Member Orientation & Mentoring

VP Education, VP Membership Fusion Session

Toastmasters Leadership Institute

Summer, 2009

Packet Handout Needed:#4 - Mission/Mission/Promise

0:00 – 0:05 (5 minutes)

Welcome Officers to the session

Icebreaker: Depending on group size, go around the room or break into groups and make

introductions with the following 3 items:

•Your First Name

•Did you have a mentor help you with your Icebreaker?

•Have you mentored a new member with their Icebreaker?

Handouts/Tools Used in this sessions

• Mission/Mission/Promise

• New Kit Talking Points

• CL Project #9

2

Where am I and where am I going?

• Making new members feel part of the club

• Starting them off right towards their goals

3 Phases of Orientation

• Welcome/Induction

• Immersion

• Negotiation

0:05 – 0:08 (3 minutes)

The excitement of joining a Toastmasters club can create a fog from which the new

member must emerge with their goals intact.

As club officers, you’ve committed to helping that new member become the speaker and

leader they are meant to be. It’s important that you define a collaborative process for

orienting each new member to your club environment, identity, and traditions.

Today you’ll be introduced to the three phases every new member goes through on their

way to becoming a ‘seasoned’ member of your club.

• Welcome/Induction Phase

• Immersion Phase

• Negotiation Phase

3

Phase 1: Welcome/Induction

Within first three meetings

• Conduct the first conversation with VP Education/Membership to define expectations and immediate goals, and set functionary assignments (roles/dates)

• Conduct the second conversation with officer or mentor to review New Member kit contents and begin setting speaking dates

0:08 – 0:011 (3 minutes)

The Welcome/Induction Phase -- During this time the new member will

• reflect on their decision to join

• get to know their new member peers

• set expectations as a member [refer to The Toastmasters Promise]

• complete their first Leadership activities

This is also the same period in which the first two critical conversations will occur

• define and set goals

• review new member kit contents and schedule their Icebreaker

[Refer to New Kit Talking Points handout]

4

Phase 2: Immersion

Within first six meetings

• Begin a mentoring relationship

• Complete Ice Breaker Speech (Communication #1)

• Complete Listening & Leadership (Leadership #1)

• Begin planning for second speech project

• Arrange to serve as Timer to count toward CL #4

and understand meeting flow

0:11 – 0:015 (4 minutes)

The Immersion Phase -- During this time the new member will

• meet their mentor

• receive their first speech evaluation

• complete their first leadership project

• participated as a Topics speaker

The new member will have now experienced all the four fundamental aspects of a

Toastmasters meeting: prepare speeches, impromptu speeches, evaluation and

leadership.

The mentor relationship should be in progress and information being gathered around…

• their goals for focusing on communication, leadership, or working both in parallel

• what ‘pace’ they can commit to for functionary and speech assignments

5

Phase 3: Negotiation

Within first nine meetings

• Serve as speech evaluator (CL #3)to assess feedback skills

• Assist the SAA with meeting set-up duties

• Volunteer for club committee or administrative duty (CL #6)

• Befriend a visitor at a meeting (CL #7)

• Schedule third conversation for overall review of the member goals, mentoring needs, and progress to date, and to revisit the Toastmaster’s Promise

0:15 – 0:20 (5 minutes)

The Negotiation Phase – It’s called Negotiation because it’s at this point the new members’

perspective needs to be redirected somewhat to include fulfilling their promise to the club

--

• Stepping into the role of speech evaluator

• Serving on a club committee

• Helping prospective guests make the decision to join the club

• Considering a role as a club officer or leading a club committee

This is also the time for scheduling the third conversation with VPE/VPM to check progress

and satisfaction levels.

The VPE/VPM should also assist the new member with completing the feedback questions

for their Mentor’s CL Project #9 (if applicable). In fact, this is a great opportunity for

reviewing and reinforcing the Effective Evaluation guide that they received in their new

member kit.

6

What Is a Mentor?

• A new member’s tour

guide to the world of

Toastmasters and your

club environment

• Supportive and patient

• Willing to spend time

and answer questions

0:20 – 0:30 (10 minutes)

Officers also have the responsibility of raising up member Mentors within their club. What

does it take to be a new member Mentor?

(Refer to Competent Leadership Manual Project #9, page 54-55 handout)

• Availability

• Patience

• Sensitivity

• Respectful

• Respected

• Flexible

• Knowledgeable

• Confident

• A Good Listener

• Concern For Others (Servant Leadership)

7

Mentors Understand New Members

The question is always:

What do they need from us?

Is it a sense of belonging or do they need a safe place to improve their self-confidence?

Either way, a mentor finds their needs and helps fills them.

0:30 – 0:35 (5 minutes)

How to Be a Good Mentor

(Refer to Competent Leadership Manual Project #9, page 55-56 handout)

• Offering opportunities for skill development

• Helping the person recognize areas needing work

• Providing helpful advice

(remember the saying; feed a man to fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish

and you feed him for a lifetime.)

• Being a role model

• Encouraging people to think for themselves

8

The Toastmaster’s Promises (for Mentors)

• To provide fellow members with helpful,

constructive evaluations;

• To help the club maintain the positive, friendly

environment necessary for all members to learn and

grow;

• To treat my fellow club members and our guests

with respect and courtesy;

• To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all

Toastmasters educational and recognition programs

PacketItem #4

0:35 – 0:37 (2 minutes)

Include in your mentor guidelines references to The Toastmaster’s Promise, particular

these four promises.

9

Summary

• Orientation and mentoring are critical to improving

new member satisfaction and increasing new

member retention.

• Being a mentor is part of fulfilling ‘The Toastmaster’s

Promise’ and can also help complete the

requirements for the Competent Leader

achievement.

