Pathways FAQ

 What is base camp?

Base camp is where members can access their curriculum that they have chosen for Pathways.  After selecting a Path, members will need to log into toastmasters.org and click "Pathways" on the menu bar. Next, members select "Go To Base Camp" and then "Access my Path Through Base Camp", select "Log in as a Member".

How many Paths are there?

Currently, eleven Paths have been released.

Image from Toastmasters.org

How many projects are in a Path?

Currently, there are 14 projects that are completed throughout the five levels. Ten of these projects are required and then four projects are elective. Each project requires the member to give one speech. 

Can work in the Legacy program be applied to Pathways?
No, only leadership roles held that have not been applied toward an award in the Legacy program can be used in Pathways. 

How do you get DTM in Pathways?

Complete two Paths

Serve as a club officer for 12 months

Serve as a district officer for 12 months 

Serve as a club mentor or coach

Serve as a club sponsor or conduct a Speechcraft or Youth Leadership program.

Complete the DTM project. 

What is a DTM project?

In order to receive DTM, each member is required to create and implement a project they designed. The project is available upon the request of the member after they have completed Level 3 of the second Pathway. A member can request this from the Education Services Team by phone at +1 720-439-5050 or by email at EducationProgram@toastmasters.org.

Can I access all of the projects when I pay for the Path?

Yes, all of the projects are open. 

Choosing Your Toastmasters Pathway

 Log into Toastmasters.org

Select the tab “Pathways”

Select “Choose a Path” (If not already logged in, Toastmasters.org will now prompt you to log in)

Select your language that you want your path in

Select “Digital” or “Printed” 

Choose “View Path Options" (Or Take Assessment)

Select Your Path

Youth Leadership Program

 Did you know Toastmasters has a Youth Leadership Program? This program is specifically designed for those under 18 years old to help build their confidence and speaking abilities. 

Over the course of eight weeks, program members will work on prepared and impromptu speaking, evaluating their peers and how to resolve problems. 

How it works:

All program members receive a program manual to follow for eight weeks. Each session works on a different skills and the members will evaluate their progress as they go. The format is the same as an adult Toastmasters meeting, with an agenda, prepared and impromptu speaking and presiding officers. 

Sessions include:

Session One : Introduction to Chairmanship

Session Two : Introduction to Public Speaking

Session Three : Impromptu Speaking

Session Four : Organizing Your Speech

Session Five : Listening

Session Six : Gestures in Speaking

Session Seven : Voice and Vocabulary

Session Eight : Show Your Skills

Benefits:

In addition to working on confidence in speaking and leading skills, a Youth Leadership Program works on teamwork, problem solving and giving and receiving constructive feedback. Each member will learn how to run meetings, speak within time limits, and facilitate discussions. 

Skills Gained

• Public speaking skills
• Impromptu speaking skills
• Evaluation skills
• Mentorship
• Leadership skills
• Practical workforce skills
• Networking

Having Trouble Finding Evaluations?

Typical Zoom Meeting Schedule

Start- 8:00 AM
Our president will begin the meeting, and ask if there were any outside speeches. From there we go over any business we need to take care of, and the president will turn the meeting over to the Toastmaster of the day.

The Toastmaster will introduce the rolls of the day: grammarian, Table Topics Master, timer, general evaluator, and speech evaluator. They will then announce the day's speaker, with a short introduction.

The speaker will present their speech, and will be evaluated by a speech evaluator. If the speaker is giving a speech for their Path, the evaluation will be specific to their Pathway. For example, if their project is "Researching and Presenting", the evaluation will comment on the type of research done and whether it was presented in a format that everyone could access.

The timer will give the length of the speech before the meeting is turned over to the Table Topics Master. Table topics is when random members will be called on to speak on a topic such as "Please make a commercial about shoes" or "Tell us story about when you have been on vacation, and a problem arose".

To end the meeting, each roll will review what they were looking for that day. Grammarian will report on umms and interesting words. Table topics will present the award to the best impromptu one minute speech. Timer will state how long everyone spoke for, especially the speaker and speech evaluators. Lastly, the general evaluator will say how everyone who wasn't evaluated did, such as how timely the Toastmaster was and how transitions between rolls were.

The president will then take over to give the schedule for next week, and conclude the meeting.
End- 8:50 AM

Pathways Virtual Academy

Yaquina Toastmasters is back!

In response to coronavirus restrictions, the local group is now meeting online.

In the process, the Newport club has reclaimed a sense of community from the safety of their own homes.

