Evaluating the discourse

Once we have finished the topic that concerns us regarding the structure and execution of the speech, what is left for us to do? We must evaluate the quality of our presentation to determine if it meets the established objectives. Knowing the evaluation criteria helps us to improve our skills.

To achieve this, we must consider three key aspects: the overall impression our audience has of the message, the information we convey and the staging. These elements are essential and must be well coordinated.

Overall impression: If the audience remains silent throughout your presentation, congratulations! You have captured their attention. The interest they show and their ability to understand our objective are a reflection of the impression we have left on them.

But don't stop there, watch carefully for non-verbal reactions, such as their gestures and facial expressions. Even if they look at you and remain silent, that doesn't necessarily mean they are completely absorbed in your speech. What is their reaction? Do they seem interested or distracted?

Content: Now we will evaluate whether our speech fulfilled its function:

• Did it succeed in conveying the speech clearly, highlighting the essential points at each point: introduction, development and conclusions?

• To what extent did the introduction captivate the audience and did the motivational phrase have the desired effect?

• To what extent did the development of the speech stay focused on the main problem or objective? Were the ideas clear and concise? Were they adequately related to the main points?

• During the development of the proposal, full knowledge of the topic was demonstrated. The tone of voice and body language showed confidence.

• The speech was useful and motivated the listener to take action.

• The conclusions were able to transmit the proposed educational message, emphasizing what was initially proposed to satisfy.

• To emphasize the message, a voice with a certain intensity was used both at the beginning and at the end.

Voice: A key aspect in the evaluation of the speech is the staging, which includes voice management. Some questions to consider are:

• Were there times when you raised your pitch and increased your intensity when speaking?

• Did you pause appropriately? If you ran out of breath while speaking, you may not have breathed properly and it may have been perceived as an uninterrupted succession of sentences.

• Did you make sure that pauses were used to breathe and catch your breath, rather than to "buy time" with crutches?

Body language: staging is also determined by body language. For example:

• Did you cross your hands or look down at any point? If you did, did you notice that the message didn't get through in the same way?

• You don't need to laugh during the presentation, but did you show a pleasant expression on your face to appear more friendly to the audience?

• Knowing that each person deserves a moment of attention and eye contact, did you look toward all attendees equally or did you focus on a fixed point?

Other aspects: In addition to the elements mentioned above, there are other aspects that should be addressed immediately and accurately, such as:

• Did you move naturally or did you remain static? Did you approach your audience and emphasize the message while walking or did you stand behind the lectern in a rigid and inflexible posture?

• Did we dare to deal with the feeling of nervousness or stage fright?

• Did we maintain an optimistic attitude about what we were going to say and the effect it would have, even if you were afraid of forgetting a word or blocking yourself?

• As for the resources used to enhance the meaning of the message, did you rely on them or did you give them the main role? Seth Godin, American speaker, recommends using more images than text in presentations. This increases audience retention and allows you to emphasize the main ideas.

Intuition: Once the speech is over, take a moment to reflect on how you feel and listen to your inner voice. Evaluate whether you achieved your goals and whether the audience received your message well, taking into account your feelings.

Ask yourself if the speech was successful and if you are satisfied with your performance. If you did not give everything you could or if you put in all your effort but it was not enough, this could be a sign. It could indicate that it is time to look for new strategies or learning methods.