Mentoring a New Member

For a traditional DTM, Toastmasters need to mentor a new member with their first three speeches as one of the components of the Advanced Communicator Gold (ACG) award.

If you are planning to complete this before June 2020, planning ahead is very important. You can guide and encourage the new member, but please remember, even though you are eager to complete your ACG, It’s not about you, it’s their schedule. Be patient.

While working one of my ACG awards a few years ago, I had everything completed EXCEPT for this requirement. I began working with one of the new members who had to leave to the club.

Her husband landed a graduate teaching assignment that conflicted with the meeting night of the club and the couple had one car. That meant I had to start over with another new member.

I started again with another new member and was seeking to complete the requirement before the end of the Toastmasters year on June 30. However, my plans were delayed again. My friend had job responsibilities that took priority over Toastmasters.

Eventually, my friend presented her third speech and I completed my ACG. However, the entire process took much longer than I anticipated.

This advice also applies if you are completing a traditional program Competent Leadership (CL) manual requirement and/or if you have decided to enroll in the Pathways Mentoring Program, which you will be eligible to begin after completing Level 2 in Pathways.

Blog contributed by Su Brooks, DTM 2                                                                          District 83 Training Coordinator and Social Media Strategist

Su has been a Toastmaster since July 2000 and has earned two DTM awards in the Traditional program. In Pathways, she is working on three paths: Leadership Development, Presentation Mastery, and Engaging Humor. In addition, she recently began the Pathways Mentoring Program.

For 2018-2019, she serves as the Sergeant at Arms for Talk of Monmouth, an advanced club in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, and as the District Training Coordinator and a Social Media Strategist.

She is a member of No Limits Toastmasters in Staten Island, New York, where she serves as the audio technician on the production crew for Toastmasters in the Community, a cable TV show.

For 2019-2020, Su will take on the role of Destination DTM Chair for District 83.