{"id":1769,"date":"2020-08-19T11:58:21","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T06:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/?p=1769"},"modified":"2020-08-19T12:13:11","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T06:43:11","slug":"the-wonderful-elusive-world-of-speech-evaluation-a-guide-by-yours-truly-and-seasoned-uoc-gaveliers-across-the-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/?p=1769","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;The Wonderful, Elusive World of Speech Evaluation&#8221;: A Guide, by Yours Truly and seasoned UoC Gaveliers across the board"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As someone who has watched, noted, and delivered many speech evaluations in her short life, let me tell you \u2013 it\u2019s FUN. Not what you expected me to say, was it? But, then again, how many times has dear old Nish told you something \u201cisn\u2019t a big deal\u201d when it could potentially be a big deal? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I remember, in my day, how I roped in unsuspecting Gaveliers to do Table Topics Evaluations on a whim (Hi, Sasinidu!) and gave them a quick rundown via a voice note on how to do an evaluation. Most often than not, my last-minute recruits delivered their evaluations well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I realize that we don\u2019t have anything in writing that you can refer to when you suddenly have to do an evaluation and cannot remember what you\u2019re supposed to know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, with the collective experience that I have received by\nwatching our senior Gaveliers deliver evaluations, I have put together a guide\nfor evaluators at UoC to read and understand, so that when you have to do an\nevaluation, you won\u2019t have to bother Tharindi too much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NB: This is a simple rundown and a mere glimpse into the\nworld of evaluations. I\u2019m not touching on evaluations for competitions (that\u2019s\na completely different ball game) and this article is just for you to know what\nto do when you have to step in as a CCE or TTE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>What is the purpose of an evaluator?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From what I\u2019ve gathered, an evaluator of a speech acts as the accountability factor, for a speech and for the person delivering the speech. Having an evaluator means that there is someone watching you, listening to you, and recording your every move, without reaching stalker status. When you know this, you know that you have to perform well, because the evaluator is within their rights to point out your flaws and inconsistencies when they\u2019re called upon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An evaluator exists to make a speaker better. There\u2019s no point in doing a speech without having someone point out the positives and negatives \u2013 it strokes your ego and also gives you things to work on and improve for next time. This is why we take care to appoint people who have already completed a significant level of speeches or has been around long enough to know what a speech should entail, to the position of an evaluator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, these types of people are scarce, because we\u2019re all\nstill learning, so don\u2019t be scared if you want to try out to be an evaluator \u2013\njust read this first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>What does an evaluator gain by being one?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might think that this is just a ticket to judge the way someone gives a speech \u2013 but this is going to give you so much in terms of learning and becoming a better speaker yourself. When you are tasked with observing, noting down, and commenting on your personal opinion on a speech, you gain some insight into how the speaker\u2019s mind works, and how their speech is crafted. You\u2019ll notice that you start to care about the beginning, body, and conclusion of the speech, you\u2019ll start to wonder where the personal story is going to come in, or where the anecdote will pop in. You\u2019ll start rooting for the speaker to do their best, and you\u2019ll (most probably) be pleased with the speech, save for a few improvements here and there. You\u2019ll be gaining valuable insight into how speeches work, and this will groom you to be a mentor in the future and to help out speakers on different levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>How to evaluate a speech?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, I\u2019ve stopped my rambling and got down to business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you present your evaluation, you need to tell the speaker what was great about their speech and what you thought could be improved. Notice how I\u2019m emphasizing on \u201cyou\u201d? That\u2019s because evaluation is someone\u2019s personal opinion about a speech and how a speaker excelled and could improve on certain fronts. This is why it\u2019s important to use phrases like \u201cI loved the way you\u2026\u201d or \u201cI think you could improve by\u2026\u201d so that the speaker is reminded of the fact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What us foodies at Gavel UoC like to preach is the use of\nthe \u201cSandwich Method\u201d or the \u201cCommend \u2013 Recommend \u2013 Commend\u201d method. Basically,\nwhat this means is that you need to sandwich the points of improvement between\npositive points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Start: Commend the speaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Here, you start off your evaluation by talking\nabout the good elements of the speech. You do not need to go into too much\ndetail, but it\u2019s good to mention specific great spots that you noted. List them\ndown and get them out of the way \u2013 don\u2019t forget the phrases \u201cI thought\u201d\/ \u201cI\nthink\u201d and \u201cin my opinion\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Next: Recommend points to improve on<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Here is where you point out certain fallacies,\nissues that you noticed the speaker could fix for next time. It is important\nthat you phrase these clearly and provide an example of how the speaker could\nhave done something better. Make sure that you are not rude and that you\npresent these points gently and with encouraging overtones. Again, remember to\nsay \u201cI personally think you should do this like this\u2026\u201d or something along those\nlines. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally: Commend and wrap up <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>At the end of your evaluation, as you wrap up, remind the speaker and the rest of the audience what was great about the speech. It is important to always end on a positive note. My favorite phrases to bring the evaluation to a close is \u201coverall, I think you did a really good job!\u201d and \u201call in all, that was an amazing speech!\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Sounds pretty simple, yes?<br>\n<br>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>But Nish, what do we have to commend recommend commend\nblah blah? Make it make sense, dude.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right, that\u2019s what I was getting to. Now I\u2019m going to list\ndown things that you as an evaluator need to pay attention to, in terms of how\nwell the speaker is doing it. If you\u2019re evaluating a CC, note that each CC has\nspecific objectives that you have to check on and see if the speaker is\nfulfilling them. These things are pretty general things that you would usually\nlook at, no matter what kind of speech you\u2019re evaluating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Content and Language<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Look at what the speaker is talking about. Is it enough to substantiate a speech? Are they giving actual points out and helping us (the audience) learn something? Are they informing us about some issue, or entertaining us with the speech, or inspiring us with their words? Are they using quotes from famous people to prove their points, are they telling us about their own stories? Are there anecdotes being used? Are they repeating the same thing over and over again? Is what they\u2019re saying effective? Is the content flowing smoothly \u2013 does the speaker start with a strong opening, move on to a great story or body of the speech, and end on a memorable note? Is the language appropriate for the message of the speech? Should the speaker be checking their grammar before the speech? All of these things will work in your brain when you listen to\/watch someone giving a speech. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>This refers to how the speaker uses their voice to make the speech colorful. Are they changing the pitch of their voice to be higher in certain places and lower in other places? Are they changing their pitch when they imitate someone else? Are they speaking in a monotone? How does their vocal variation make you feel? Are they doing it right? Do you think they can change their pitch in someplace and make more of an impact? <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gestures and Body Language<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Here, you look at how the speaker uses gestures \u2013 hand movements, head movements, etc.- to make their points. Are the hands distracting from the speech? Are the gestures effective or are they too much? Should the speaker be doing more gestures? Is there a point in the speech where the speaker should have done a hand gesture? When the speaker is moving from side to side, is the speaker doing it smoothly, or is it too stiff? Is the stage being used well, or is the speaker just stuck in one place without any movement? Is the speaker a rag doll or a wooden doll? Which version would suit the speech best?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stage Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Here, you look at how the speaker uses their surroundings in correlation with their speech. My favorite thing to look at is to see if a speaker uses their stage to illustrate a timeline (if the speech has something to do with a story). When you think of the speech, could the speaker have used the stage better, in keeping with the message of the speech? For example, if the speech title was \u201cMoving Forward\u201d, did the speaker actually, physically take a few steps forward when they started giving us their message? Could they have moved differently?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eye Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Having good eye contact is vital for a good\nspeech and its message to reach an audience. When evaluating a speaker, look at\ntheir eyes, and look at who (or what) they look at. Are they looking at people\nin the audience or staring at the blank space behind everyone? Are they making\nfriends with the floor? <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Confidence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>No matter what the speech is about, having the confidence to deliver it is key. If you\u2019re confident enough, you can convince someone that the earth is yellow and that the sun is blue. Therefore, looking at a speaker\u2019s confidence is something that evaluators are especially interested in. Is the speaker\u2019s voice wavering? Are they visibly nervous? Are they delivering their speech with conviction? Do they believe in what they\u2019re saying?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, I know these are a lot of things to consider, but with\npractice, you\u2019ll notice yourself thinking about all of these things and ticking\nthese boxes mentally. You don\u2019t have to do everything mentally though \u2013 you can\nwrite it down!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is how my written notes\/structure for an evaluation would look like before I give my evaluation. Notice how everything is sandwiched together?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong>COMMEND<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Good Content!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>CONFIDENCE<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Stage Movement<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Words! \u2013 Language colorful (in a good way)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Loved the personal story!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>RECOMMEND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Eye Contact \u2013 looking at the wall (look at people\u2019s eyes)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Vocal Variation \u2013 could have changed the voice for the father\u2019s bit<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Structure \u2013 Work on it a little bit<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The ending \u2013 Could have had a stronger conclusion (quote?)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong>&nbsp;COMMEND FINAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Great Speech<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Lovely message<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Work on things for next time<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Great effort!