Something to consider....It was brought to my attention, by a reliable source, that a guest at a Toastmasters meeting in our division was turned off Toastmasters by a harsh evaluation given to one of the speakers at a meeting the guest attended.
I did not get all the details but I would like to make you aware that this can happen when a Toastmasters club either 1) doesn't explain to guests their method for evaluating a speaker (with both "good aspects" of the speech as well as "ideas for improvement") or 2) the club develops a habit of being
unnecessarily harsh with their feedback (perhaps for an advanced member who asked for a tougher evaluation).
Please know that I am not blaming anyone. I just would like to
pass on this story so the subject of evaluations can be brought up at the club level. The module "Evaluate to Motivate" is also an excellent training tool if a club has a number of Toastmasters who are inexperienced in giving evaluations.
This story may have a happy ending...The person who relayed the story to me tells me that the guest is considering trying another Toastmasters club (also in our Division) and I'm sure the other club will do everything they can to make sure this guest understands Toastmasters methods as well as everything that Toastmasters can do for them !
Happy Holidays !
Dave Wheeler
Div.A Governor, 2006-8
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