Learn to accept criticism—and tell the truth without hurting.
After each speech, you will receive constructive feedback. Not "it was great," but what can be improved next time.
- You turn criticism into improvement.
- You will say something unpleasant without hurting yourself.
- You will learn to read people and understand yourself.
Notes from club meetings
It's not one skill. It's two.
To accept criticism without defense, to tell the truth without injury. Each side has its own fears — and each will give something different.
Accept
To listen to how others see you, and not to be overwhelmed by it. Not to explain, not to defend yourself.
Fear: "It means I'm not good enough."„
The result: growth. You will see your blind spots.
To give
Tell the other person what you saw in a way that they can do something about it. Specifically, not politely.
Fear: "I'll hurt him."„
The result: trust. People start listening to you.
Feedback is not a verdict about you.
It's more information about who is giving you the feedback, about their preferences.
It's not hate or humiliation. No one is judging you and no one is evaluating what kind of person you are.
It's information about one specific performance — what worked, what was disruptive, and what can be done differently next time.
Three pillars of feedback
- What was strongLet's name specifically what resonated.
- What to improveA recommendation that can actually be worked with.
- EncouragementMotivation to try again and better.
Feedback: giving vs. receiving
How one club member learned to give and receive feedback — and what it changed for him off stage.
Ľuboš: "I understood that it's not about me"„
„"I was afraid to give feedback because I was afraid I would hurt those people. But eventually I realized that it was because of me telling them how I saw them that they were able to adjust."“
„"When I got it, it hurt sometimes. I couldn't sleep many times that day because I thought I wasn't good enough."“
„"I finally understood that it's not about me. Those people can see me one way or another — and depending on who's giving me feedback, I decide how valid it is for me."“
„"I understood myself first and foremost. And thanks to a mentor at the club, a twenty-year-old guy, I was able to understand my own son better."“
One speech, two types of evaluation
The assigned evaluator goes in depth, the audience goes in breadth. Therefore, from one five-minute speech you will get more out of it than from the entire weekend course.
Evaluator
He watches you throughout the speech. Then he talks to the club for 2–3 minutes about what he noticed.
Tickets from the audience
The entire audience is taking notes.
Next time
You purposefully train what you couldn't do last time. And here we go again.
What actionable feedback looks like
Unspecific„"Gesture less."“
Constructive„"If your hands don't follow your words, keep them close to your body. We'll compare next time."“
Unspecific„"The introduction was weak."“
Constructive„"Introduction — don't introduce yourself. Get attention first. Surprise, engage, or get right to the point, in the middle of the action."“
Unspecific„"The story was flat."“
Constructive„"You had a lot of people in the story and almost no direct speech. That's a wasted opportunity."“
Read an analysis of the six speeches
What will you learn?
- You accept criticism without defense.
- You will tell the truth so that it doesn't hurt.
- You read people even what they don't say.
- You will understand how you act and why
- You give the team constructive feedback that doesn't hurt.
Thanks to that you are progressing — in communication, at work and in life.
What the feedback gave them
„"As I learned to give feedback, I learned to diplomatically explain to people what they're doing wrong — minimal emotional damage. 'I notice you're using a lot of soft words' instead of 'this is wrong.' Correction is effective because it doesn't provoke ego."‚
„"Toastmasters helped me delegate tasks and responsibilities, give and receive feedback, and build more confidence as a team lead. Listening, asking questions, and communicating openly is the path I want to take."“
Lucia Kuruczteam leader„Toastmasters gave me honest, constructive feedback on my strengths and weaknesses, with specific recommendations. Thanks to it, I have made rapid progress in my speaking and communication skills.
Equally important was learning to accept feedback, not take it as a personal attack. This skill helps me in every area of my life today.
After each speech, I wrote down what the evaluators told me — what they liked, what to improve. I still do this today: I look back on my last speeches and consciously work on what I didn't do well.
I have also transferred this system to my daily life in the form of a weekly review, where I ask myself what I did well and what I did wrong in communication. Thanks to this, I am constantly improving.“
Feedback FAQ
What will the feedback from Toastmasters give me, beyond speaking?
- You learn to accept criticism without defense — and that's growth.
- You tell people the truth without hurting them.
- You will learn to read people and understand what they are not saying.
- You will understand yourself better — how you act and why
- Your relationships at home and at work will improve.
- You know how to lead people because you can give them useful feedback.
One member says that thanks to a mentor at the club, he has found a better relationship with his son. It's the ability to name a specific observation instead of judging a person — and it works the same way in an interview, when team leadership even at home. The rating is one of the four pillars training.
Won't they throw me out there in front of everyone?
No. The evaluator is talking about the speech, not about you — and he sticks to a solid structure: what worked, what specifically to improve, and encouragement to try again. He knows your goal in advance.
No one is laughing because everyone in the room has been through it. Next week, he's standing up front and you're sitting in the audience.
How do I learn to receive feedback without getting defensive?
Only through repetition. There is no theory or trick to it — the first assessment hurts, the fifth doesn't. That's the advantage of the club: you get it regularly and you learn to look at it from a higher perspective.
The shift comes when you realize that it's not a verdict about you. It's information about how a particular person saw you — and you decide how valid it is for you.
What if I don't know how to give feedback?
That's why it's practiced. You start as a listener who writes a few notes on a piece of paper. Later, you're given the role of an evaluator of a speech. You learn to observe, name, and formulate a recommendation that you can work with.
Does it happen that two evaluators contradict each other?
This happens regularly and is not a mistake. Ten people in a room mean ten looks. The speaker's job is not to listen to everyone, but to find a pattern—what is repeated.
How often will I receive feedback?
Every club meeting you speak at. Every prepared speech has an assigned evaluator who speaks for 2–3 minutes in front of the entire club, while the entire audience takes notes. You can go at your own pace.
How is this different from feedback in a rhetoric course?
The course is short. You get an assessment once or twice and that's it — things that only become apparent over time won't be captured or corrected.
The club is long-term and systematic: you perform repeatedly, you get an evaluation every time, you can have your own mentor. And all for a fraction of the price of the course. Detailed comparison is on a separate page.
Come and see the meeting.
Admission is free for guests. You come, sit down, and watch the judging take place live.