Evaluation Workshop - A Day of Learning and Growth : December 6 , 2025

On December 6th, our Toastmasters club held a special Evaluation Workshop meeting that brought together members for an enriching learning experience focused on one of the most valuable skills in public speaking: delivering constructive and motivating evaluations.

The Power of "Evaluate to Motivate"

The session opened with an insightful presentation by Kazu, titled "Evaluate to Motivate," which set the foundation for the day's activities. This keynote emphasized the importance of delivering evaluations that not only provide constructive feedback but also “push” speakers to continue improving their craft.

Test Speech by Eri

Eri delivered the test speech that would serve as the focus for our evaluation practice. Prior to the meeting, Eri kindly shared her evaluation form, including her project and speech purpose, allowing all participants to better understand her objectives and prepare thoughtful feedback.

Hands-On Practice in Breakout Sessions

The heart of the workshop was the practice breakout sessions, where every member had the opportunity to deliver their own evaluation speech. Participants were divided into four breakout rooms:

• Breakout 1: Rene, Tenten, Takashi and a guest
• Breakout 2: Anne, Mune, and Hiko
• Breakout 3: Marylin, Tamiko, and Kazu
• Breakout 4: Eri, Kankan, Ma-chan

Each group practiced delivering evaluations while sharing observations about what they found effective and any points for improvement. Each member had their own perspective of what part of the speech they liked best. This session provided valuable insights from different angles and experience levels. After an intensive 30 minute practice session we had a nice 10 minute break with an impromptu jam session of ukulele and flute recorder playing.

The Evaluation Session

Following the break, the workshop transitioned into a dynamic evaluation session that demonstrated the multi-layered nature of feedback in Toastmasters. Tenten provided feedback on Kazu’s opening presentation, while three evaluators, representing their respective breakout rooms, evaluated Eri's test speech. In a unique feature that demonstrated the profound (Word of the Day) depth of our learning process, four additional evaluators then evaluated the evaluation speeches themselves, creating a rich learning loop that benefited everyone present!

Supporting Roles

The meeting ran smoothly thanks to our dedicated meeting role takers who kept us on track as Kankan served as Timer, Ma-chan served as Ah-Counter, and Eri took on the triple role of test speaker, Grammarian and Zoom Master. Thanks to their dedication, the workshop remained sharp throughout the session.

Closing Thoughts

This special meeting reinforced a fundamental spirit of Senri Toastmasters: evaluations don't just critique—they motivate, inspire, and help fellow members reach their dream to become better speakers and communicators.

We look forward to seeing how the skills practiced during this workshop will enhance the quality of evaluations at our regular meetings.

(Anne)