Thursday, August 13, 2009

How to be a good evaluator?

Fellow Toastmasters, two years ago when I was visiting the St. Nicholas Toastmasters Club, I had the opportunity to listen to one good piece of sharing delivered by a seasoned Toastmaster, titled "How to be a good evaluator?".

The following are 6 simple steps which the speaker had shared with the audience:

How to be a good evaluator?

  • Step 1 - Be yourself
    Whether you're a humourous/nurturing/meticulous type of evaluator, just stick with it, be yourself. Be a part of the diversity in Toastmasters.


  • Step 2 - Do not be afraid to speak out and give extensive details
    Apart from being analytical, always strive to give SUGGESTIONS. This is what the Toastmasters programme has alwyas been stressing on -- giving CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK.


  • Step 3 - Go for the non-obvious
    Look for the underlying messages in the speech. Being a good evaluator, you should possess the capability of providing a much deeper insight into the speech's values than normal audience.


  • Step 4 - Evaluate outside the speech
    Look at the big picture, take note of verbal and non-verbal things that happened in the room, and how the speaker has blended into the audience and environment.


  • Step 5 - Evaluation is also a speech
    Do not be too held up with details (opening, body, closing) that you've forgotten about eye contact, gestures, etc.


  • Step 6 - Visualize how the evaluatee would feel as he/she is listening to your evaluation
    At the end of the day, it is your evaluatee who has to benefit the most from your evaluation, not just for the sake of pleasing yourself or the audience.


Apart from the above sharing, you may also find useful tips on doing evaluation at the following link:
http://www.tmdistrict51.org/material/Speech_Contest/Evaluate_With_Aplomb.pdf

If you want some hands-on experience on how to improve your evaluation skills, register yourselves for any available evaluation workshops that you can find. (Click here for details on the upcoming Division S Evaluation Workshop)

I hope all of you would benefit from these sharings. Good luck to those who are participating in the on-going evaluation contests :)


Posted by:
Lee Yew Jin
Area S7 Governor

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