Speaker Evaluator Role Description

Referred to as "Evaluator" at most TI clubs, the primary role of the CATM Speaker Evaluator is to give the Speaker oral and written feedback on his or her speech. Your oral presentation should be no more 3 minutes and no less than 2 minutes, and the focus of your remarks should be always on the Speaker and his or her speech.

The Speaker and the audience are counting on your comments being substantive, so try not to waste any valuable time with irrelevant antecdotes or stories about yourself or anyone other than the Speaker (you will have plenty of other times to use "filler" material in other roles at Toastmasters).

In CATM's streamlined executive meeting structure, each Speaker Evaluator is also responsible for monitoring the usage of grammar by his or her Speaker. Please note that most clubs divide the CATM Speaker Evaluator's duties into two separate roles: The Speaker Evaluator (or Evaluator) and the Grammarian. However, as both roles concentrate on qualitative evaluation and the former is the more important of the two, we have moved that subset of the traditional Grammarian's responsibilities concerning Speakers to the CATM Speaker Evaluator's duties and deleted the rest (including tracking grammatical errors by other meeting participants and tasks associated with the "Word of the Evening").

Prerequisites

It is recommended that Speaker Evaluators have the experience of having given at least one speech and having observed at least three Speaker Evaluations. When necessary, this prerequisite can be replaced by oral guidance from experienced club members and written guidance from the CLP manual.

Before the Meeting

• Contact the Speaker you are to evaluate to find out what speech he or she will be giving and ask what areas they are most interested in improving.
   
• Read “Effective Speech Evaluation” and the evaluation form for the specific speech assignment the Speaker will be presenting so that you are prepared to offer constructive advice.

Upon Arrival at the Meeting

• Get the official evaluation form from the Speaker you will be evaluating.
   
• Make sure to sit where you have full view of the Speaker during his or her speech.

During the Meeting

• Listen to word usage during the meeting. Write down any awkward use or misuse of the language (incomplete sentences, incorrect grammar, sentences that change direction midway, etc.). Your purpose should not be to inhibit rhetoric that is effective and clear to the audience, but rather non-standard usage that simply "does not work".
   
• Complete the official evaluation form and take additional notes.
   
• Use the podium or lectern to give the oral evaluation, starting by acknowledging the Toastmaster.
   
• The oral presentation should not be a reading of notes and should not try to cover too much detail.
   
• A Speaker Evaluator should praise, motivate, and offer areas for improvement. You should point out specific reasons why a speech was successful (warmth, smile, sense of humor, good voice, etc.) and offer areas for possible improvement. Criticism should be offered in a positive light. Sensitive criticisms may be written in the evaluation form, and should not presented orally to the whole group.
   
• Turn the podium or lectern back to the Toastmaster after your conclusion.
   
• Sign and return the written evaluation to the Speaker after the meeting.