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Bring a notebook and pen to the speech, so you can make note of areas that need improvement. Writing down a shorthand account of what the speaker said will help you to organize the points when it's time to deliver your critique. Being as detailed as possible in your notes will help the speaker understand exactly what to work on for next time. If there are no restrictions against it and you have time, record the speech using either a video camera or a tape recorder. This way, you will have the opportunity to play back the speech more than once to get an idea of what point the speaker was making, as well as how well they said it. Organize your notes so there's a section on content and a section on delivery. Include examples to back up your evaluation of each. Deconstruct the speech by part, starting with the introduction and ending with the conclusion. Give an overall evaluation of whether you felt the main points of the speech were adequately presented and reinforced, and whether you felt the speech as a whole seemed convincing and credible. Would you consider it a successful speech, or does it need to be revised? Tell the speaker what elements of the speech were interesting, which parts were confusing, and which areas need more references to back them up. If there were certain jokes or anecdotes that didn't work, let the speaker know. It's better to be honest now than to let the person tell the same bad joke twice. Tell the speaker whether you felt the speech was appropriate for the intended audience. It is in this area that speakers often need the most feedback, since it's difficult to evaluate your own body language and style. Give the speaker a gentle but honest critique of the effectiveness of his or her body language and delivery, including tone of voice, pacing, eye contact, and posture. It might be helpful to discuss the concept of emotional intelligence, or EQ, which refers to the ability to read an audience and keep people engaged by affecting their emotions. The point of making eye contact, speaking clearly and sounding natural is to make the audience feel as though you care about them and you want them to understand where you're coming from. Helping them feel included will make them more likely to stay engaged. If the speaker seemed nervous, you might suggest that he or she practice techniques that help reduce stage fright, like exercising before the speech, laughing before the speech and practicing in front of a small group of people first. The speaker you're critiquing likely put some time and effort into writing and practicing the speech. Any time you're giving a critique, it's just as important to point out what went right as it is to discuss what needs improvement. If you're working with a student or someone who needs help improving their speech-giving skills, be encouraging and complimentary so they have the confidence to keep working on their skills. Try the feedback sandwich technique: give the person a compliment on an element of their speech, tell them what needs improvement, then give them another compliment. This classic way to deliver constructive criticism makes the medicine go down more easily. For example, you could tell the person he or she started with a brilliant hook, but you were confused about how the second point related to the thesis. However, the conclusion clarified the main point. As a way to encourage the person to keep learning and improving, you might suggest he or she watch videos of speeches given by famous speakers. Point out similarities and differences between the speech you're critiquing and the famous speech.
Take detailed notes during the speech. Discuss your assessment of the speech's content. Give feedback on the speaker's delivery. Point out the positive, too.