• Successful mentors are great candidates for club

leadership, new club mentors, and club coaches.

0:37 – 0:38 (1 minute)

Recap the session key points

10

Before We Break

• Parking Lot

• Q&A

• Evaluations

0:38 – 0:40 (2 minutes)

Review any parking lot items

Address or capture any remaining questions (time permitting)

Homework assignment: If you are a mentor, contact your mentee within the next 48 hours.

If you don’t have a mentor at all or don’t have an active mentor, contact the point person

for your mentoring program and ask for one. Mentors aren’t just for new members.

Have participants complete evaluations and leave them in room.

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The Mission of Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral

communication a worldwide reality.

Through its member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts

of speaking, listening and thinking – vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance

leadership, foster human understanding and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually expand its worldwide

network of clubs, thereby offering ever-greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit

from its programs.

The Mission of the Club

The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning

environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and

leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.

A Toastmaster’s Promise

As a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise…

• To attend club meetings regularly;

• To prepare all of my speeches to the best of my ability, basing them on projects in the

Communication and Leadership Program manual or the Advanced Communication and

Leadership Program manuals;

• To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments;

• To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations;

• To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all members to learn

and grow;

• To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so;

• To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect and courtesy;

• To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters membership offers;

• To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters educational and recognition programs;

• To maintain honest and highly ethical standards during the conduct of all Toastmasters activities.

Being a Toastmaster means more than simply making a commitment to self-development.

Everyone who joins a Toastmasters club is making a commitment to the club, to its members, and

to the organization as a whole.

#4

New Member Kit Talking Points

Welcome Letter

The welcome letter, signed by Executive Director Donna Groh of

Toastmasters International details five items the new member is

recommended to do.

1. ASK FOR A MENTOR

If you are the mentor assigned to this member, check this item

off the list. If you are not, use this opportunity to explain to

the new member how the mentor selection process works for

your club.

� Mentor Assigned: _________________

2. ASK TO SCHEDULE THE ICE BREAKER SPEECH

Toastmasters International recommends the new member be scheduled to give their

Icebreaker speech within the first 3-4 weeks of membership. Start the mentoring process

by working with the new member to select the meeting date for their Icebreaker project.

If you are not the VP Education, be sure to communicate the selected date with the VP

Education so they have ample time to coordinate the duty roster/schedule for that meeting.

� Icebreaker Date: _________________

3. READ PAGES SIX THROUGH EIGHT IN THE COMMUNICATIONS MANUAL & THE SECTION

“ABOUT YOUR CLUB” WHICH BEGINS ON PAGE 62.

These pages explain about Toastmasters, meeting roles, and Club leader responsibilities.

Encourage the new member to complete this review prior to their next mentoring session.

� Next Mentor Session Date: _________________

4. STUDY THE EFFECTIVE SPEECH EVALUATION MANUAL

Evaluations are one of the four foundations for success to the Toastmasters program, but

learning to give a great evaluation takes practice. Encourage the new member by

reminding them that every speaker wants to hear how their speech impacted the listener.

As long as they are listening, they can begin practicing their evaluation skills by providing

feedback to the speaker on how the speech made them feel or what they learned from the

speech.

� Completed: _________________

5. BEGIN PREPARING THE ICE BREAKER

Review the introductory pages for the Icebreaker project and encourage the new member

to prepare their speech outline before the next mentoring session (See #3 above). At that

time, the mentor and new member will have the opportunity to discuss the evaluator

objectives and how best to refine the speech content to meet those objectives.

New Member Profile & Mentor Request Form

If the new member has not already done so, encourage them to

complete their profile/request form and give it to the

VP Education at the next meeting.

Tools for New Toastmasters

• This is an abbreviated list of items available through the

Toastmasters store. New members should spend some time, as

is convenient for them, browsing through the online store at

www.toastmasters.org to see all the available items. For now,

they have been provided everything they need to get started.

• Encourage the new member to become familiar with the Advanced Communication

manuals over the next few months because they will need to select their two FREE

manuals with their Competent Communicator award achievement.

Guest Invitation Card

• Remind the member to start thinking about friends, workplace peers, and family who may

also benefit from Toastmasters. While it’s not necessary to complete this invitation card,

do encourage the new member to invite these people to an upcoming meeting or even

better, to hear their Ice Breaker speech!

• Depending on your club tradition, be sure to prepare the new member for any special club

recognition or ceremony around membership induction and/or Icebreaker project

completion. For example, some clubs present the membership pin, certificate or other item

after their Ice Breaker project.

Member Achievement Record

• Suggest that the member use a 3-ring binder to keep their Communication Manual,

Leadership Manual and Member Achievement record together. Emphasize that the new

member should bring this binder to every meeting to ensure they will be able to receive

Leadership or Communication credit for any last minute substitution role.

• The Member Achievement record will help the new member track their progress through

the Communication and Leadership educational tracks on their way to becoming a

Distinguished Toastmaster. Throughout the mentor relationship, the member achievement

record can be a point of discussion for member progress and determine their next goals.

• This is also a good opportunity to remind them that achieving their goals also helps the

club meet its annual performance goals on the Distinguished Club Program.

Additional Guidebooks

Your Speaking Voice: Tips for Adding Strength and Authority to Your Voice

Be sure to read prior to Communications Project 6 – Vocal Variety

Gestures: Your Body Speaks, How to Become Skilled in Nonverbal Communication

Be sure to read prior to Communications Project 5 – Your Body Speaks

Effective Speech Evaluation: Tips and Techniques for Giving Helpful Evaluations

Be sure to read prior to Leadership Project 2 – Critical Thinking