EVALUATIONS
To improve the speaker must do things differently – this means they need to change
a) the speaker to improve
Select the points you want to include in your evaluation (you can discuss other points with the speaker personally)
b) others in the audience to improve
Group the points into an easy to follow order and structure
BEFORE THE SPEECH
Have an identifiable opening, body and conclusion
Help them realise improvement is: a) possible b) worthwhile
Look in the manual at the speech objectives and the evaluation section
DURING THE EVALUATION
A whitewash is not appreciated as it comes across as false
Ask the speaker for any additional personal objectives
Make clear throughout it is your personal opinion (“I thought …”) not a collective opinion or impartial decree
Avoid praise that is too general – identify specific strengths
Purpose is to encourage:
DURING THE SPEECH Listen carefully Use a simple method of note taking, recording key points Bear in mind your job is not to retell the speech As well as technical points, what do you feel? AFTER THE SPEECH
Involve the whole audience (if you have difficulty doing this, refer to the speaker in the third person)
AFTER THE EVALUATION Fill in the manual Discuss with the speaker
TOO SOFT?
They look to you to provide the information to enable them to change
Give specific measures for improvement with methods and examples If the only recommendations you can think of are trivial … mention them or it may seem you are hiding worse
TOO HARD? Everyone dislikes naked criticism not just you!
People acting defensively are unlikely to change The speaker must do the changing and will only change if motivated To motivate you need to: a) recognise achievements, b) build self esteem, c) reduce fear Resist the temptation to blunt each praiseworthy point with a qualification (e.g. “except that …”) Direct recommendations to the speech: “I thought the speech …” (football analogy: play for the ball not the person) A good evaluation makes the speaker look forward to doing their next speech