Mentors

New Members

When you join Tandem Toastmasters, the VP Membership will assign a more experienced Toastmaster to be your mentor. To learn how your mentor will help you, read the following material for experienced members.

Experienced Members

If you are an experienced member who would like to mentor a new member, please contact the VP Membership. You need not be very experienced to be a mentor -- if you have given a few speeches and know what all the officers and functionaries do, you are experienced enough to help a new member. If your mentee asks a question you can't answer, you can always ask an officer.

The Toastmasters International publication The Role of Coach/Mentor gives these steps for successfully fulfilling your role as mentor:

1. Build a personal rapport with the new member.
   If you and the new member aren't already well acquainted, get together informally and establish a mutual rapport. Discuss your own personal experiences as a Toastmaster and relate some of the benefits you've earned.

2. Discuss the new member's needs and expectations.
   Using the New Member Profile Sheet as a basis for discussion, secure an understanding of what the new member expects to gain from his or her Toastmasters membership. Empathize with the other person's needs and project confidence that Toastmasters participation will help to meet them.

3. Translate the new member's needs into Toastmasters program levels.
   Get the new member to equate his or her self-development with Toastmasters-related accomplishments, such as CTM or ATM. For example, "When you complete the basic manual and get your CTM certificate, you will have learned to overcome nervousness and express yourself well in an impromptu speaking situation." Or, "By the time you earn your ATM, you'll be able to speak to community groups as a representative of your company."

4. Set specific goals and objectives for the new member.
   Agree upon a realistic set of program goals, as well as a time table for achieving them. Have the new member write them down.

5. Discuss the effort and commitment needed to meet these goals.
   Most Toastmasters establish a set behavioral pattern from the beginning. Emphasize the need to prepare diligently for each manual speech, attend meetings regularly, and participate fully in Club programs and activities. Discuss the new member's upcoming Ice Breaker speech and urge him or her to put forth a good effort.

6. Monitor the new member's performance and progress.
   This is the ongoing part of your role as mentor. It involves several activities:
   1. During the new member's Ice Breaker speech, compare his or her actual performance with his or her self-appraisal at the time of joining. Was the member's self-perception accurate? Were there additional weaknesses requiring immediate attention? Was the member's skill level actually higher than he or she perceived it to be? Should the member's goals or the time table for achieving them be adjusted? Confer with the new member shortly after the Ice Breaker and provide positive support. Offer constructive suggestions for the second manual speech.

   2. Supplement the evaluation given after the new member's first few speeches. If an assigned Evaluator fails to recognize improvement or identify significant problem areas, provide your own evaluation, making it as positive and supportive as possible.

   3. Be sure the new member is actively involved in Club programming and is being given ample opportunities for participation. If not, confer with the VP Education.

   4. Keep track of the new member's progress. Is he or she "on track" in terms of his or her goals? Is he or she improving as steadily as he or she should be?

   5. Offer periodic advice, striving to be helpful and constructive rather than overbearing. Remember, your aim is to help the member become able to identify and solve his or her own problems.