Constructive Critique

At least 24 hours ago I was sitting in LT12 at Taylor's University. Why? Because of:

District 51, Division B
Toastmasters Leadership Training 2

However today I would like to share with you a sweet trickle of knowledge I managed to pick up from one of the Elective Sessions we had yesterday. I have extracted what I seem to think were the key points of the talk.

EVALUATE TO UPLIFT

What is the Importance of Evaluation?
- To Learn from the mistake of others
- One becomes more aware of speech crutches
- Increased sensitivity to listening to a speech
- Allows you to become an effective leader ( you learn how to give out constructive crticism in the work place)



SPECIAL NOTE: SAFE FEEDBACK IS NO FFEDBACK

4 Skills of an Evaluator
1. Good Listening Skills
2. Observation Skills
3. Analytical Skills
4. Delivery Skills (IMPORTANT)

3 Golden Rules
R - Respect to the speaker

E - Evaluate, not summarise

D - Discuss with the speaker (before & after speech)

Now take it to THE NEXT LEVEL:

4 Platinum Rules
R - read, read, read

O - Own Format

S - Be Specific

E - Eliminate Inconsistencies

SPECIAL NOTE: REMEMBER TO STAY FOCUSED SO YOU CAN KEEP EVALUATIONS ON TARGET

Explanation:
The 3 GOLDEN RULES teach us that firstly it is important to respect the speaker, do not hang the speaker and be too harsh, you are not a judge but an EVALUATOR. Secondly Evaluate, not summarise. Most people have the tendancy of summarising the speech instead of actually giving evaluation of the speakers skills. Finally Discuss with the speaker before and after the speech. Before the speech, the speaker might have some habits or certain areas they would like you to look out for during their speech, this also helps in your evaluation.

We then take it a step further by examining the 4 PLATINUM RULES to evaluation. Read, Read, Read refers to the fact that an evaluator should read the speaker's speech objectives, note to the evaluator, and previous feedback of the speaker!! (not many do this). When giving your evaluation, it will help to highlight areas of improvement from the last speech the speaker delivered. Subsequently when giving an evaluation one should have an organized way of evaluating.

Evaluations should have:

Intro - KISS
Body - KICK
Conclusion - KISS







* KKK method. Also known as the sandwhiching method.

Thirdly, be specific. For exmaple a lot of the time, you hear evaluators say you lack vocal variety. BE SPECIFIC here, Vocal Variety addresses articulation, volume, inflection, pitch, pause and tempo; explain to the speaker what you are talking about. This helps them to improve, which is the main objective.

The Fourth and final rule is to eliminate inconsistencies. This includes the NO NO's OF EVALUATION:

* Speak for yourself not others (Avoid using words like "we")

* Avoid Impersonal Statements (impersonal statements: "They say", "one must")

* Avoid Judgmental Statements (ie. A good speaker would not twiddle their
fingers)

* Avoid saying "but" - it negates everything good you just said!

SPECIAL NOTE: JUST REMEMBER R.E.D R.O.S.E



orignal presentation by Eu Choi San, CC

THE END

Personal Thoughts:

Comrades, it is important to give an effective evaluation. Why? What you say affects the speaker. Your word at that point and time is the gospel truth. So remember to be effective in delivering your evaluations. Dont be too harsh, allow lots of room for improvement and the main goal is to learn from and help others.

I truly enjoyed myself and I hope that you find use for this information too.

I end with my club's driving motto "PUSH YOURSELF TO THE LIMIT!"

signing off,
Isabell Zubinsha
Vice President of Education
Taylor's University Toastmasters Club

Charter Ceremony on Nov 6, 2010: Charter President's Address

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Happy Deepavali. I hereby would like to extend a warm welcome and appreciation once again to all our special guests, families and friends present here today. I’m honored to be given the opportunity to speak as the first Charter President of the Taylor’s University Toastmasters Club and I’m thrilled to have a great team together with me in bringing the club to a higher level. Today, I would like to share with you 3 things which are the benefits of toastmasters, my goal of the club and the term’s theme.


The establishment of Taylor’s University Toastmasters Club has been a long yet exciting road. It was after months of communication and documentation that we finally arrived to a day which we’ve been longing for. Our club is officially chartered on the 4th of October this year. I believe this day wouldn’t have come true without having the assistance and support from many experience toastmasters.


I was once told, “In life, you ought to obtain 2 masters. One is to master yourself; two is to master your communication.” A simple sentence; yet it got me thinking for quite a while. It was until I joined Toastmasters early this year that I found a beautiful matching to this sentence.


This non-profit organization does not only provide a platform for us to enhance our communication but also to build our leadership skills. As days go by, our speaking improves with the opportunities and the instant constructive feedback given and we discover more of our soft skills by taking up various roles in club meeting. We have seen people who were shy and shutter in speaking, yet we also see how confident they become today. This has far proven how beneficial toastmasters program is, and how it helps us to master ourselves and our delivery.


Like a building, it will soon topple without a strong base. As a leader of a new born toastmasters club, my goal this term is to lay a solid foundation for the club and further develop the club into achieving DCP goal with The Moment of Truth as the backbone.


Our club’s theme this term is “Push Yourself to the Limit!”. Truth to be told, joining Toastmasters is my will, but becoming a president wasn’t my initial intention. But let me tell you this one thing, as time flies, my passion towards this club has grown much deeper. Being a president no longer becomes a responsibility to me but something I truly enjoy doing. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have felt this passion in me if I didn’t push myself to take up the challenge as the club president.


In accordance to the theme, I would like to invite all of you here to begin pushing yourself to the limit, be it in toastmasters itself, your academic, your co-curriculum or your current job. We often get too comfortable at our current state that we refuse to be out of this comfort zone, refuse to take risk because we’re afraid of failure. But many times, we didn’t realize that it takes several failures to achieve great success. Keep exploring and you may be surprised upon your discovery. And I promise you that when you look back in time, you will realize all these first steps are in fact the best decisions you’ve made in your life.


Thank you.



Stephanie Teoh Jie Ying
Charter President 2010/11
Taylor's University Toastmasters Club