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

Tips: Presenting a Humorous Speech

Humor - Some people have it, some people don't.

We've all heard this common quote time and time again. However, is there truth in this quote?

Of course this quote is false! It's an easy conclusion to make after seeing some people effortlessly deliver a good piece of humor while seeing some others fumble and mumble and fail miserably. So, if everybody has humor, what makes the difference between the successful humorous ones and the ones that fail miserably?

From experience, we know we don't just wake up the morning after we sign up as a Toastmaster and immediately are amazingly gifted at speaking. It takes practice, guidance, observation, effort... over and over again. The same goes for a Humorous Speech. Not much of a secret, is it?

Today's blog post is to encourage Area S7 Toastmasters to take advantage of the Internet to learn more about Humorous Speeches. Specifically, YouTube. As the date of the contests approaches, we have limited time to observe how others present humorous speeches and learn from the evaluations given each time, so, why not choose the option to watch video recordings online?

Some personal searches have revealed YouTube videos giving tutorials on the subject.

And so on and so forth about tutorials. Go ahead and try your own searches to find the tutorials that you think you'd need to watch the most.

Next is for observation. The following videos are of actual Toastmasters giving their Humorous Speeches at District level contests. What makes their speeches funny? If he/she can do it, can we?

Ms Rattanakamol Poomsanoh with "Dating Disaster" (Second Runner-up for District 80, 2008)

Ms Ruby Ahmad with "Wholly Matrimony" (District 51, 2006)

Mr Lim Tian Yi (District 80, 2006)

Ms Rohana Ngah with "Life is a Rollercoaster" (District 51, 2004)

I'm sure the videos are able to inspire and encourage you. As amazing as they may be, all these speakers had to start at club level contests too. Looking forward to seeing our Toastmasters giving their all during our club level contests =)

Posted by:
Andrea Liew
Area S7 Secretary