大家好：
我們知道有些分會或講評人，會要求有些備稿演講者，如未依據該講次規定或未達其對講者應有表現的期盼，往往會要求其講者必須重做該講次演講，其實此議題引發廣為探討並值得深思熟慮。
國際演講會非學校或任何大專院校，並沒有所謂的應聘師資或教練，亦未要求會員必須達到本身某種程度的進階，此種的成人的學習課程，乃為個人自我導向.每個人設定自我學習成長的目標，每個人目標截然不同，有人意圖克服本身公開演講的障礙，亦有人的要求更為精進 -
也許應用於高層次的研討會。切記，有些人的天生本質不同，我亦曾經見識到有些新進會員的表現甚至比資深會員還要出色。分會扮演的角色，是提供會員滿足其多元化演說與才能的學習平台，但非確保所有會員均達成為專業的講演者。
我們透過講評的方式，使每個會員受惠進而達到自己的要求與目標
; 講評者並非裁判或演說專家，講評者祇是對等提供對備稿演講者本身的建議。沒有任何人，包含講評者，教育副會長甚至會長可以要求講者，在進階到下一講次前重做該篇演講，或改變演講者的行為及迫使對方接受其觀念或建議，對於任何建議的接受與否，則取決於當事人。
有些分會循用否定制，並要求其備稿演講者重做該講次演講，直到講評者滿意為止。有些講者甚至被要求重做
3、4 次，最後的結果造成該分會必須忍受會員的流失及教育進度的落後。根據研究顯示，很多人懼怕公開演講，其原因均因為缺乏自信與自尊，而害怕公開演講的因素，主要是本身認為自己可能會在聽眾面前尷尬出糗。當講評者告知備稿演講者不合格，更加深其恐懼感，如同負面的回饋亦會產生該分會負面的學習環境，而促成會員流失的原因。畢竟，沒有任何人願意處身在令自己蒙羞的窘境。在國際演講會裡，我們確是透過建設性的講評及正面的方式，幫助所有會員克服己身恐懼障礙及增強自信與自尊。
針對有些備稿演講者未行準備或未依照講次規範，並非講評者不能提供其建議，為避免造成講者挫折，講評者可利用講評時針對其表現的優點及可改進的空間提供適度建言。會議後，可私底下應用較好的說詞並良性建議該講者重做該講次，例如：
J.B., 我聽過你最近的 2 篇演講，印象深刻良好，如果你可以將此演講重做並結合先前所有應用的技巧，我相信此篇演講會更加出色。然而，重做演講與否由備稿演講者自行定奪。
To: J.B. Abraham, District 82P Governor
Dear J.B.:
It has come to my attention that some clubs in District 82P have a
practice of requiring members to repeat manual speech projects if
evaluators do not believe project objectives were met or if they
think the members' performances did not meet their expectations.
If this is so, I have some concerns.
A Toastmasters club is not a school or college. We do not employ
teachers or instructors, nor do we require members to achieve a
certain level of performance. Our adult learning program is
self-paced and self-directed. Members set their own goals and
standards they would like to achieve. One person's goal may be to
just speak before an audience without fainting, while another's goal
may be more advanced--perhaps to give highly technical seminars.
Keep in mind, too, that some people's natural abilities vary. I
have seen new members give better speeches than people who have been
members for five years. The purpose of the club is simply to
provide the environment in which members with such a variety of
speaking goals and abilities can develop the necessary skills they
need, not to ensure that all members become professional-level
speakers.
Members help one another achieve their goals and standards through
evaluations. An evaluator is not a judge or authority on speaking.
An evaluator is simply a peer who offers his or her opinion of a
speaker's presentation. No one, including an evaluator, vice
president education or even the club president, can demand that a
speaker repeat a project before continuing to the next project, nor
can anyone change a speaker's behavior or force a speaker to accept
his ideas and suggestions. The decision to accept suggestions is
the speaker's alone.
Clubs in several of our districts used to "fail" speakers, requiring
them to repeat manual speech projects until evaluators were
satisfied. Some speakers were told to repeat the same project three
or four times. The end result was that these clubs suffered from
low membership and few educational completions. Studies show that
many people have a great fear of public speaking. These people
generally lack self-confidence and self-esteem. They are afraid of
public speaking because they think they will embarrass or humiliate
themselves in front of others. When an evaluator tells a speaker
that he or she has failed, the evaluator only reinforces the
speaker's fears. Such negative feedback creates a negative club
environment and often causes the speaker to leave the club. After
all, no one wants to voluntarily participate in something that
embarrasses or humiliates himself. In Toastmasters, we want to help
people overcome their fears and boost their self-confidence and
self-esteem through constructive evaluations and positive
reinforcement.
This does not mean that an evaluator cannot say something when a
speaker obviously did not prepare his speech or did not meet project
objectives. Instead of failing the speaker, the evaluator should
point out what the speaker did well and also point out the areas
where the speaker could improve, as in a normal evaluation. Later,
privately, the evaluator could suggest the speaker repeat the
project saying, for example, "J.B., I listened to your last two
speeches and I was impressed with the way they were developed. If
you were to do this speech again following the techniques you used
in those speeches, I believe the speech would be much more
effective." However, the decision to repeat a speech always rests
with the speaker.
I realize that changing an established practice in some clubs may be
difficult. If I can help in any way, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Debbie Horn
Manager, Education and Program Development
Toastmasters International
(949) 858-8255 ext. 226