“I’m delighted to see familiar faces pop up on my screen each week,” says, Larry Lehnerz, club president. “Before joining Toastmasters, I thought I’d hear a lot of dry business speeches. But, in our club, it’s mostly storytelling. People talk about what matters in their lives. That’s what I’ve missed with social distancing.”

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing public speaking and leadership expertise. Two members working to enhance career and business skills have recently achieved significant recognitions for their hard work.

Lauralee Norris earned a coveted Advanced Communicator Gold recognition. Norris, a Newport High graduate, college student and young professional, is one of the youngest Toastmasters ever to have achieved this lofty goal.

Christa Colway, of NOAA Fisheries, recently achieved the Advanced Leadership and Advanced Communicator Bronze awards. These awards recognize her leadership, voice and vision in shaping local and regional clubs.

“Lauralee and Christa are the superstars of our club. We are immensely proud of them,” says Lehnerz.

Lehnerz, who is retired, adds that the meetings are not just for those on a career path. They are also a great place for retirees to share their stories. “It’s a way to look back at the important events of our lives or to laugh at the fun memories. It’s also an opportunity to share the wisdom we’ve accrued over the years.”

Members speak on subjects as varied as hobbies, memories, pets, volunteer work, career, social justice, you name it. Subject matter is limited only by interest and imagination.

Newcomers fit right into the group because meetings focus more on practice and support rather than professional performance.

Each meeting includes prepared speeches and shorter, unrehearsed “Table Topics” speeches. The purpose of various speaking opportunities is to develop ease in front of an audience.

“While practicing speaking skills is central to the program, the community building aspect is what keeps me coming back,” says Lehnerz.

He adds that this is the perfect time to join. “There’s no preparation, no driving, not even a need to dress up. Just zoom in to join the fun.”

Yaquina Toastmasters meet every Tuesday at 8 a.m. Please contact Yaquina Toastmasters at ybtoastmasters@gmail.com. A member will provide instructions for logging in. 

Thank you to our Outgoing Officers

(Left to Right) Lee Ritzman, Dave Coffman, Larry Lehnerz

Thank you to our Presidents Dave Coffman and Larry Lehnerz for serving as President of Yaquina Toastmasters this year!

Thank you to Immediate Past President and Vice President Christa Colway for your service at Yaquina Toastmasters this year!

Brian presenting Christa with an Award

Thank you Brian Norris for serving as this year's Vice President of Membership for Yaquina Toastmasters!

Thank you Kathleen Ritzman for serving as this year's Vice President of Public Relations for Yaquina Toastmasters!

Thank you Brian Haggerty for serving as this year's Secretary for Yaquina Toastmasters!

Left to Right Diane and Laurie Weitkamp

Thank you Laurie Weitkamp for serving as this year's Treasurer for Yaquina Toastmasters!

Lee Ritzman and Laurie Weitkamp

Thank you Lee Ritzman for serving as this year's Sergeant at Arms for Yaquina Toastmasters!

What do the Club Officers Do?

There are seven officer roles in a club to help with running the club. These officers are elected either every year, or every six months by the club. Some of the officers will volunteer, and some will be volunteered.

The first role is the President, who opens the meeting every morning. They are in charge of operation and supervision of the club. At the beginning of the meeting, they will present any news that needs to be dealt with, and then turn over the meeting to the Toastmaster of the day. Generally the President will work with all of the officers, but the Vice President of Education will be their closest officer,

Vice President of Education is in charge of scheduling and confirming the roles are filled before the meeting. They also help members to be on track for awards such as the Competent Communicator. The Vice President of Education will work with the President often, as well as the Vice President of both Membership and Relations to help gain more members and set up schedules.

The Vice President of Membership helps to conduct membership building programs. They help to give membership material to new members and applications to join for potential members. This officer will work with the Vice President of Relations often as well as the Treasurer.

The last Vice President is of Public Relations. This president is in charge of promoting the club, and the membership programs. They are in charge of keeping an online presence and keeping the members up to date on events and meetings. The Vice President of Relations and of Membership will work together often, as well as with the Secretary.

The Secretary helps to keep a roster of members and keep the files for the club. They also need to keep the minutes for records. During the year, the Secretary will work with the Treasurer and Vice President of Public Relations to keep the members engaged, and up to date.

The Treasurer will keep the bank account and make sure to collect dues so that we can maintain our memberships. They work with Membership to collect the dues of a new member and the application for that member, This officer also works closely with the Secretary.

