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Ever had a whitewash
evaluation? A whitewash evaluation is one in which the evaluator spends
three minutes talking about how great your speech was. At first it feels
great to be flattered…but then you realize that there’s nothing
in that evaluation that will help you improve the next time.
One part of the mission
of a Toastmasters club is to foster “personal growth.” Whitewash
evaluations may feel good, but they don’t help members grow as
speakers. As such, it is important to avoid whitewash evaluations. Here
I will offer some tips for individuals and clubs to help avoid whitewash
evaluations.
The content outlined
below is not exclusively my own. It is a hybrid of my own experiences,
lessons learned within my clubs, and material from the Toastmasters
International Success/Communication Module, "The
Art of Effective Evaluation" . I strongly encourage clubs to
order a copy of this presentation for their club's own use and ongoing
growth.
This
presentation was originally given at the District 11 TLI (officer training)
in the Fall of 2005.
Files:
Original
PowerPoint (PPT document)
Annotated text document of the content below
(RTF document, should open in any word processor)
My evaluation worksheet
(XLS Excel spreadsheet)
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Understanding
the Problem of Whitewash - Why Do We Evaluate?
As noted in my presentation
on improving evaluations, the “The Art of Effective Evaluation”
module outlines the following reasons for why we give evaluations in
Toastmasters:
- Motivating the speaker
- Recognizing the speaker's
improvement
- Reinforcing the speaker's
desire to speak again
- Facilitating learning
- Help the speaker develop
the courage to speak
Evaluation is not an easy
task, and sometimes a member or, worse, an entire club might fall into
the trap of giving whitewash evaluations. What is whitewash? The term
comes from painting, where whitewash is a cheap type of paint used mostly
to cover up flaws on a wall, often before a more permanent coat is applied.
It is superficial and of low quality, mostly used for appearance.
Similarly, a whitewash evaluation
is one that might have a superficially acceptable appearance, but ultimately
it lacks substance and just covers up flaws. An evaluator who gushes
about how great a speech is without giving any specifics or points for
future growth is engaging in whitewashing.
You might ask, what’s
so wrong with it? Doesn’t an effusive, positive evaluation still
help build a person’s self-confidence – another part of the
mission of a TM club? Well, whitewash is problematic for a number of
reasons:
- It impedes future motivation
of the speaker – why keep giving speeches if you’re already
so great?
- Impedes future improvement
– you can’t learn if you never are given direction
- Self esteem is earned,
not given – a whitewash evaluation might not improve self-confidence
at all, if the speaker knows it has not really been earned
Whitewashing doesn’t
facilitate learning for either the speaker or other club members. This
wastes everyone’s time, which in turn can be very harmful to the
membership of the club. People will drop out of the club if they are
not getting anything meaningful out of it.
There are a number of reasons
why a member or a club may fall into the trap of whitewash evaluations:
- Emotional issues, such
as not wanting to hurt someone’s feelings
- Club culture
- This can be especially
challenging in a corporate club, where some members might hold
job positions of authority over other members
- Lack of communication
between speaker and evaluator as to the speaker’s objectives
- Lack of good examples
of evaluation from other members
- Lack of feedback on evaluations
- And perhaps the main cause
– it often is easier to whitewash than to really think about
and develop a great evaluation
Because of the above reasons,
whitewash can be tempting. Avoiding whitewash, then, must center on
addressing these issues. The following suggestions are variations on
points that I address in my presentation on improving evaluations, but
they also are important in preventing whitewash.
Suggestions
on How to Avoid Whitewash
Talk with the speaker before
the meeting
- Ask about the speaker’s
goals, ask about what they see as their strengths and what areas for
growth they might like you to address
- By discussing what
the speaker wants to get out of the evaluation, you move the onus
of growth to the speaker. The speaker is more likely to take ownership
of any constructive criticism if they have actively requested
it before the meeting
- Addressing this communication
issue helps reduce the emotional temptation of whitewash
Be aware of the content
of your evaluation
- Make sure that your evaluation
addresses the speaker’s needs, but does so compassionately, constructively
and nonjudgmentally
- See this
presentation for examples of constructive language as suggested
by Toastmasters International
- Remember that constructive
criticism does not always mean “Finding something wrong”
with the speech
Such a narrow definition of criticism can make evaluation unnecessarily
difficult, especially for newer members who might be called upon
to evaluate experienced members
- Growth can also be
fostered by identifying areas of potential or current strength,
and giving the speaker points on how they can build on these strengths
so as to be even better
- Being thoughtful about
the language of your evaluation reduces the chances of your accidentally
alienating the speaker
Use the general evaluator
role to set the tone for evaluations
- The general evaluator
should provide feedback on evaluations, pointing out strengths of
effective evaluations and suggesting areas for improvement
- Have evaluators read out
the speech objectives prior to the introduction of the speaker
- This serves as an
ongoing reminder to all members that each speech is a constructive,
growth-oriented exercise
- Having the general evaluator
provide this feedback is important in highlighting best practices
and defining the club culture
The VP for Education should
be a part of the solution
- The VPEd can identify
members who give good evaluations, and schedule them on an ongoing
basis so that they can demonstrate best practices
- The VPEd can schedule
a meeting where the best evaluators put on an evaluation showcase,
so that the club can focus on these skills
- The VPEd should schedule
ongoing educational presentations
- The Success/Communication
module “The Art of Effective Evaluation” is a good one,
as is the WHAT module “Evaluate to Motivate”. “Moments
of Truth” is also an excellent module for clubs that are
having problems and are trying to identify their issues
- The VPEd in a corporate
club should be sensitive and responsive to hierarchical work relationships
within the club, and if possible keep these in mind when scheduling
- The VPEd should surveys
of current members and members who leave, in order to ascertain if
evaluations are meeting members' needs
- A club needs to be
honest with itself to succeed. However, sometimes it might take
the brutal honesty of ex-members to establish that a problem exists
- By providing education
and examples of good practice, the VPEd can enhance the club culture,
and help the membership realize that good, growth-oriented evaluations
are not as difficult as they might think
In Conclusion
Whitewash is an easy and
tempting trap to fall into. However, by making an ongoing effort to
remind all members of why they are here, a culture of education and
growth can be fostered and maintained. Once members understand and get
into the habit of giving effective evaluations, they'll no longer be
tempted by the "easy" route of whitewashing.
For More
Information
Check out the Toasmasters
International “Success/Communication
Series” module on “The Art of Effective Evaluation”,
and the shorter "Evaluate
to Motivate" presentation.
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