Newport Center Toastmasters

1. Newport Center Toastmasters Club 231-F Mentoring Program

2. What is a Mentor? • Generally the word means a “wise and loyal advisor”. • In Greek legend, Mentor was Odysseus’ trusted councilor. • Mentors are consultants, professional critics and friendly advisors.

3. The Mentor and Mentee Mentee Mentor The Mentor is a guiding hand for the Mentee.

4. What is a mentoring program? • The program helps new and established club members more effectively develop their speaking & leadership skills. • A Mentor serves as a • Role Model, coach, confidant to the mentee. • A Mentor offers • Useful knowledge, insight, perspective, wisdom to the mentee. • A Mentor can take some of the new member fear out of Toastmasters.

5. Who can be a mentor? • Any club member who has the desire and time to develop and hone their skills. • Mentor should have completed several speeches in the basic manual and have performed most meeting roles. • It takes a new member about six months time to qualify.

6. Benefits for Club 231-F • Clubs with mentor programs: • Have a reputation for higher standards. • Have more members. • Have more satisfied members. • Retain more members.

7. Benefits for Members • New Members • Learn the Mentoring Program. • Learn Club standards and customs. • Develop confidence. • Participate more. • More quickly learn speaking skills. • Experienced Members • Further refine their skills. • Learn new skills.

8. Benefits for Mentors • Learn from mentees. • Remain productive in new ways. • Do something for others. • Receive recognition/satisfaction. • Hone organizational skills. • Share skills with others.

9. Critical Mentor skills • Be a good listener. • Give useful suggestions confidently. • Be flexible to new ideas. • Be supportive. • Be sensitive to mentee feelings. • Be respectful of different cultures.

10. Critical Mentee Skills • Be grateful for a mentor’s efforts. • Be eager to learn. • Be open to new ideas. • Be loyal and not violate confidences. • Be receptive to feedback. Remember a mentee is not necessarily a new member.

11. The Mentoring Process • Get assigned as a mentor (mentee choice). • Sit with new members at club meetings. • Review with them their TM notebook. • Orient them to club customs/procedures. • Explain their member responsibilities. • Help them with their Ice Breaker speech. • Remind them to solicit your input.

12. The Mentoring Process • Provide positive feedback often. • Describe the TI organization. • Explain club 231-F officer’s duties. • Explain speech contests. • Invite them to other events. • Acknowledge their progress. • Tell them how you have benefited.

13. How much time does this entail? • For mentor or mentee the time required varies. • You can discuss needs by phone or in person. • The time you put in is totally up to you. • Generally 15 minutes a week does it. • Some time is better than no time.

14. Where do you meet? • Totally up to you. • Meet after club over coffee. • Conduct your business by phone.

15. Why participate? • When you are involved you will also gain new skills such as: • Developing confidence as a coach. • Gaining insight into speech craft. • Building lasting rapport with a fellow member. • When you are involved you add value to our club by: • Increasing the quality of our members. • Helping to strengthen our membership.

16. The Close • Everyone should be mentored. E.g.: • Everyone should be a mentor. • Everyone should be a mentee. • Sign up for Mentoring – see handout: • Let’s make this into a very rewarding part of our Club’s activity. • Let’s all take part in strengthening Club 231-F. • Thank you.