Feedback in Toastmasters
Evaluations are for your own benefit!
Remember, you aren't being graded. Instead, the feedback is to help you better understand what worked, what needs to be tweaked, and where you need to improve.
Evaluations are the tool that can help you -- and all of us -- improve.
Speech Evaluator
You aren't evaluated against the "perfect" Toastmaster, if that person ever existed.
Instead, you are evaluated relative to where you are on your Toastmasters journey. For example, if you haven't learned about how to use gestures, you shouldn't be expected to apply that skill yet.
Your evaluator should focus on:
Have you met the goals and objectives of your current project?
Have you shown that you can use the skills that you learned from previous projects?
The evaluator will provide both a written and oral report. Evaluators don't supply a laundry list of "things that need work"; instead, they will focus on one change that you can use to make your next speech even better.
If you have questions about your evaluation, feel free to reach out to the evaluator after the meeting.
Timer
If your boss asks you to give a 10-minute presentation during the staff meeting (not including Q&A), you should speak for 10 minutes, not for 4 minutes or 18 minutes.
Most of us don't have an innate sense of time when we speak. We need to develop our awareness of time.
The timer keeps track of time for prepared speeches, table topics and speech evaluations, and will give a report at the end of the meeting.
Ah Counter / Grammarian
Many of us use filler words in our speech. Large numbers of filler words can become very distracting for the listener.
We tend to use filler words when we're trying to recall what to say next. We have "dead air", and it makes us uncomfortable; we think we need to say *something*. If we use pauses instead, the audience won't notice it.
The Ah Counter keeps track of the filler words for everyone who speaks during the meeting, and will give a report at the end of the meeting.
Correct use of grammar helps make us better understood. We're not always aware of our grammar usage.
The Grammarian keeps track of grammar issues. They can also call out excellent uses of correct grammar. They will give a report at the end of the meeting.
CL Task Evaluator
Many of the CL projects have one or more tasks that require you to take on roles in the club meeting.
You will need to receive a written evaluation from another club member in order to get credit for a particular task. These evaluation checklists/forms are found in the CL manual.
If you have questions about your evaluation, feel free to ask the evaluator.