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TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

Tips and Techniques forGiving Helpful Evaluations

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Effective Evaluation Tips and Techniques for Giving Helpful Evaluations

TOASTMASTERS I N T E R N A T I O N A ~

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL, INC.P.O. Box 9052

Mission Viejo, CA 92690 USA 949-858-8255

www.toastmasters.org " 2010 Toastmasters International. All rights reserved. Toastmasters International, theToastmasters International logo and all other Toastmasters International trademarks and copy-rights are the sole property ofToastmasters International and may be used only by permission.Printed in USA Rev. 412010 Item 202
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Effective Evaluation


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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 When You Are the Evaluator . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

The Evaluator's Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 How to Prepare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Your Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 7 How You Say It. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Your Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 8 As You Conclude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Follow Up with the Speaker. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 Follow Up with the Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

When You Are the Speaker or Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Put Some Variety into Evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Would You Like to learn More? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Recommended Evaluation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

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4 Effective Evaluation


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Pblic speaking and leadership are skills that can bedeveloped and improved. In Toastmasters, feedbackis called evaluation, and it is the heart of the Toast-masters educational program. You observe the speechesand leadership roles of your fellow club members andoffer evaluations of their efforts, and they do the samefor you. If you truly want to improve your speaking andleadership skills, you must learn how to give and receivehelpful evaluations.

IntroductionHave you ever helped your child with aschool assignment? Been asked by aco-worker for advice on a project? Offeredsuggestions to local government?

If you have, you have been an evaluator.You have listened to and observed othersand their work and offered feedback. Youevaluate in some manner every day, athome, at the office, and in the community.

People join Toastmasters clubs toimprove their speaking and leadershipskills, and these skills are improved throughevaluations. Members prepare and presentspeeches based on projects in the Compe-tent Communication manual, or theyserve in leadership roles while completingprojects in the Competent Leadershipmanual. Their fellow club members evaluate the speeches or leadership efforts,enabling the members to develop theirspeaking or leadership skills.The tone and content of an evaluationhave great impact on the speaker and

even on the club. A harsh evaluation maycause a member to leave the club. Anoverly kind evaluation may not help themember to improve, making the memberfrustrated and unhappy. Good evaluatorsstrive to find a balance between the extremes, giving evaluations that are helpfuland encouraging.

Although most of the time you will beevaluating others in the club, the skills youlearn can be applied in all aspects of yourlife. You will become abetter listener anda more critical thinker. By reading thismanual carefully and applying its tips andtechniques to your evaluations, you willquickly be able to give helpful, positive,constructive evaluations that will motivateand genuinely help the receiver. You willalso learn about other evaluation methodsand resources available to help you andyour fellow club members, and about howyour club can evaluate itself to ensure theclub is meeting member needs.



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When Yo" Are the Evaluator.t. The Evaluator's RoleYour purpose as an evaluator is to providehonest reaction in a constructive mannerto the person's efforts, using the evalua-tion guides provided. You are not a judgeor an authority on speaking or leadership.When you evaluate, you are simply givingyour own reaction to the person's speak-ing or leadership efforts. An evaluation isan opinion, nothing more. This opinionshould mention the effect on you, whatthe speaker or leader did well, areas wherethe speaker or leader could improve, andspecific recommendations for improvement.

Keep in mind that you cannot changethe person's behavior or force the personto accept your ideas and suggested impro-vements. Nor can you demand that aspeaker or leader repeat a project if youbelieve the person did not accomplishproject objectives or otherwise did notperform well. But through your evaluationyou can provide information that thespeaker or leader may consider for futureprojects. The decision to accept your

suggestions is the speakeror leader's alone.

Even when you are notthe assigned evaluator, youare encouraged to give feed-back. The more feedback aspeaker or leader receives,the more the person benefits.This evaluation need not beas detailed as that of theassigned evaluator, but itshould mention somethingthe speaker or leader didwell, something that couldbe im proved, and a specific

recommendation for improvement.Most dubs provide members with short

evaluation forms to fill out and give tothe speaker or leader at each meeting,or you can write your evaluation on apiece of paper.

