The Evaluation

Last session went very well-- probably my best effort thus far. The real icing on the cake was that there were THREE new members awaiting my arrival (well, not REALLY waiting MY arrival-- just a dramatic way to state that they were there and when I opened the door it was a huge and lovely surprise to see new faces). New members are the lifeblood of Toastmasters. Yes, it is lovely to have seasoned members to learn from, but there is something so very sweet and exciting about fresh recruits. You know...

So, while I am not doing a speech tomorrow night, I stuttered out that I would act as a speech evaluator. What stands out particularly about a ToastMasters' meeting is that just about everything that happens there is evaluated... no exaggeration.

Evaluation is, simply, the process of listening to, observing others at work, and providing your feedback.

Many of us join ToastMasters to improve our speaking and leadership skills. Evaluations help us to do that. We prepare and present speeches from a manual-- initially the "Competent Communicator" Manual. Our club members generally take turns acting in an evaluator role.

An evaluator's approach and what he/she has to offer have a great impact on the speaker, and on the club in general. I was greatly relieved to have been gently treated at the first couple of meetings, but was a little surprised when one of the seasoned evaluators was quite disparaging about the type of hand gestures my fellow-speaker used. I have since heard a large number of evaluations and recognize that we all have good nights and bad nights, and that sometimes a seemingly "harsh" evaluation is just the result of that evaluator's humanity-- maybe he didn't get enough sleep the night before, or he is feeling under the weather, or maybe he is 'triggered' by a certain kind of hand gesture. Best not to personalize.

I will strive to offer a helpful "middle ground" between a harsh and overly kind (i.e., smarmy and dishonest)evaluation.

Evaluations help with developing good listening skills and good critical thinking. As we hear evaluations, and take a turn at giving them, we are quickly able to be helpful, positive and motivating to the receiver. Of course, the same happens for us as we are evaluated. It is interesting to note that there are a number of public figures who are/have been ToastMasters, such as former BC Premier, Bill Bennett, and Tracy Wilson, Tim Allen and Napoleon Hill, to mention a few. Apparently Bill Bennett would have every speech he gave in the Legislature evaluated by selected and trusted staff members (who I am assuming were also ToastMasters?).

Talking Head

Communist Orator Harangues the Crowd at Speaker's Corner Hyde Park London

So, here I am, 56 years old and a gaga novice in ToastMasters. I've been doing another go at the "Artist's Way" (I've started on Week 1 of the 11 week regimen)and I believe that TM appeals to me because I am actually able to do some creative writing and stand up and spiel away about any topic I so choose. It is a very creative process. I am at a point in my life where I am attempting to recover my creativity.... but I honestly had NO IDEA that I would end up in ToastMasters.

I got involved because I am fairly new in this island community and I began to feel like it was time to reach outside my (lovely little) Church community and get acquainted with some community folks. At least I think that was the motivation.

I headed out one dark, rainy, winter night (November) for a location I really wasn't too familiar with, and in a car I hadn't driven for about six months. This is heady stuff for a middle-aged, introverted, middle-income, semi-retired, myopic, white woman. Got my juices running, if you will.

The small group of strangers in the austere room at the rec center were friendly and very...hmmm...civil? courteous? polite? Those very gentile traits that are rather rare on the ground in the 21st Century. I was shaky and giddy, but I felt very welcomed. It was a little like going to a school reunion back on the prairies... people looked vaguely familiar and they treated me like I was someone that they maybe knew as well.

Kindness is such a scarce commodity these days that it is sometimes rather suspect. The fact that the 'core' group of ToastMasters have been coming for several years is an indicator, I think, of the genuineness of their bonhomie.

And although 'communication' is supposedly at the foundation of the program, I believe that there is a sincere love of people operating in the little club that I attend... and a love for the written/spoken language. Outside of an English department, where are you going to find that in a group these days?

I am putting together my fifth speech (of ten-- towards my Competent Communicators' award, the first level in ToastMasters).

Unfortunately I have left it to the last day and now must attempt to learn the mechanics of gestures and movement, write the actual speech, and rehearse it so I won't need notes. Feels a little like a cram, but I know that that is just one of those silly nightmare echoes... the reality is that I will go in, do my best, have a few laughs, learn some great stuff (even about myself), and come home feeling 100%. I highly recommend the experience!
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