETING:
Listen carefully to the speaker and record your immediate impressions - consider the questions set out in the evaluation guidelines and try to answer them while the speech is in progress. Also record any ideas or impressions of the speech as it is being delivered. Complete the written evaluation while the speech is fresh in your mind. Be as objective as possible.

Continuously take notes in addition to the items suggested by the manual. This will prevent you from forgetting things that you noticed or heard. You may use the margins in the manual for additional note space that will also help provide feedback to the speaker.

Jot down what you considered to be:

Highlights - strengths, what you liked, what to continue

Distractions - what you think needs changing, what you found unclear, distracting, what you did not like and why, etc.

Improvements - what to start doing (try) for the next speech

In your oral evaluation, try to begin and end with a note of praise and encouragement. Always include specific methods for improving their speaking when possible.

Begin with your brief talk on your role and responsibility.

The spirit of an evaluation is not one of criticism but it is important to make positive recommendations where there is obvious room for improvement.

Avoid judgmental statements like, "You should have." Instead, approach your suggestions from the standpoint of :

If I were trying to convey the message, how would I make things clearer?

If the speech was clear and easy to listen to, ask why it is coming across so well?

Is it that the subject matter is interesting, the anecdotes amusing, etc

Be specific. Avoid using "good" or "could be improved" without anything specific to describe these comments.
Though you may have written lengthy responses to the manual evaluation questions, don't read the questions or your responses. Your oral evaluation time is limited. Don't try to cover too much in your evaluation; perhaps one point on organization, one on delivery, and one on meeting the objectives of the speech. In addition, be sure to include the deserved praise and tactful suggestions in the manner you would like to receive them when you are a speaker.

The general format of evaluation used is:

COMMEND - RECOMMEND - COMMEND
Your commendations should be addressed to the audience in general but the recommendations for improvement should be addressed to the speaker personally. Remember, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to deliver a speech, but as an evaluator you can point out how the speech came across to YOU.

Praise a successful speech and specifically tell why it was successful. Don't allow the speaker to remain unaware of a valuable asset such as a smile, a sense of humor, a good voice. Don't allow the speaker to remain ignorant of a serious fault or mannerism; if it is personal, write it but don't mention it aloud. Give the speaker the deserved praise and tactful suggestions in the manner you would like to receive them when you are the speaker. Remember that good evaluations may give new life to discouraged members and poor evaluations may dishearten members who tried their best.

At the conclusion of your evaluation, return control of the lectern to the Toastmaster of the Evening by saying, "Toastmaster of the Evening," remaining at the lectern until she/he arrives; shaking hands and then return to your seat.

Your speech evaluation should fall within the time frame of a minimum of two and three minutes; the green light will be turned on at two minutes, amber light at two minutes thirty seconds, and the red light at three minutes.

AFTER THE MEETING:
Return the manual to the speaker. Add a verbal word of encouragement to the speaker, something that wasn't mentioned in the oral evaluation.

RESOURCES:
Effective Speech Evaluation (Code 202)
Evaluate to Motivate (Code 292)
The Art of Effective Evaluation (Code 251)