How to Judge Public Speaking and Presentation

If students learn to speak in public early, they can excel at it when they are adults.

Public speaking and presentation is part of curriculum at several age levels. Many school districts feel it is important for students to learn how to speak in public and how to give presentations. Speech classes and presentation clubs such as debate, oral interpretation and forensics help students practice these public speaking skills. Judging public speaking and presentation helps students see how well they are doing and whether they need to work on specific areas.

Instructions

1. Listen to the speech or presentation and keep your complete attention on it. To judge it, you must concentrate on it without reading or looking at anything else.

2. Take notes on the speech or presentation. This will help you remember what the speaker talked about, and you can look back on how they did later.

3. Note anything the student did while speaking that stuck out, such as making eye contact, using good inflection or engaging the audience. Also note negative behaviors, such as stumbling through the speech, forgetting what to say or not looking up while talking.

4. Note how often the speaker consulted notes and whether this was distracting. Also make note of how often the speaker referenced any presentation materials and if these helped the overall presentation.

5. Grade these things against the rubric you have for the speech or assignment.

References

• Iowa State Extension: Public Speaking Judge Forms