Toastmaster Mentors , Our Mission is to Encourage

When you join Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club, you are expected to live by our mission as Toastmasters, and that is to encourage members to continuously improve their communication and leadership skills.

When new members join the club, they are both excited and afraid; some more afraid than others. Without the technical and moral support of a mentor, they may be overwhelmed by fear and fail to deliver. This is not what we want. What we want is for new members to gather enough strength and skills to deliver their speeches the soonest, and recoup their investment.

In order for this to happen, Butter N Toast Mentors must become effective "encouragers". What does it take to be one?

1.Believe in the abilities of their protégés - It's difficult to encourage someone when you don't believe in her ability to succeed. A good mentor believes that with the right amount of coaching and encouraging, success is achievable. A mentor looks at the protégé and sees a diamond in the rough. A mentor works to have the protégé see that with some polishing, her diamond will shine.
2.Be enthusiastic about the protégé’s prospect of success. True blue mentors, don't see mentoring as a chore but as an exciting adventure towards helping another person discover his full potential. He is excited by it. That's why he is concerned when a protégé misses opportunities to deliver a speech or play a role in club meetings. When the protégé becomes remiss in his Toastmasters duties, the mentor seeks him out and encourages him to get back on track.
3. Be Interested in producing new mentors. John Maxwell in his 5 Levels of leadership model talked about Level 4 leaders - leaders who produce new leaders. I believe the same is true with good mentors. They produce new mentors by showing new members the way and modelling the right mentoring behaviors. Like a Jedi master to a pad wan who eventually becomes a Jedi Master himself.

As BNT grows and new members come in, we need more mentors who are capable not only to teach but most of all, to encourage new members to get started and work their way towards becoming successful. We encourage everyone to take this role and take it to new heights. We can do it because we have what it takes to be mentors and encouragers.

Toastmaster Mentors Just Do It

by Gege C. Sugue

I don’t think anyone will argue about the merits of mentorship. We believe in its value. We believe in its role in success. Here at Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club, we count on our mentorship program to help individuals and our club achieve goals. But believing, valuing, and planning are not going to accomplish much for us is if we don’t actually do it.

Because everything we do in our club is done voluntarily, we don’t really gain much from the title of Mentor. No fame, no fortune, not even a resume mention. The reward then is in actually doing it. The compensation is in the action. Here are 5 concrete things that can help you be a mentor of action:

1.Develop a relationship with your protégé. – If you’re going to reach out to your mentor only when he or she is up for a speech, chances are you’re going to forget your role as a mentor. Be proactive. As soon as you’re assigned, take your protégé’s contact details and meet him or her for coffee to start the bonding process. Be a coach and a friend to your protégé who just might be feeling overwhelmed by being a newbie in a club.

2.Find out your protégé’s needs. - First, ask your protégé to fill out the Member Profile role. Your protégé’s responses will help you what you need to prioritize in her development as a communicator and as a leader. Knowing how she can use Toastmasters in her career, activities, and personal life will help you know how best to mentor her.

3.Track your protégé’s progress. – And be the active, constant push to get her moving to the next achievement.

4.Lead by example. – Deliver speeches. Play meeting roles. Come on time. Take on challenges and leadership role when called upon to do so. Be a good picture of an exemplary member.

5.Don’t wait. Start now. – Author and speaker Peter Nivio Zarlenga says it well, “To begin, begin.”

The Toastmaster Mentor as A Teacher - A Job Description

by Gege C. Sugue


Yes, it’s a job. It does not pay much, er, at BnT TMC it pays zero, but the rewards are priceless. Mentorship is more than just doing the rah-rah cry and the good-job shoulder pat. It is also about imparting information. It is about equipping your protégé with the tools necessary for Toastmasters success. Someone once said, "A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary." Become unnecessary by educating, encouraging, and empowering your protégé to soar. Here’s the Job Description:

Position: Mentor, Teacher
Reports to: Vice President for Education
Position description:
The Mentor is responsible for providing a motivational atmosphere for the protégé to have the opportunity to fulfill his or her potential for growth in the Toastmasters organization. This person is responsible for organizing and implementing a program that will result in the protégé completing the basic communication and leadership manuals.

Primary Responsibilities:
•Communicating and working together with the protégé to ensure that protégé is actively engaged in meaningful learning experiences in the Club.
•Listening to the protégé to identify and meet his or her self development needs.
•Modeling ideal Toastmaster behaviour – delivering speeches, volunteering and performing meeting roles, participating in activities that enhance leadership skills
•Ensuring that protégé is constantly growing and learning by monitoring and acknowledging achievement.
•Guiding protégé in finding information about Toastmasters, BnT TMC, the TM path to DTM, Meeting Roles, and DCP Goals.
•Giving honest and constructive feedback to encourage the protégé to learn and grow.