If you are a new Toastmaster, youmost likely will not be assigned to evaluateuntil you have read this manual, spokenwith your club's vice president educationabout the evaluation process, attendedat least three or four club meetings whereothers gave evaluations, and completedone or two speeches or leadership projectsyourself. These activities will give you information and experience that you can drawon as you prepare your first evaluation..t. How to PrepareThe speaker or leader has spent hours even weeks - preparing a project. Shedeserves the best evaluation possible. Theevaluation you provide should be thought-fully prepared and presented. You willnot need hours of preparation time, butyou will need at least 15 minutes to dothe following:

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1. Read the project. Every project in theCompetent Communication, AdvancedCommunication Series, and CompetentLeadership manuals has adifferentpurpose and different objectives. Youwill have difficulty evaluating if youare not familiar with the project andobjectives. Before the club meeting,obtain the manual from the person andcarefully read the project descriptionand objectives.

2. Read the evaluation guide for theproject. The guide explains what youshould be looking for as you evaluate.It lists specific questions about thespeaker or leader and provides a spacein which you may write comments. Thisis the written evaluation you will giveto the speaker or leader after the meet-ing. You will also use this guide as abasis for your verbal evaluation. Yourevaluation need not be limited to thesepoints, however. If you want to com-ment on other aspects of the person'sefforts, you are welcome to do so.

3. Talk with the speaker or leader.This is an important yet sometimesneglected step. Your evaluation will bemost helpful if you are aware of theperson's general goals and of specificareas in which the person would likehelp and feedback. If the leader tellsyou, for example, that she is working onstrengthening her organization skills,you may want to specifically address thisin your evaluation, even though theevaluation guide does not mention it.You will also be more helpful if you are

aware of previous feedback the speaker or

leader has received and any progress made.Avoid duplicating previous evaluations, anddon't merely watch for small inadequacies.Good eye contact, meaningful, natural ges-tures, and correct grammar contribute to theoverall effect of aspeech but should not begiven so much emphasis that they detractfrom the basic purpose of the evaluation.... Your EvaluationBefore the club meeting begins, get themanual from the speaker or leader andturn to the appropriate evaluation guide.Listen carefully and watch closely. Don't letyour mind wander or become distracted.Make notes on the evaluation guide ifyou want to.

After the speaker or leader has finished,begin preparing your evaluation. Completethe evaluation guide, but remember thatyou need not comment on every question.Then prepare your verbal presentation.You won't have time to cover everything.Instead, simply select two or three pointswhich you feel are most important andelaborate on them. Be honest. If you didnot like some aspect of the person's per-formance, do not say that you did.Mention something the person did well inaddition to something which could beimproved. Some Toastmasters like the"sandwich" approach, where asuggestionfor improvement is sandwiched betweentwo positive comments. Evaluate onlyareas that the speaker or Ieader has thepower to change.

Be specific. If the speech organizationwas confusing at one point, say so butdearly address what confused you andoffer asuggestion for improvement."When you were talking about the truck,I wasn't sure if you were referring to the



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new one or to the old one. Giving eachtruck an appropriate nickname and using itthroughout the speech may have workedbetter. That would have made the references clearer to me and maybe even haveadded more humor." Or, "I found the evaluation helpful. But I believe that limitingthe number of helpful suggestions to threeinstead of five would have been moremanageable and less overwhelming for thespeaker." If you were impressed, for example, with the speaker's description of anobject, say so. "When you described thatfudge cake, my mouth watered." How You Say ItHow you phrase your evaluation has asmuch impact on the speaker or leader asthe content of your evaluation. When youmean well and have good ideas but usewords that put the person on the defensive,your message is lost. Carefully select yourwords, using the following guidelines. Remember that you are speaking only

for yourself, giving only your opinion.You are not speaking on behalf of theaudience; in fact, your opinions maydiffer from those of the rest of theaudience. Avoid saying "we think," "webelieve," "the audience would have,""The audience didn't understand,"and other words that imply you arespeaking on behalf of others.

Likewise, avoid impersonal statementsthat imply someone other than you isgiving the evaluation, or imply the evaluation is directed to someone otherthan the speaker. Do not say "they say,""one must," "people are," or make othervague references.

