Evaluations are quite often an intimidating role to a new Toastmaster.  This guide will explain what is expected from this role and give you a framework from which to develop your own evaluation style.

Before the meeting

If you get a chance, watch other toastmasters doing evaluations.  Make notes on the speakers and compare your notes with the evaluators presentation.

In your new member packet, you should have a booklet that describes evaluations.  Read through it.  Look through your Competent Leadership manual at the evaluation roles.  This will give you an idea of what is expected.  Pay special attention to the evaluation project and what in particular is expected of you.

Contact the speaker and ask if there is anything specific they want you to look for.  Also, get the speech details, especially the project they are woking on.  Read up on the project to find out what the objectives are.  If this is a basic manual speech, look in your own manual.  If it is an advanced speech, try searching online to find out what you can about the project.

Contact your mentor and ask them for advice.  If you don't have a mentor, ask your V.P. Education for one.  Don't be afraid to state a preference for who you would like your mentor to be.  This relationship can be a real boost to a new Toastmaster.  Ask your mentor if they will complete the written evaluation for your role.

At the meeting

Give your Competent Leader manual to the person who will be doing a written evaluation of your evaluation.  Get the speech manual from the speaker.  This would be a good chance to provide some encouragement to the speaker.

Read through the speech project.  Pay special attention to the objectives and the evaluation questions at the end.

At Timber Talkers, we ask the evaluator to state the objectives before the speaker is introduced.  Be prepared for this.  Something like "Joe is giving speech #2 today.  His objectives are..."

Make notes while watching the speech. Try to note gestures, great word usage, movement around the stage, organization, vocal variety, and primarily the area the speech project is concentrating on. For instance, if the speech is "Your body speaks", look more at body movement and gestures.

After the speech, pick 3 things to talk about in your evaluation. One of the 3 would be the primary objective of the speech, "Your Body Speaks", for example. The other 2 can be areas you particularly liked. Let's say Joe used awesome vocal variety, use that as 1 of them.

Outline your evaluation. The intro could be, "Fellow Toastmasters... In evaluating Joe's speech today there were 3 things that stood out for me. The first thing was his vocal variety, second was his body movement, and lastly his speech organization."

Put the objective of his speech second. The reason being that they are really working on that area, and would appreciate feedback on how to improve. That one is the area where you make a suggestion for improvement, sandwiching it between the other comments.

Then you talk about each specific points. Talk about the first topic. Get into your stride with the middle topic with a sprinkle of room for improvement. Saying it positively is key. Something like, "I would have loved to have seen you move with a little more purpose to really emphasize your points. For example, when you said, "I am on fire", I would have liked to see you run across the room." Lastly, talk about the third topic.

Your conclusion can be simple, saying you thoroughly enjoyed the speech or something similar.

Using notes for evaluations is expected. Don't worry if you need to look down at your notes. Saying nothing while you do that is appropriate. No apologies needed if you lose your place etc.

After the meeting

• Give the speakers manual back to them and ask the speaker if they have any questions about the evaluation.

• Get your Competent Leader manual from your evaluator.  Read through the comments if time allows and ask for clarification if needed.

• Write down your own thoughts on how you did with some specific ideas on how you might have been more effective. 

General Tips

• Focus on the delivery rather than the content of the speech.

• Talk about areas that can be changed, especially when it comes to areas for improvement.

• Use "I" instead of "You" or "Us".  This is your evaluation.  Your thoughts.  Your feelings.  Describe what you saw.  Don't assume everyone else shares that opinion.  "I would have liked to have heard more vocal variety" is so much better than "You lacked vocal variety."

• Evaluations are a speaking opportunity, not a chore.  Treat the role with respect.  Enjoy your time up there. 

Resources

• See what a World Champion says about evaluations.
• Eric Feng has an interesting post on Evaluations here .