Another aspect of speaking that I’ve learnt in Toastmasters is evaluation. This is a crucial part of improving as a speaker. And the skill of evaluating itself is useful far beyond a speaking context.
In a Toastmasters meeting, once a member has given a speech, another member delivers a short speech evaluating the speaker – what they did well and suggestions on how to improve going forwards. An evaluation helps the speaker learn and develop. It should be delivered tactfully and constructively.
To construct an effective evaluation, you must listen carefully, analyse how someone has performed and distil that into useful feedback which can be delivered in a set time. You cannot comment on everything in an evaluation, so you should choose what is most helpful. Both in terms of what worked and what could be done better. An evaluation should not just be a list of what you liked or didn’t like. Instead communicate why certain aspects worked and how others could be done differently. This makes the feedback relatable and actionable.
Being able to give feedback constructively like this is an extremely useful skill. If you’re managing people, part of your job will be to help them develop. Doing this sensitively and positively is key to being a good manager. Those you are managing will hopefully appreciate you helping them to be the best they can be, as it will ultimately help them in their own careers.
Any time you’re working with others, evaluation is helpful. It may be evaluating the success of a project, how the team is working together or the effectiveness of a meeting. If you are not in a senior or leadership position, it may be daunting to offer feedback. A good leader will encourage it. If not encourage, then at least recognise the value of someone making suggestions as to how to improve.
The other side of evaluation is being open to feedback yourself and learning how to learn from it. If you want to develop and be better, you have to be able to recognise what you are good at and where you can improve. When you get thoughtful, meaningful feedback, it can be hugely impactful and confidence boosting.
Developing your communication skills can make a huge difference whenever you need to speak, not just in public on a big stage, but in everyday situations like meetings, interviews and one-to-one conversations. In this series of blogs, I’ve highlighted three of those skills: timing, debating and evaluation. You can hear a conversation between another Toastmasters member and myself on all the ways public speaking has been useful outside of Toastmasters on this podcast.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