Sergeant at Arms helps to maintain the club equipment and supplies. They will set up the room so it is ready for the meeting, with the tracking charts out for members to record their achievements. This officer is also in charge of the guests so that the president will know how many guests have visited and who they are for the meeting. The Sergeant at Arms works with the Secretary and Vice President of Membership.

The Role of Sergeant at Arms

Sergeant at Arms helps to maintain the club equipment and supplies. They will set up the room so it is ready for the meeting, with the tracking charts out for members to record their achievements. This officer is also in charge of the guests so that the president will know how many guests have visited and who they are for the meeting. The Sergeant at Arms works with the Secretary and Vice President of Membership.

Role of the Treasurer

The Treasurer will keep the bank account and make sure to collect dues so that we can maintain our memberships. They work with Membership to collect the dues of a new member and the application for that member, This officer also works closely with the Secretary.

Role of the Secretary

The Secretary helps to keep a roster of members and keep the files for the club. They also need to keep the minutes for records. During the year, the Secretary will work with the Treasurer and Vice President of Public Relations to keep the members engaged, and up to date.

Role of Vice President of Public Relations

The Vice President of Public Relations promotes the club to the local community and notify the media about the club’s existence and benefits it provides. They update web content, and safeguard the Toastmasters brand identity. It’s their job to notify the media whenever they club does something newsworthy. As vice president public relations, they can write press releases, fliers, and maintaining the club’s presence at various key places on the web and in the community. Stay current on all new developments via The Leader Letter, Toastmaster magazine and the announcements published on the Toastmasters website and social media sites.They are in charge of keeping keeping the members up to date on events and meetings. The Vice President of Relations and of Membership will work together often, as well as with the Secretary.

Vice President of Public Relations Tutorial
Vice President of Public Relations Resources from TI

Role of Vice President of Membership

The Vice President of Membership helps to conduct membership building programs. They help to give membership material to new members and applications to join for potential members. This officer will work with the Vice President of Relations often as well as the Treasurer. They promote the club and manage the process of bringing in guests and transforming them into members. By initiating contact with guests, making them feel welcome, and providing them with the information they need to join, they help maintain a constant influx of new people into the club. The Vice President of Membership also attentively monitor membership levels and strategizes with the rest of the executive committee about how to overcome membership challenges when they occur.

Role of Vice President of Education

The Vice President of Education helps to schedule members’ speeches and projects to help keep the members on track towards their awards. They serve as a resource for questions about education awards, speech contests, and the mentor program. They are an important source of Toastmasters knowledge for club members, and it is their job to become familiar with all aspects of the Toastmasters education program. The Vice President of Education will work with the President often, as well as the Vice President of both Membership and Relations to help gain more members and set up schedules.

The Role of President

The President opens the meeting every morning. They are in charge of operation and supervision of the club. At the beginning of the meeting, they will present any news that needs to be dealt with, and then turn over the meeting to the Toastmaster of the day. Generally the President will work with all of the officers, but the Vice President of Education will be their closest officer. The president is expected to provide helpful, supportive leadership for all of the club’s activities. They motivate, make peace, and facilitate as required. Though they must occasionally step in and make a difficult decision, rarely do they so without consulting club members and other club officers. They need to stay current on all new developments via the Leader Letter and the announcements published on the Toastmasters website. 

Pathways Projects to Complete Online

Level Four

Conduct an Online Meeting

• With many clubs turning to online meetings, you can complete the project for leading an online meeting!

Level Five:

Ethical Leadership Panel

• Moderate a panel for a 20 to 40 minutes discussion on ethics, with a Q&A session. 

Lessons Learned:

• For a project that has already been completed, facilitate a discussion about the project and review how everything was handled. Have each member fill out a 360 evaluation form. 

Moderate a Panel Discussion

• Moderate a panel for 20 to 40 minutes on any topic 

Lauralee's Toastmasters Reflection

Picture Taken For a Previous Award

I am extremely happy to announce that I have completed Toastmasters' Advanced Communicator Gold today. I started My Toastmasters Journey in 2016 as a solution to needing an audience for my Public Speaking class at Oregon Coast Community College. Little did I know that starting in Toastmasters would change my life.

After giving my speeches for the class, I was convinced to keep going and finish the Competent Communicator. The system was addicting and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my progress through pages completed. In 2017, I I jumped at the chance to complete a District level role through being a Pathways Guide.

It was at that point that I realized I had a passion for educating and serving the consumer. I switched my major to Business Administration: Marketing. Now, I am in my last year of my Bachelor's in Business Marketing.

