We had an excellent evaluation workshop by James Wantz of Feedbackers Toastmasters.
A recording of the workshop and copy of the slides is available for our members
Questions & Answers
Q: Do you start with commendations or recommendations
A: It depends on the speech. If the speaker is very good and it’s heard to find recommendations, then I would start with commendations and what they did well. Especially if they used a technique in the speech that the audience could benefit from, then I would focus on that. If there are some very obvious ways of improving the speech, then I would focus on them. For example, issues with sound
Q: What type of computer equipment do you use?
A: I use an MXL 770 microphone that is mounted on its own shock stand, attached to a different table. It has its own sound & input system to allow the sound to be modified. The camera is a simple Logitech webcam that does 1080p high definition video, with the settings set to always use high-definition. This is connected to a regular laptop.
Q: You started with questions to the speaker in your evaluation. Is that typical of the way that you do your evaluations?
A: I love asking questions, especially if they are about the computer setup or the way that the sound is coming through. If I ask questions to get more information then I can adjust my feedback to be appropriate to the speaker’s actual setup. I also like asking questions of the audience to find out if my experience was the same as other members of the audience. Asking audience members to raise their hands to show their reaction to the speech (funny, impactful etc) can be very helpful for the speaker to see the audience response