Want to win evaluation contests? the secrets of a national evaluation champion

I set a goal to become the NZ Toastmasters Evaluation Champion, which I achieved 3 years later. On the way I learned that while being able to give a good evaluation is essential, it's only part of the story. There are a number of other skills (and tricks!) you need to acquire. 

This is how I went about acquiring them...

1. Make sure you know more than anyone else

I reckoned that if I was competing against other Toastmasters, I'd have to know more than other Toastmasters. And so I increased my knowledge, not just via Toastmasters meetings and educational sessions, but in many other ways. For example, reading books on public speaking, searching out interesting websites, attending training sessions run by a presentations trainer. 

I also read The Toastmaster magazine. 

"So what?" you may ask. There were at the time few articles on 'Evaluation' in the Toastmaster? But if you read the articles that concentrate on what makes a good speaker, you will often find interesting nuggets that can be used to make a great point in an evaluation. 

For example, a former World Champion Craig Valentine wrote an article Called 'Silence Speaks Louder than Words' I highlighted many points in that article that I can still use in evaluations. 

For example: 

- personalize your story - it builds a connection and you gain credibility
- conflict is essential to a story
- colourful characters contribute to a memorable speech and so on. 

I've brought out every one of these points in various evaluations I've given

2. Practise

When I started practising evaluations at home, all I had was a video of a NZ national Prepared & Evaluation contests. So I watched the 6 top speakers give their prepared speeches, and evaluated them - over and over and over. So much so that I could almost give the speeches word for word myself!

However, later on I discovered how useful it had been, for three reasons

a) every time I did an evaluation of their speech, it turned out slightly different. This helped me increase the range of issues I picked up in a speech.
b) because they are good speakers, it makes you work harder to find a recommendation
c) if you practice evaluating the top speakers, then when you come to evaluate a test speaker (who generally tends not to be one of the top 6 speakers) it makes it much easier to find recommendations!

Another practice method I used would be to make notes on a speaker at our club meeting, and go home and practice giving an evaluation for them over and over and over.

Have a structure that you use in all your evaluations. This is one less thing to think about in an evaluation contest. Remember you only have 5 minutes to prepare what you are going to say, so having a definite structure will make the job a bit easier. 

My evaluations have 7 parts to them:

1. Opening
2. Commendation (their 2nd best skill)
3. Commendation (their 3rd best skill)
4. Recommendation
5. Recommendation
6. Commendation (their best skill)
7. Summary

Practice timing. You only have 3 minutes 30 seconds. If you speak for 3 minutes 31 seconds, you will be disqualified and all your hard work will be lost.

The last signal for your time will be the red light at 3 minutes, so I used to practice at home with a timer set to ring at 3 minutes.  Then I'd carry on talking and check how long 30 seconds was. I did it so often that I knew how long I could carry on talking for without being disqualified. 

3. Think
I account 50% of my success to thinking! I had 3 stages in my thinking:

a) Think to understand. When I started out, I spent about 6 weeks thinking through what evaluations were all about, and what I was really trying to achieve.

b) Think to get good. When I watched a speech I'd think - 'why was that part of the speech good - what things were at play there?' Or 'why didn't that aspect of the speech work, and what could I suggest to help improve it?'

c) Think to win. I wanted to know what would lift me above the norm. I decided that for me it would be to give unique recommendations, so I spent the next phase thinking through new and interesting ways to give commendations and recommendations. For example, instead of talking about 'pause', I'd talk about a 'mental sorbet'. Instead of talking about 'vocal variety', I'd talk about 'vocal colour', and liken it to a rainbow.

4. Likeability

I asked Ed Tate, a former World Champion, what helps distinguish contestants in the world championship. He listed likeability as a factor.

And so I got a piece of blank paper, wrote 'likeability' at the top, and listed things I thought would make me more likeable to the judges - and worked on these!

I think this overlaps a lot with confidence in presenting - remember an evaluation is a speech, and if you can present it with confidence and competence, it can only work in your favour. 

There's nowhere on the judging sheet where you are marked on being 'likeable' but it may help raise your marks if you are!

5. Study the judging sheet

At the end of the day, you're going to win (or not win) a contest by the marks you are allotted on the judges' judging sheet.

The good thing about the Evaluation Contest is that there are only 4 items you are being judged on!

So firstly, study the sheet and become familiar with the items.

Then, when you practice your evaluations, tailor them to fit in with these 4 items. After I'd done a practice evaluation at home, I'd mark myself on those 4 items. Then I'd re-do it, making it fit the criteria better, then I'd re-do it again, and so on.

And finally I worked out a series of phrases I could use in an evaluation that would help the judges give me higher marks, by showing I'd addressed each of the 4 points!

For example the first point is 'Analytical Quality', so I'd use the phrase "In my analysis..."

Then I worked out a range of opening  remarks that would grab people's attention, and closing remarks that enhance the last item 'Summation: concise, encouraging'.

6. Become known as knowledgeable about Evaluation

I'd write articles about evaluation, and would always be happy to run educational sessions at other Toastmasters clubs

7. Ask for feedback

Before the contest I'd do an evaluation at my club and ask for feedback - as harsh as they cared to make it!. I also had someone video me, so I could watch it and evaluate my evaluation. And if you can also get someone to watch it with you, that's a great help.

8. Visualise

I visualised winning over and over and over, starting a few months before the national contest. So much so that when I got on the plane to go up to the contest, I knew I'd already won...

9. On the day

When you're at the contest, and have prepared what you are going to say, please don't spend the waiting-to-go-on time talking to other contestants, but use this time to practice your evaluation in your head. Do it over and over, as many times as you can before you go on.

Good luck!

My favourite quote!

Later on in the day that I won the national (District) contest, I found myself standing next to a man I didn't know.

"Hello" he said

"Hello" I replied

"You did a good evaluation" he said

"Thank you" I replied

"Mind you" he carried on, "I didn't see the test speaker so I didn't have a clue what you were talking about".