A Step-by-step Approach to Evaluation

Ever felt your evaluations could be a bit better? Then try this six-step approach.

1. Understanding the fundamentals of an evaluation

There are two fundamentals to bear in mind when you are giving an evaluation.

Firstly, imagine the person you are evaluating has been asked to give the same speech again in the near future.

Ø What can you say to help them do it better next time round?

Ø What aspects worked well and should be kept?

Ø What could be improved upon?

And secondly, evaluations are given to help both the speaker and all other club members.

Ø By giving feedback, you are one of the 'teachers' for the meeting, and are helping members improve their speaking skills.

Ø To support this, try to expand some of your commendations or recommendations into a mini- educational to get your point across to the whole audience.

2. Before the speech

Discuss the speech with the speaker beforehand. You can start the evaluation process at this stage by finding out what they plan to work on, and offering advice.

Read the speech assignment and find out the manual goals, and the speaker's personal goals (if any).

Write these goals down on a sheet of paper (your Evaluation Sheet), which you will use at the meeting. Write them on a single piece of paper, one underneath the other.

3. During the speech you are looking to see if the speaker met their goals.

Ø If they did: why?

Ø If not: why not, and how can it be improved?

Using your Evaluation Sheet, listen to the speech and write C for Commendation or R for Recommendation against the goals listed (you may not have time to cover them all) plus any notes or comments.

At the end of the speech determine which Commendations and Recommendations would most help the speaker move on, and only concentrate on these in your feedback Choose the most important and helpful issues to comment on.

Written as a formula, this is what the evaluation will look like:

Opening

Introduction

Body

C = Issue and Why

R = Issue and Why

C = Issue and Why

Ending

Summary

4. Giving the evaluation Use the CRC method

Ø Give one or two Commendations

Ø Then one or two Recommendations

Ø Then a final Commendation

An evaluation formula

Ø An evaluation is a mini speech. It has an Opening, a Body and an Ending.

Ø The opening is an introduction to the evaluation, for example, setting the scene. The ending is a summary of the main points you have made, and the body is where you concentrate on the Commendations and Recommendations

Commendations have 2 components:

1. State an issue that worked well e.g., speech structure

2. Explain why it worked

Recommendations have 3 components:

1. State an issue that could be improved on e.g., use of notes

2. Explain why it didn't work

3. Make a suggestion for how it could be improved

5. After the speech

Fill in the manual. Give it back to the speaker!

Offer discussion with them for farther feedback

6. On a regular basis...

... build up a bank of suggestions you can use in evaluations.

Ø Make a list of issues that may arise in speeches, e.g., variety of voice speech structure use of notes, and write down suggestions for improvement.

Ø Keep adding to the list so that as issues crop up in speeches you are already prepared.

And finally, remember that the better you become at evaluations, the more you learn what goes into making a good speech and the more you learn how to improve your own speaking.

Contributed by Kim Chamberlain ATMB winner of the District 72 2002 Evaluation Contest in support of

Joy Ackrill DTM

Candidate for International Director from Districts outside the United States and Canada