Page 278 - Essentials of Human Communication

Critically Evaluating Speeches 257

teSt YOurSelf

What’s Wrong with these Comments?

Examine each of the following critical comments. For the purposes of this exercise, assume that each comment
represents the critic’s complete criticism. What’s wrong with each?
_____ ➊ I loved the speech. It was great. Really great.

_____ ➋ The introduction didn’t gain my attention.
_____ ➌ You weren’t interested in your own topic. How do you expect us to be interested?
_____ ➍ Nobody was able to understand you.

_____ ➎ The speech was weak.
_____ ➏ The speech didn’t do anything for me.
_____ ➐ Your position was unfair to those of us on athletic scholarships; we earned those scholarships.
_____ ➑ I found four things wrong with your speech. First, . . .
_____ ➒ You needed better research.

_____ ➓ I liked the speech; we need more police on campus.
hOw did yOu dO? Before reading the discussion that follows, try to explain why each of these statements is
ineffective.

what will yOu dO? To help improve your criticism, try to restate the basic meaning of each of these com-
ments in a more constructive manner.

expressing Criticism Here are a few suggestions for expressing
your evaluations and criticisms.
● Say something positive. Start any criticism with something posi-
tive. So, instead of saying—as in the self-test—“The speech
didn’t do anything for me,” tell the speaker what you liked first
and then bring up a weakness and suggest how it might be
corrected: “Your introduction really made me realize that many
colleges have problems with campus violence, but I wasn’t
convinced early on that we have one here at Andrews. I would
have preferred to hear the examples that you gave near the
end of the speech—which were excellent, by the way—in the
introduction.”
● Be specific. Criticism is most effective when it’s specific. State-
ments such as “I thought your delivery was bad” or “I thought
your examples were good” (or, as in the self-test, “I loved the
speech. . . . Really great” and “The speech was weak”) don’t spec-
ify what the speaker might do to improve delivery or to capitalize
on the examples used. Refer to specifics such as the evidence used,
the language choices, the delivery style, or whatever else is of
consequence.