So far, I have served as the Vice President of Public Relations at Yaquina Toastmasters, a Pathways Guide for the Coast, and the District Public Relations Manager.

In my time at Toastmasters, I have found many friends and mentors along the way. Dave Coffman challenged me to go beyond technical speeches. Laurie Weitkamp encouraged me to share personal speeches and not be afraid of showing emotion. Paul Brookhyser was always there to lift me up and motivate me. Lee Ritzman helped me prepare speeches and offer insights for my speeches on Germany. Avital Miller worked with me to complete my Pathways speeches. Christa Colway has supported my crazy ideas for Public Relations and helped me reach my goals. Brian Haggerty encouraged me to go outside of my comfort zone and compete in club contests. Svetlana helped me navigate online meetings. Brian Norris has walked me through many speeches to help me fine tune my message. The newer members of the club like Pam and Larry have sparked my curiosity with their speeches and experiences. John Rodke encouraged me to push the boundaries of my mind and let myself grow. Crystal and Donna motivated me to become more involved in the Toastmasters community.

Throughout this journey, I have been touched by the support of my Toastmasters community and I am excited to see where my journey takes me from here.

Congratulations Christa

Christa Colway Competing in the Division Evaluation Contest 

Christa Colway placed Third in the Evaluation Contest!

Congratulations Christa on Placing Third!

Use Your Free Time to Polish Leadership Skills

Level Five Projects to Start at Home

High Performance Leadership Project:

1. Read the High Performance Leadership manual for their background

2. Come up with an idea for a project (IE: leadership campaign, Speechcraft, Youth Leadership)

3. Recruit a guidance committee to work with you on your project

4. Meet with your guidance committee to go over what you have in mind

5. Create your mission statement, vision, and values. Run these by your committee

6. Present your first speech to your club about your project

7. Create your Roles Goals and Timetable for your project

8. Recruit and Action Team

9. Create your action plan on how you are going to achieve your goals in your time limit

10. Meet with your action team and guidance committee to review your progress and how things are working. Overcome problems, if any, and reevaluate your plan if needed

11. Results: go over your results with your team and evaluate how your plan went

12. Present your results to your club with a speech

Leading in Your Volunteer Organization:

• If you have served in a leadership position for six months, or are volunteering in another organization for six months, ask members who have worked with you to fill out the 360 evaluation form. Create a succession plan for the person who will replace you in that position, and reflect on the position that you were in. 

Don't Loose Traction on Pathways! Start these Projects Now

Level Four:

Manage Projects Successfully:

• For Manage Projects, you will need to decide on a project, which can be used for later projects within your path, and carry it out for whatever length of time you deem appropriate. This project does require collaboration with at least three people. 
• Suggestion for Project: Help plan a contest that is now online
• Suggestion for Project: Lead the club transition to online meetings
• Suggestion for Project: Create a new member packet for your club

Create a Podcast: 

• Record 60 minutes of content for your podcast (in sections or one podcast) and share the podcast with your club. 

Building a Social Media Presence:

• Take this time to either review and enhance or build the social media presence for your club. 

Write a Blog:

• This requires you to write a minimum of 8 blog posts over the span of a month. You may choose to have your blog evaluated by members of the club.

Create a Public Relations Strategy:

• To complete this project, map out a public relations plan which can be used in future projects if desired. 

Have 10 free minutes? Complete this Pathways Project

Level Three

Focus on the Positive:

• This project takes a minimum of two weeks with writing daily in a journal on feelings, what you are grateful for and behavior. 

Working on Level One? Start working on this project at home

Level One:
Researching and Presenting:

• This is a good time to complete any research that needs to be done to put together a speech on any topic that you wish. 

Start Your High Performance Leadership Project

High Performance Leadership Project: (Works for Pathways and Legacy)

1. Read the High Performance Leadership manual for their background

2. Come up with an idea for a project (IE: leadership campaign, Speechcraft, Youth Leadership)

3. Recruit a guidance committee to work with you on your project

4. Meet with your guidance committee to go over what you have in mind

5. Create your mission statement, vision, and values. Run these by your committee

6. Present your first speech to your club about your project

7. Create your Roles Goals and Timetable for your project

8. Recruit and Action Team

9. Create your action plan on how you are going to achieve your goals in your time limit

10. Meet with your action team and guidance committee to review your progress and how things are working. Overcome problems, if any, and reevaluate your plan if needed

11. Results: go over your results with your team and evaluate how your plan went

12. Present your results to your club with a speech

Competent Leader Project to Work on At Home

Competent Leader:
Project Six:

• There are many Divisions and Districts that are working to pull off an online competition. You can volunteer to help in one of those contests and get credit for helping organize a speech contest.
• Another option for project six is helping with the online presence of the club. This is a great time to go through the web presence of the club and make sure everything is accurate. 

