Member Mentoring Program
Program Guidelines
The club VP Education and the club VP Membership recommend that new members participate in the program; however, participation is voluntary. Experienced members who wish to serve as Member Mentors may contact the Member Mentoring Program Administrator to volunteer to place their names on a list of available member mentors.
New members contact a Member Mentor with whom they wish to establish a relationship. Member Mentors may agree to accept a member as a protégé or may decline the request. Both parties must agree to begin a member mentoring relationship. Either party may decide to discontinue the relationship.
Program Participants
Member Mentor
A member mentor is an experienced member of a club who takes a personal interest in and helps a less experienced member. A member mentor serves as a role model, coach, and confidante, offering knowledge, insight, and perspective to the protégé.
Member Mentors help less experience members in the following ways:
- become familiar with meeting roles and responsibilities
- understand the culture of the club and the climate that the club strives to maintain
- become actively involved in meetings
- get the most from the basic manual
- prepare and rehearse their first three speeches
- further refine their communication and leadership skills
Member Mentors must be members in good standing and must have completed at least the first three speech projects of the basic manual. Member Mentors must also satisfy the criteria listed below for Member Mentors.
Administrator
The Member Mentoring Program Administrator oversees the member mentoring program. The Administrator does the following things:
- Is often the VP Education of the club
- Maintains a list of Member Mentors
- Gives each new club member a copy of the Member Mentor List and a copy of this document
- Contacts each protégé within 30 days to determine if the protégé is meeting his/her needs with the member mentoring relationship
- Meets with the club officer team twice a year (January and July) to discuss how well the Member Mentoring Program is working and to refine the program if necessary
Protégé
A protégé is a new member of a club who has formed a member mentoring relationship with one of the more experienced members.
Member Mentor Suggestions
Member Mentor Criteria
A good member mentor needs to be:
- available to spend time with the protégé
- patient, flexible, and friendly
- sensitive, tactful, and respectful
- knowledgeable enough to help the protégé
- supportive of the club and the climate that the club strives to maintain
- a good listener
Member Mentor Tips
Once you agree to accept a person as your protégé:
- Find out what your protégé is hoping to gain from being a member of your club
- Explain the various parts of your club's meetings and the meeting roles
- Orient your protégé to club customs and procedures
- Explain how to sign up for meeting assignments and speeches
- Encourage your protégé to sign up for some of the less complex meeting roles such as Ah Counter, Vote Counter, or Timer
- Review the requirements for the "Icebreaker" speech
- Compliment your protégé for his/her participation in meetings
- Explain the mutual responsibilities that members have to one another and to the club
- Review the TOASTMASTER'S PROMISE
- Offer to help the new member prepare his/her "Icebreaker" speech
- Make contact with your protégé at least once a week either in person, by phone, or by email to see how he/she is doing and to see if there is anything you can do to help
- Introduce your protégé to other club members
- Prepare a positive, supportive, encouraging written evaluation of your protégé's first speech
Member Mentor Benefits
A Toastmaster that serves as a member mentor receives the following benefits and credits:
- Credit towards the Advanced Communicator Gold (ACG) award
- Credit for project #9 in the Competent Leader
- Increased confidence in his/her own skills (i.e. if you want to learn something, teach it)
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