Avoid judgment words and phrases,such as "good leaders don't," "that wasthe wrong thing to say," "if you want todo it right, you must: "you did," and"you were." Use words that describe your ownreactions to the speaker, such as"I was impressed with," "I was confusedabout," "when I heard," and "I thinkthe speech's purpose would have beenclearer if," and "I liked it when."

Don't repeat a point once you havemade it. Repeating a point can soundlike nagging.

Avoid words like "never" and "always."These exaggerations detract from yourmessage.

Your DeliveryWhen you evaluate, you are giving yourpersonal opinion in a friendly, direct, nonthreatening manner. Look directly at thespeaker or leader as you give your presentation. Smile. This is not aspeech, and youshould do nothing that calls more attention to yourself than to your effort to helpthe speaker or leader. Avoid exaggeratedgestures or body language unless they areto illustrate a point you are making aboutthe person's efforts. As You ConcludeThe speaker or leader should always walkaway from the meeting feeling motivatedand eager to begin working on his nextproject. How you finish your evaluationoften determines whether aspeaker orleader is motivated or unmotivated.Conclude on a positive note that helpsbuild self-esteem and self-confidence.

You could finish by pointing out aparticular part of the person's efforts that

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you really liked and the effect it had onyou. If the person has shown dramaticimprovement in some area, mention itand offer congratulations. Find somethingthat affected you in a positive way andcomment on it.A Follow Up with the SpeakerAfter the meeting, return the manual withyour written evaluation and ask if he orshe has any questions or comments aboutyour evaluation. Make sure the speaker orleader did not misinterpret anything yousaid. If you have other comments youwould like to make verbally, do it at thispoint. Ask if you could have said or doneanything differently in your evaluationthat would have been more helpful. Follow Up with the AudienceAs mentioned earlier, your evaluation issimply your opinion. You may want tospeak with other members in the audienceto see if your evaluation was indeedappropriate and accurate. Opinions mayvary. But such feedback can help you thenext time you are assigned to eva luate aspea ker or leader.When You Are theSpeaker or LeaderYou can do several things to ensureyou receive the most benefit eachtime you speak.1. Inform the evaluator and vice

president education of your goals.This will enable the vice president edu-cation to plan meetings that will helpyou to meet your goals. The evaluatoralso will know what to consider whenevaluating your next project.

2. Tell your evaluator any specificpoints you would like her to review.The more the evaluator knows aboutwhat you hope to accomplish or anyspecific areas you want help with, themore the evaluator can help you.

3. During your evaluation, listencarefully to the evaluator. Lookdirectly at the evaluator and payattention to what is being said.Suspend all judgment or reaction towhat you hear. Be receptive and do notcriticize the evaluator or make faces,other gestures, or jokes. Speakers whodo not accept evaluations gracefullysoon discover no one wants to evaluatethem. If you have something to say tothe evaluator, speak with the evaluatorafter the meeting.

4. Carefully consider each commentand suggestion for improvement. Donot rush to judgment about anything



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your evaluator says. Immediately dis-missing the evaluator by thinking, "Thisfellow doesn't know what he is talkingabout," or "She missed the point," meansyou may be missing out on some valu-able feedback. Remember, the evaluatoris merely offering her opinion of whatshe saw and heard. Some of her opinionsand perceptions may be valid and usefulto you, and some may not. You won'tknow until you have heard and consid-ered all of them.

5. Evaluate your efforts yourself. Youusually can tell if you achieved yourpurpose, and you are most likely awareof mistakes you made. After everyspeech or leadership project, writedown what you were pleased with andwhat you know you should work onwhen preparing your next project.

6. After the meeting, speak with theevaluator. This is your opportunity toask any questions about the evaluationyou received. Be careful not to attackor berate the evaluator. However, if

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you believe the evaluator could havesaid something more effectively orbeen able to help you more, say so, andoffer specific suggestions for improve-ment. If the evaluator did not mentionan area on which you would like hisfeedback, discuss this with him andsolicit his opinion.

7. Talk with other club members. Yourevaluator was only one person offeringone opinion. You will benefit more bysoliciting feedback from other audiencemembers. As mentioned earlier, mostclubs encourage all members to givebrief written feedback to a speaker.This input can be very helpful. However,verbal feedback is valuable, too. Askother members what they thought andask their advice for improvement.