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, all of these notes would make up a roughly 2-minute long evaluation, so choose your points wisely and give your evaluation. I have a habit of writing down notes on stories that the speech contained so that the evaluation would be more curated towards the speaker, but at the end of the day, it\u2019s up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"427\" height=\"516\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Capture-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Capture-2.png 427w, https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Capture-2-248x300.png 248w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><figcaption> <strong><em>Here&#8217;s a pretty organic type of note that I make for each speaker &#8211; take from it what you will, and also remember to remind speakers when they don&#8217;t address the Table Topics Master, that they have to!&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To make things even more clear, here is a transcript of an\nevaluation that I would give for a prepared speech:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHi *insert name here*, that was a great speech! I loved the storyline and the points you brought out. As we all know, however, there is always room for improvement, and it\u2019s my job to tell you what I thought about your speech today. To start off, I loved the way you started your speech with a question and directed it to the audience. That\u2019s a great way to capture everyone. You also had great vocabulary \u2013 the words that you used were on point and added so much color to the speech. I also thought you had amazing stage presence \u2013 the way you used the stage was pretty awesome and it really helped you get your point across. In terms of improvement, I think you can work on your vocal variation a little bit \u2013 I feel the speech would have been funnier if you maybe changed your voice to suit your father\u2019s voice when he was \u201ctalking\u201d. I also felt that you could have kept more eye contact with us \u2013 towards the second half of the speech, you were looking at the wall behind us more than you were looking at us. Here\u2019s a tip that I learned \u2013 if you don\u2019t want to look people in the eye, look at their ears or forehead instead! It helps give the illusion. Another thing I think you could improve on is your conclusion \u2013 I felt that it could have been stronger. Maybe end with a quote? Just a suggestion. Overall, I thought it was an amazing speech that you gave \u2013 kudos to putting your own spin on the topic. We were all entertained. Great job, and here\u2019s to great speeches in the future as well!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, this is highly speculative \u2013 circumstances matter. If a person is giving a table topic, of course, they\u2019re not going to be prepared and will probably hesitate. Comment on those things, but make sure you acknowledge that it\u2019s not a big deal for them to hesitate for an impromptu speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, notice how I pointed out 3 strong points and 3 improvement points? As an evaluator, you won\u2019t have all the time in the world to say everything you want to, so for the time being, pick 3 or 2 things you want to talk about, that you think are the most important and talk about those. You are speaking to a speaker, but everyone else is listening so they will also learn something from what you said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One cannot become a great evaluator over time. The only reason why I feel even a little qualified to write this article is that I\u2019ve spent my late teens and early adulthood years listening to numerous speeches and listening to others give evaluations and learning from all of those things. So, the most important thing that you need to do is, at the end of the day, pay attention. Don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions (later) and observe how others do it. It\u2019s the best way to learn. Also, watch YouTube videos of speeches, evaluations, and table topics speeches, so you can educate yourself and ultimately, everyone else, little by little, every time you get the chance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, it is important that you, <strong>as a speaker<\/strong>, know how to perceive and receive an evaluation. According to one of our greats GV Ramalka Kasige, the Number 1 thing that people should do before receiving an evaluation, is to forget their ego and be willing to learn. No matter who evaluates you, that person will have a unique take on your speech, so you need to be excited to receive your evaluation. This is imperative for each speaker to inculcate within themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The legendary GV Harinda also has some valuable insight on\nhow a speaker and an evaluator will both benefit from evaluations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cProgress is not possible without continuous feedback. Receiving constructive feedback helps a speaker to identify one\u2019s own strengths and areas for improvement. There might be skills that a speaker already has but has not identified. Also, there might be errors that a speaker might tend to overlook. Self-evaluation has those blind spots which can be avoided with the help of an evaluator.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Evaluating another person&#8217;s speech helps the evaluator to understand his own areas of improvement too. Observing a speech by being in the audience, helps an evaluator understand the expectations of the audience and the types of errors that should be avoided to convey the message clearly. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Thus, evaluations help both the speaker and the evaluator.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, there you have it! Hopefully, this article helps you become a better evaluator and at the very least, a decent observer of others (this does not count as stalking).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy evaluating, kiddos!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As someone who has watched, noted, and delivered many speech evaluations in her short life, let me tell you \u2013 it\u2019s FUN. Not what you expected me to say, was it? But, then again, how many times has dear old Nish told you something \u201cisn\u2019t a big deal\u201d when it could potentially be a big [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[58],"tags":[61,21,74,65],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1769"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1785,"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions\/1785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}