EFFECTIVE EVALUATION
1. Why do we evaluate?
The purpose of an evaluation is to help another person become a better speaker.
It is to help a speaker improve themselves.
Why people want to learn to speak more effectively
- Ensure views are understood by others; organise thoughts logically
- Effective communication; speak louder, think faster whilst speaking
- Increase self esteem; overcome nerves, participate with confidence
- Be a better leader; be able to relax at stressful speaking times
Whatever the reasons are, you want two things:
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You want to improve your speaking skills
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You want to know how to improve
2. How to build self esteem when you evaluate:
- Listen well, listen actively (i.e. for specific aspects)
- Appreciate effective speech organization
- Allow for people being individual
- Give examples of what you liked – this proves you listened
- Recognise strengths
- Commend improvement
- Recommend further improvement
- No value judgements on content of speech
- No criticism – it is destructive
3. Behaviours of an effective evaluator include:
- Be caring, empathetic. positive
- Consider the speaker’s personality and experience
- Prepare! – learn the speaker’s objectives
- Listen actively – have a plot relating to speaker’s objectives, the objectives
of the speech
- Demonstrate HOW to improve. Maximum of two points, give one to work on
particularly, using specific examples.
- Watch your language: an evaluation is your opinion, there are no absolute
rules, so for example:
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Try to use
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Avoid
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My reaction was
I felt that you
I suggest
A technique I have found helpful
Perhaps next time you might try
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You should have
You failed to
You must
Good speakers always
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4. How to evaluate – the process
- Each speaker should receive a written evaluation in addition to an oral
one.
- Obtain the speaker’s manual and refer to previous written evaluations.
- Ask the speaker in advance if there is a particular aspect they wish to
have evaluated and pay particular attention to that.
- Use the manual for completing the evaluation but don’t just read the points
from it – structure your own evaluation into a minispeech, intro, body and
conclusion.
- Above all else, be just, kind and generous in your appraisal. Not too
soft and not too critical.
5. What to evaluate
Refer to the accompanying table.