MENTORING TOASTMASTERS

We often come across terms like examiner-examinee, trainer-trainee, assessor-assessee, coacher-coachee & mentor-mentee. In these pair of words the former is the origin of an action and the later is an end to an action. These actions are known as examining, training, assessing, coaching and mentoring respectively.Mentoring is a means of providing help, guidance, and support to other persons who are often younger or less experienced. It is a role rather than a profession. A mentor is a volunteer role model, or a leader who is committed and consistent in his or her helping relationship with the other party who is usually a student or co-worker. Unlike teachers or advisors, mentors often share a personal relationship with their mentees.

In a Toastmasters club the moment a member is inducted, he is formally assigned a mentor. A careful study of the Competent Communication Manual reveals the nature of each project. These projects can be broadly classified into “Planning Project” and “Execution Projects”.

Project:1 Ice Breaker,focuses on “Execution” (A person in the first attempt is required to face the audience), Project:2 Organize your speech, focuses on “Planning” (It needs to have a structure, namely an opening, a body and a conclusion interwoven with appropriate transition), Project:3 Getting to the point, focuses on “Planning” (The project need to have a general purpose and a specific purpose), Project:4 How to say,focuses on “Planning” (It is all about choosing proper words and framing proper and easily understandable sentences), Project:5 Your body speaks, focuses on “Execution” (It is all about of putting eye gesture, facial expression and body movement to use), Project:6 Vocal variety, focuses on “Execution” (It deals with putting voice, volume, pitch and rate to create desired effect), Project:7 Research your topic focuses on “Planning” (It deals with collecting information from different source and aligning them to support your point and opinion), Project:8 Get comfortable with visual aids, focuses on “Execution” (It deals with getting used to handling different visual aids), Project:9 Persuade with power, focuses on both “Planning and Execution” (It deals with analyzing the audience and appealing to their interest using carefully chosen words, logic and emotions through body language and vocal variety), Project:10 Inspire your audience , focuses on both “Planning and Execution” (This project intends to inspire the audience personally, professionally, emotionally, spiritually, in a mood of fellowship and shared interest aided by emotion, drama and stories to move to the next higher level)

Out of the 10 projects 4 projects focuses on planning, 4 on execution and 2 on a mix of planning and execution. The mentor has a broader scope and more freedom to work in the planning projects to help his mentee gain more ground but in the execution project he has limited liberty of just guiding. It all depends on the learning and adapting ability of the mentee. While monitoring the progress of the mentee a mentor in his wisdom should exert more leverage on the planning projects and skillfully guide through the execution projects. In the final two projects he should advise and suggest only where needed and allow his mentee to walk and work alone and erect.

If the mentor on one hand doesn't bother getting bothered while bothering his mentee and if the mentee on the other hand doesn't bother being bothered completing his Competent Communication Manual, I think he is ready to take up the Advance Communication track and complete it hassle-free.