The continued success of every Toastmasters Club lies in taking care of the Most Important Persons In Toastmasters—the members. Every Toastmaster joins a club for his or her own reasons. In most cases, the reason is to become comfortable speaking in front of others; some join to improve their impromptu speaking and others to learn how to organize and deliver a speech, gain speaking skills that will help them in their line of work, or expand their social skills. One person’s goals may appear to be the same as another’s, but the reasons behind the goals differ.
It’s essential that members immediately feel a sense of belonging to the club and believe that being part of it will help fulfill their goals. New members can become the catalyst for new life and energy for the club. Nurturing this energy is important if the club wants to keep them from becoming overwhelmed or frustrated. All new members should be inducted into the club. Have a special ceremony in which you make new members aware of what they can expect from the current club members and the commitment the members expect from them as well. (The ceremonial script is in the President’s and V.P. of Membership’s manuals).
An integral part of this ceremony is the assignment of a mentor to the new member. According to a handout by Dan Blaney, Past International Director, “A mentor is a person who has more skill or experience in certain areas and who agrees to take on the responsibility of coaching another individual. A mentor serves as a role model, coach, and confidant.” The assigned mentors have a role to fulfill. Foremost, mentors must guide the new members in setting goals for themselves and in fulfilling those goals. This process does not take that much time from the mentor. However, it does require a certain commitment. Through the leadership of the President and the Vice President of Education, the club must establish a mentoring program and identify key members who can be effective mentors.
Studies show that individuals who have mentors achieve their goals faster and stay longer in the organization. The key benefits of mentoring are faster development of new leaders, higher retention rates, quicker productivity, and strengthened relationships between members. As members develop their skills through mentoring, they become connected to the club and therefore more willing to work as part of the team—helping the club achieve its Distinguished Club goals.
The MIPIT, the most important persons in Toastmasters, are the members. Take care of their needs and you will take care of the club’s needs.
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Focus Our Enthusiasm” on members’ mentoring, so that each one of
us will “Find Our Voice and Serve Our World.”