Put Some Varietyinto EvaluationsThe evaluations described above are themost common methods used by clubs. Butyour club can occasionally try and benefitfrom other evaluation programs, too.Following are some suggestions: Specialized Evaluation. Each evaluator

is assigned a particular part to evaluate.For example, one evaluator is assignedto evaluate the opening of all threeprepared speakers, while another isassigned to evaluate the organizationof all three.

Panel Discussions. All evaluatorsevaluate all speech or leadership roles,making notes on items which theyfeel need emphasis and discussion.The general evaluator then leads a


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discussion with the evaluators. Ifenough time is available, the audiencecan comment, too.

Videotaped Evaluations. Speakers andleaders are videotaped and the tapesare reviewed during the meeting if timepermits. Each evaluator refers to thetape as he gives his verbal evaluation toillustrate points he is making. Or speakers and leaders may take their tapeshome for private review. In anothervariation, the evalutor and speaker orleader meet later to review the ta peand both evaluate the presentation.

Audio Recorded Evaluations.. Speakersand leaders are recorded and therecordings can be evaluated duringthe club meeting or in the mannersdescribed for videotaped evaluations.

nStop the Speaker" Evaluations. Theevaluator stops the speaker or leaderand gives immediate reaction. Forexample, if the speaker's voice is toosoft, the evaluator would stop thespeaker and say, "I can't hear you.Speak louder." Or the evaluator maystop the leader and say, ''You may wantto offer some specific suggestions forimproving the meeting." Of course, thespeaker or leader must agree before themeeting to this type of evaluation,since it can be distracting.

Would You Like to Learn More?Toastmasters International has severalpresentations that your dub can conductto help you and your fellow dub membersbecome better evaluators. Ask your vicepresident education to include them inthe club's meeting schedule.

"The Art of Effective Evaluation"[www.toastmasters.org/25l) is aseminarstyle presentation that gives you tips andtechniques for effective evaluations as wellas the opportunity to practice them. Aspart of the seminar, you will complete aquestionnaire to help you identify yourclub's evaluation strengths and weaknesses, and you will receive aworkbook thatyou may use as a reference later. The seminar is conducted by one of your clubmembers and takes about two and onehalf hours. Clubs should conduct it at leastonce a year.

"Evaluate to Motivate" (www.toastmasters..org/292) is part of TheSuccessful Club Series. This lO-minutepresentation also can be conducted by oneof your dub members for the entire dub.It offers a quick review of evaluation techniques. Although it is not as thorough as"The Art of Effective Evaluation;' it canmotivate members to give better evaluations. It is also helpful to conduct thispresentation if several new members joinyour club at once.

Twice each year your district has aconference, offering educational programsof interest to members. Often a programon evaluation is featu red. Check withyour district officers to see when the nextprogram is scheduled.

Toastmasters International also hasa program that will help the club toevaluate itself. "Moments ofTruth"(www.toastmasters.org/290Amotl isanother title in The Successful Club Series.The presentation allows you to analyzeevery aspect of the club's operations,helping it to become more effective at

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helping members achieve their goals. Thepresentation can be conducted in one hourand clubs should conduct this annually.Recommended Evaluation ToolsIn addition to "The Art of EffectiveEvaluation;' "Evaluate to Motivate;' and"Moments of Truth," you may be interestedin the following: Ballots and Brief Evaluations

(www.toastmasters.org/163) can beused by all club members to give briefevaluations to five speakers and leadersand the Toastmaster, plus ballots for bestspeaker and other awards.

Individual Speech Evaluation Form(www.toastmasters.org/16S) outlinespoints for the evaluator to cover.

Evaluation Kit(www.toastmasters.org/167) conta ins25 of each of the following evaluationmaterials: Your Speaking Profile,Individual Speech Evaluation Form,and Evaluation of the Evaluator.Make every effort to develop evaluation

skills. Observe other evaluators. Ask ques-tions. Study this manual. You may evenfind it helpful to visit other Toastmastersclubs and listen to their evaluators. Withmore exposure to avariety of evaluations,you will be able to improve your own andhelp fellow club members improve theirspeaking and leadership skills. You will alsobe able to use your evaluation skills out-side of the club, becoming more confidentin your interactions with others at work,at home, and in the community.

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