Evaluating Your Speech

A system to help you become a better speaker.

Here is an idea for reviewing and evaluating your own talks. I use a special self-evaluation form on the back of my booking sheet. The booking sheet is the document that contains all the details of the speaking engagement: The contact person, phone numbers, the date and time, the venue, and other important details. On the backside I have created an evaluation form where I critique my talk immediately after the program.

On the self-evaluation form I evaluate the segments of the talk. What vignettes did I include in the talk? Were there any segments of the talk that worked especially well for that group, or that did not work? What did I wear? How was I feeling before and after the talk? Were there any challenges with the venue? Did I make any glaring mistakes during the program? Was there a line that got an unexpected laugh? Was there a line that that was supposed to be funny which received no response? Did I stumble across any new lines or concepts that should be worked into future talks? Were there any ad-libs from the audience that I might use in future talks? What improvements would I make if I could do the talk over? Did I generate any leads from the program? How did I rate the overall program on a scale of 1 to 100? After the program, I use these questions to help me review my talk and harvest key learning points to help me improve my material and my delivery.

Create your own form. Include questions which will best help you focus on the areas which will help you move your presentations to the next level.

By John Kinde, Humor Specialist speaker from Las Vegas.  Copyright 2005 by John Kinde.  More humor skills articles and free Ezine at www.HumorPower.com (702) 263-4363.