Evaluations
Possibly the most important part of what we do in the Association of Speakers Clubs is evaluation — offering constructive analysis and helpful advice that supports every speaker on their journey. Evaluating well is a skill that enhances not only club meetings but also communication in everyday and professional life. Whether you’re delivering a speech evaluation or providing a general evaluation of a club meeting, your words can inspire, guide, and empower others to grow.
Effective evaluation in the ASC is:
Speaker-centred, with a focus on the needs and development of the speaker.
Balanced, giving equal weight to analysis (what worked, what didn’t) and advice (how to build on strengths and improve).
Supportive, with delivery that is warm, thoughtful, and geared towards encouraging progress.
This page includes:
10 Top Tips for Evaluating a Speech — practical advice for giving clear, confident feedback.
Evaluation Forms — handy templates to guide and structure your evaluation.
Tips for General Evaluation — insight into one of the most important and nuanced roles in the club meeting.
Whether you’re new to evaluation or looking to refine your technique, the tools and resources here will help you grow as a communicator and support the development of others.
Top 10 Tips for Evaluating a Speech
A great evaluation doesn’t just analyse a speech — it motivates, encourages, and helps the speaker move forward with purpose. Whether you’re brand new to evaluating or looking to sharpen your technique, these 10 practical tips will guide you through the essentials of delivering meaningful, speaker-focused feedback.
Keep these tips in mind as you develop your own evaluation style, and remember: the goal is always to support growth, build confidence, and make learning a positive experience for everyone involved.
Evaluation Forms
Effective evaluation is at the heart of every ASC meeting, and the right tools can make all the difference. To support members in delivering meaningful, constructive feedback, we’ve created a wide range of evaluation forms tailored to the different types of speeches and roles within the Association.
These forms are designed to guide both new and experienced evaluators through a structured approach to feedback. Whether you’re evaluating a foundational speech, a humorous talk, a storytelling session, or even someone chairing a meeting, you’ll find a form here to help you focus your thoughts and offer feedback that’s clear, kind, and helpful.
Each form prompts you to consider key elements of the speech or role being assessed – such as content, structure, delivery, and audience engagement – and to provide both praise and points for development. The aim is always to empower the speaker or role holder to improve and grow.
We encourage clubs to use these forms as part of their regular meetings and learning journeys. They can be printed out for in-person meetings or used digitally for online sessions.
General Evaluation
The General Evaluation is a vital part of any club meeting, offering a final opportunity to reflect, learn, and grow as a collective. Acting both as a learning adviser and a supportive safety net, the General Evaluator plays a key role in maintaining the quality and integrity of club meetings.
This role involves summarising the meeting, celebrating what went well, and offering constructive advice where improvements can be made. It’s also a chance to ensure that all contributors—including the chair, evaluators, and topic speakers—receive recognition and helpful feedback, even if they haven’t been formally evaluated elsewhere in the session.
Unlike individual speech evaluations, the General Evaluation is focused on the overall meeting experience. It’s important to be balanced, tactful, and constructive—especially when addressing more sensitive issues or misunderstandings. In such cases, discretion and empathy are essential, with offline conversations often being more appropriate than public remarks.
While the traditional model involves one experienced member delivering a structured summary in around ten minutes, there are many flexible approaches:
Split the role between a General Evaluator and a Topics Evaluator.
Use group discussion to gather a broader range of perspectives.
Encourage interactive feedback, such as a Q&A session at the end.
Whatever method you choose, always consider what will best support learning, preserve confidence, and uphold ASC values.
Top Tips for General Evaluation
Begin with the positives to set a supportive tone.
Focus on key takeaways, not exhaustive detail.
Be honest but diplomatic—your aim is to support, not to critique for critique’s sake.
Keep feedback relevant and concise—aim for clarity over complexity.
If issues arise, handle them sensitively and constructively.
Ultimately, a well-delivered General Evaluation brings the meeting to a thoughtful close and helps every member walk away feeling encouraged, informed, and ready for their next step in their speaking journey.
