Giving Speech Evaluations
“The speech evaluation “everything was great!” is among the worst possible” (anonymous)
Speech evaluations support the speaker. An evaluation shall help the speaker to recongnize their strengths and weaknesses, and motivate them to proceed on their learning path.
The Sandwich Technique
The Sandwich Technique is a structure for speech evaluations. The emphasis is on reinforcing strengths, criticism is softly embedded in the middle. It consists of 3 parts:
1. Strengths
- say what was good: name specific areas
- give examples, by citing from the speech or showing
- give a maximum of three points in an evaluation speech of 2-3 minutes
- Example: “I liked your use of gestures. When you spoke about xyz, you used both hands to support your point A”
2. Suggestions for improvement
- tell from your perspective: “in my opinion..”, “I noticed..”, “I think..”
- give concrete examples
- how exactly can the speaker improve? What can he try?
- don’t start discussing the content. It backfires easily: “wasn’t Hamlet prince of Norway?”
- limit yourself to no more than three suggestions in a evaluation speech of 2-3 minutes
- Example: “When you mentioned xyz, this was too fast for me. You enumerated 11 points in short succession. Maybe you could try to focus on less points in more detail. This would make it easier to follow.”
3. Summary
- give a brief summary of 1.+2.
- encourage the speaker
- mean what you say, don’t repeat a hollow standard phrase
- Example: “With your elaborate use of gestures and focusing on a few main points I am sure that we will enjoy your future speeches a lot.”
Frequent Pitfalls when evaluating Speeches
- Content trap (don’t retell the speech, don’t give your opinion on the content)
- Time trap (don’t say too much)
- Discouragement trap (avoid saying: “you shouldn’t”, “you failed to..”)
- Rhetoric trap (don’t make the evaluation a rhetoric piece of art; the evaluated speech is the center of attention)
More hints
- address to the speaker directly
- talk to the speaker before he gives the speech and familiarize with his speech goals
- understand, where the speaker is in his current development
- when enumerating three points, put the most important last
What to evaluate?
Here is a number of relevant aspects in speeches. You may pick a few of them for your evaluation:
Structure
Opening
- How did the speech start?
- Strong openings are: quote, question, story, single word, provocative statements
- Did the opening introduce the topic and spark interest?
Body
- How many discernible parts were they?
- What was their structure?
- How did the speaker make the structure clear?
- Was there tension building up to a climax?
Closing
- How did the speech end?
- Strong closings are: quote, call to action, question, statement
- Was there a full circle (backreference to beginning)?
Speech Purpose
General Purpose
- Do you feel inspired/convinced/informed/entertained?
- Was the objective of the speech reached?
- Why / why not?
- Where in the speech was the speech purpose especially clear?
Specific Purpose
- What did the speaker want to inspire / convince you to?
- Did he reach that objective?
- Why / why not?
- Where in the speech was the speech purpose especially clear?
Material
- How was the purpose of the speech supported?
- e.g. by facts, numbers, quotes, stories, visual aids
- Was there a central statement summarizing the message of the entire speech?
Voice
- Was the speaker easy to understand?
- Was the volume varied during the speech? Where?
- Was the pitch/modulation varied during the speech? Where?
- Was voice used to create atmosphere?
Talking Speed
- How did you perceive talking speed?
- How did talking speed change during the speech?
Characters
- Were characters speaking during the speech?
- Were the acting characters discernible by voice?
Pauses
- Were pauses made at reasonable points in the speech?
Body Language
- Did the speaker establish eye contact with the audience?
- Did the speaker look at all people in the audience?
Posture
- Back upright or slumped?
- Head up or hanging?
- Arms open, crossed or in a defensive position?
- Did the speaker stand comfortably or stiffly
Gestures
- Were gestures made?
- How did you perceive the gestures (fitting, natural, exxagerated)?
- Which did you like in particular?
Position on the Stage
- Where did the speaker stand?
- Did the speaker move on the stage?
- Did the movement fit to the content?
Language
Sentence Structure
- Did you understand everything?
- Were sentences short and accurate?
- Did the sentence structure vary?
- Did you observe repetition?
Choice of Words
- Was the language colloquial or more like written language?
- Were terms explained aproppriately?
- Which words worked well for you, which didn’t?
- Did the speaker say “you” or “I” more frequently?
Descriptive Language
- Was descriptive language used?
- Were several senses adressed?
- Which phrases did you like in particular?
Rhetoric Devices
- Did the speaker use rhetoric devices?
- Which?