Nov. 27, 2022
With the hiccup from a Thanksgiving post, Sandwiches will conclude on Nov. 29th. We’re on the sixth of seven questions. Ready?
In Toastmasters, we give evaluations using the sandwich method. What goes into your sandwich for a new member vs. a seasoned member, and to a larger extent, general evaluations?
Toastmasters gives us a template on how to give evaluations. Developing myself as a speaker helps me give evaluations. In my evaluation sandwich for both new and seasoned members, I acknowledge all of the positives: eye contact, vocal variety, pacing, speech organization, body language, etc. For new members to improve, I say things that are part of the evaluation template, and stress speech organization as the skill to be mastered first; everything else is layered and works around the content.
Seasoned members need higher level improvements and are specific to each individual. I draw from my education background to help with this. The purpose of someone giving a speech is get their message to the audience and get the audience act on it. Educators do the same thing. One example is to adjust your speech or tone based on the feedback the speaker receives from the audience.
It’s very important to note that evaluators don’t suggest improvements that are beyond a speaker’s level. For new speakers, if the target is too high, or there are too many things that they need to work on, they may find these things unachievable or believe that they are terrible, and give up. For seasoned members, if they don’t have anything challenging to work on, they’re not getting an opportunity to grow, and that’s not what we want.
OK, I cheated and answered in 3 paragraphs. I need a fourth to address general evaluations, so that can be postponed for another day.
How to Play:
Answer the question in 1-2 paragraphs. No run-ons, please.
Warning:
Some responses and elements can be controversial, but all answers are correct. Yes, we’re still talking about sandwiches. If you disagree, please do so respectfully.
Read and Write Here 