	Phoenix Toronto Toastmasters "Catch the Phoenix Spirit!" A Tuesday night Toastmaster club in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada.
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Thank you for your Mentorship feedback and suggestions!

-- Sandy

Phoenix Toronto Toastmaster Mentorship Program

Mentor Program Topics

Date	Mentorship Topic	Presenter
February 7th, 2006	Mentorship 101 - About our Mentorship Program	Sandy L.
March 7th, 2006	How you Say it -- choosing the right words	Sandy L.
April 3rd, 2006	Effective Feedback	Sandy L.
May 2nd, 2006	Deep Breathing and Voice Projection	Fred & Sandy L.
July 17, 2006	Table Topics	Sandy L.
August 21, 2006	Speech Evaluation Workshop	James B.
September 18, 2006	Speech Contest Judging 101	Ellen K. & James B.
October 17, 2006	Life after the first 10 Competent Communicator (CC) speeches. Michelle shares her secret of phenomenal growth. Learn as an Advanced Toastmaster reveals the secret of success on the path beyond your first 10 Toastmaster speeches.	Michelle W.
Coming Soon	Parliamentary Procedures - learn to master the heart of business meeting procedures. [related link]	Rex French

Mentorship 101- About our Mentorship Program

What's in it for me?

Want to achive your potential? Whether you are a new or established members you have goals you want to reach. At the Phoenix Toronto Toastmaster club we believe mentorship can help you achieve your goals and reach your potential.

Cultivating Talent

Did you know that most successful people have a strong person who recognizes their potential, cultivates their talents, and helps them to achieve their goals. This person is a mentor. Like Merlin the Magician was to King Arthur. Like Wayne Gretzky's father.

Is it better to give or receive?

There's two sides to every coin. Receiving the help and coaching of a mentor can be very beneficial. On the other hand, getting experience giving and receiving constructive feedback and coaching is also one of life's more important communication and leadership skills.

Why not do both?

Our Approach is Different

Our mentorship approach is different from other clubs. Our focus on group mentorship gives everyone the opportunity to benefit from both being on the giving and receiving end of mentorship.

Of course, we also have the traditional one-on-one mentor program as well. If you are interested in having a mentor or becoming a mentor for another member please let us know.

How does it work?

At every meeting...

We use the buddy system. Show up for the meeting early! Before every meeting anyone who is interested is randomly assigned a buddy. You will be given the job of reviewing that member. Everything they say or do is fair game for review!

On the flip side, another member is doing the same for you.

At the end of the meeting you are asked to give your feedback to your mentorship buddy. You will also get feedback.

Give and receive feedback -- Every meeting!
A chance to learn and improve -- Every meeting!

I hope by now you might see a benefit to showing up "Every Meeting" and participating. But we also have our Monthly Mentorship Meeting

Monthly Phoenix-Toronto Toastmaster Mentorship Meeting

Our mentorship meeting are held once a month right after the regular meeting. All interested Toastmaster members are welcome to stay and participate. Upcoming meetings are announced on the roster and on the weekly agenda.

Each month we have a different skill building workshops. At Toastmasters we believe in the "Learn by Doing" philosophy. Our mentorship meetings follow the same philosophy - they are open and interactive sessions. Members are encouraged to ask questions and get feedback.

Mentorship is a mutually beneficial relationship

Effective mentoring is a mutually beneficial relationship. While the mentee is looking for: personal growth, career development, lifestyle changes, spiritual fulfillment, goal achievement and better understanding, the mentor also benefits by improving their own personal and professional growth through leadership skills and relating to people of varying skill sets, personalities and backgrounds.

Surprising things we've learned

We've learned a few surprising (and not so surprising) things from our first two group mentorship meetings. The most interesting fact was that overwelmingly -- 100% of the people attending the mentorship meetings -- are looking for open and honest feedback. In fact they are practically begging for it. Don't be selfish! Share your feedback! We are all here to learn and your constructive criticism can help your fellow members achieve their goals.

And remember, like any skill, the more feedback you give the easier it becomes.

Here are a few of our mentorship session highlights.

Mentorship takes commitment, time and participation. With group mentorship many hands make light work.
Mentorship is people helping people to learn and grow. Take all comments as constructive criticism. We are all here to help each other.
Some people felt they were too "inexperienced" to give good feedback. Balloney! A new pair of eyes brings with it a new perspective. Maybe the one suggestion you have is the one that will propel someone else to a higher level.
Feedback is key to growth and improvement
Feedback needs to be specific
More feedback is better
Effective feedback is immediate and to the point.
Try to give a specific suggestion on what to do better.
Don't just evaluate the person on their prepared speech or table topics. Also focus on the rest of the meeting and how they handled each role.
You don't have to have all the answers. If you are asked a tough question refer it to someone else. For example, if someone needs help projecting their voice or learning how to tell a bad Golf joke, refer them to Fred! :)

Yes you!

Yes You! All members are encouraged to come out and join our mentorship sessions. Our objective is to keep mentoring specific, relevant and goal oriented.

Remember, our mentorship meeting is the first Tuesday of every month after the regular meeting. See you there!

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