Evaluation Festival
This was our first "Evaluation Festival" following part of Toastmasters' Evaluation Contest protocol though this was not an official contest.
We had a brief explanation of the procedure for the day and had a test speech. The speaker talked about her struggle of wanting to deliver a speech at a club meeting but not being able to write that speech in the first place as well as an insight into how to go about it. The topic is so relatable that members had to feel engaged.
After that test speech, six evaluators and three judges were brought into a breakout room while the remaining members talked about the speech. Those in the breakout room worked quietly on their own to put together their thoughts on what to mention and in what way they want to deliver their evaluation speeches. After the five-minute preparation time, the judges and the first evaluator were brought back to the main room and we all listened to the six evaluation speeches. They were all good; well organized, specific points discussed with some examples, and concluded in a positive tone to encourage the speaker to deliver more speeches.
After the evaluation speeches and the balloting, we were put into breakout rooms to review the test speech itself and the evaluation speeches for about a full 25 minutes. Then, the winners were announced. Yumeno, the first place winner, delivered a well-analyzed, nicely organized evaluation speech delivered in a courteous manner. She paid special attention to how she communicated her suggestions using "I-message" and the subjunctive mood (仮定法). She was not the only one who did a wonderful job. In fact, every evaluator did a fabulous job and the entire event proved to be an invaluable opportunity for us to be better evaluators.
In Shin-Osaka Leaders, we pride ourselves in organizing special events that foster further learning for members ourselves unlike other Toastmasters clubs, where they invite guest speakers to give presentations. While we admit that having someone uniquely qualified, such as a district-level champion, is a good idea, we value our own experience and expertise. A guest speaker may bring something more valuable, they won't be attending our future meetings. Their appearance is one time only. If we organize our workshops and other educational events utilizing our own members, they will stay with us and we can continue learning with those presenters. This is why we want to have our own members conduct our workshops.
If you want to enjoy learning with us, pay us a visit. You can Contact Us here and we will get back to you.
Comments