Welcome to St Charles County Toastmasters!
There are a lot of things to learn when beginning something new. Sometimes it’s hard to know even where to start. We hope this page will help you figure out what to do next as you become acquainted with our club.
If you haven’t joined yet and are trying to figure out Toastmasters and our specific club, we hope this page helps you do just that. However, reading a web page will never fully give you the experience and depth of insight that attending a meeting or two will. So join us for as many meetings as it takes for you to figure out if we are a good match for you! You don’t pay anything until you join.
Relax and Breathe!
You do this at your own pace. We want you to be able to accomplish your goals for joining and are here to help. If you have questions or need help, ask!
Stop Breathing and Sign-up!
However, achieving your goals will require you to do something! We all have different speeds and comfort levels, so do what you can without comparing yourself to someone else. Here are some ways to start. Signup for an easy role in a meeting – Ah Counter and Timer are both great for new members. Ask for a mentor. As you get more comfortable and see how things are done in the meetings, give your first Pathways speech – a 4 to 6 minute talk about you.
Here’s how to sign up for a meeting role:
- Sign in to this site!
- Either go to Calendar and scroll down to the appropriate meeting, or use the relevant meeting link in the right nav-bar.
- Find the role you want, fill in required information (if any), and click Take Role.
Ask for a Mentor!
Everyone in the club started off as a beginner at one point, even if that was a long time ago! Everyone in the club also had a mentor – someone who took an interest in their progress, answered their questions, offered advice, and encouraged them on achieving their purpose for joining Toastmasters. So, if you have not already been contacted about a mentor, ask the Vice President of Education (or send an email to saintcharles_tm@yahoo.com, or ask around at a meeting).
Getting Started with Pathways
Toastmasters helps people develop their communication and leadership skills. But that means different things to different people. Some want to give great presentations at work. Others want to focus on growing their influence. Still others want to develop skills to help them build a personal or professional network. Toastmaster’s Pathways program was designed to help you start developing skills in the basics, but then advance to focusing on the particular things that are needed for your individual reason for being in Toastmasters. Toastmasters has identified 9 different major goals for people and developed a set of progressively more impactful activities toward reaching that goal (a Pathway).
See also Pathways Resources (also found in the Quick Links section):
Keep Going!
It’s easier to keep going than to stop, then get going again! So, don’t stop! Keep Going! Take part in a meeting. Do your next step in Pathways. Talk to your mentor if you don’t know what to do next. Remind yourself why you joined. But, Keep Going!