“Never be afraid to ask for help”

Introduction: “Safwan will be delivering a level 2 speech from the strategic relationships path, project number 3 – ”Introduction to Toastmasters mentoring”. He will be talking about his life impacting mentors who helped him to be where he is now.”

Strategic Relationships

This path helps you build your skills as a leader in communication. The projects on this path focus on understanding diversity, building personal and/or professional connections with a variety of people and developing a public relations strategy. Communicating well interpersonally and as a public speaker is emphasized in each project. The path culminates in a project to apply your skills as a leader in a volunteer organization.

When you think of the relationships in your life, you’ll probably think about parents, siblings, maybe teachers or bosses that had a positive impact in your life. There might also be people who had a negative impact – bullies or the mean old guy who lived down the street who shook his cane at you and told you to get off his lawn.

How many of those people were in your life because you wanted them?

We do get to make choices about some of the people in our lives – our friends, our spouses or significant others, and our mentors.

Toastmasters Mentoring

In Toastmasters, the emphasis on mentorship has become a major component of Pathways. The classic program had some information about mentorships and encouraged them, but not like we’ve got now. Whereas it was almost optional – and many clubs didn’t have any organized program – now mentoring is vital.

Because Toastmasters is based on a very practical program – and by that, I mean you’re going to work, not just study the theory or philosophy of communication – and we don’t have instructors – we learn from the work that our peers do. It’s relational and demonstrative… it’s the difference between a class and a club. This is the basis for the push to build more mentor/protege relationships in the clubs.

The material in the Pathways Base Camp explains a lot of the mentor/protege relationship. You may be assigned a mentor. You might be asked if there is someone you would like to be your mentor. I think the point is that you have a mentor who can

show you the TM meeting ropes

encourage you to give your first 3 speeches

help you fill club meeting roles

comment on your speeches or

be your first evaluator.

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