Project Nine:

• If someone in your club is working on their High Performance Leadership Project, you can volunteer to be a part of it. 

Project Ten:

• If you chair a contest, you can complete project ten in the Competent Leader manual. 
• Another option for completing Project Ten is to serve as the webmaster in your club.

Project to Work on From Home

With the cancellation of clubs everywhere, this can be a great time to start projects that extend over several weeks. Here are a few projects that take an extended amount of time- both for the Legacy and Pathways Program.


Legacy Projects:
Competent Leader:
Project Six:

• There are many Divisions and Districts that are working to pull off an online competition. You can volunteer to help in one of those contests and get credit for helping organize a speech contest.
• Another option for project six is helping with the online presence of the club. This is a great time to go through the web presence of the club and make sure everything is accurate. 

Project Nine:

• If someone in your club is working on their High Performance Leadership Project, you can volunteer to be a part of it. 

Project Ten:

• If you chair a contest, you can complete project ten in the Competent Leader manual. 
• Another option for completing Project Ten is to serve as the webmaster in your club.

High Performance Leadership Project: (Works for Pathways and Legacy)

1. Read the High Performance Leadership manual for their background

2. Come up with an idea for a project (IE: leadership campaign, Speechcraft, Youth Leadership)

3. Recruit a guidance committee to work with you on your project

4. Meet with your guidance committee to go over what you have in mind

5. Create your mission statement, vision, and values. Run these by your committee

6. Present your first speech to your club about your project

7. Create your Roles Goals and Timetable for your project

8. Recruit and Action Team

9. Create your action plan on how you are going to achieve your goals in your time limit

10. Meet with your action team and guidance committee to review your progress and how things are working. Overcome problems, if any, and reevaluate your plan if needed

11. Results: go over your results with your team and evaluate how your plan went

12. Present your results to your club with a speech

Pathways:
Level One:
Researching and Presenting:

• This is a good time to complete any research that needs to be done to put together a speech on any topic that you wish. 

Level Three:

Focus on the Positive:

• This project takes a minimum of two weeks with writing daily in a journal on feelings, what you are grateful for and behavior. 

Level Four:

Manage Projects Successfully:

• For Manage Projects, you will need to decide on a project, which can be used for later projects within your path, and carry it out for whatever length of time you deem appropriate. This project does require collaboration with at least three people. 
• Suggestion for Project: Help plan a contest that is now online
• Suggestion for Project: Lead the club transition to online meetings
• Suggestion for Project: Create a new member packet for your club

Create a Podcast: 

• Record 60 minutes of content for your podcast (in sections or one podcast) and share the podcast with your club. 

Building a Social Media Presence:

• Take this time to either review and enhance or build the social media presence for your club. 

Write a Blog:

• This requires you to write a minimum of 8 blog posts over the span of a month. You may choose to have your blog evaluated by members of the club.

Create a Public Relations Strategy:

• To complete this project, map out a public relations plan which can be used in future projects if desired. 

Level Five:

High Performance Leadership Project (See above)

Leading in Your Volunteer Organization:

• If you have served in a leadership position for six months, or are volunteering in another organization for six months, ask members who have worked with you to fill out the 360 evaluation form. Create a succession plan for the person who will replace you in that position, and reflect on the position that you were in. 

Bonus: 

Level Four

Conduct an Online Meeting

• With many clubs turning to online meetings, you can complete the project for leading an online meeting!

Level Five:

Ethical Leadership Panel

• Moderate a panel for a 20 to 40 minutes discussion on ethics, with a Q&A session. 

Lessons Learned:

• For a project that has already been completed, facilitate a discussion about the project and review how everything was handled. Have each member fill out a 360 evaluation form. 

Moderate a Panel Discussion

• Moderate a panel for 20 to 40 minutes on any topic 

Practicing Public Speaking from Home

With the spread of COVID-19 and the cancellation of in-person meetings, some Toastmasters have been wanting to keep up their skills while on break from regular meetings. There are a variety of ways to continue practicing your public speaking skills at home. Here are five ways to keep your public speaking skills strong during the break.
1. Join an online Toastmasters club
There are several hybrid clubs and online clubs that you can attend while your traditional club is on break. Additionally, your home club could consider moving online during this pandemic.
To look up online Toastmasters clubs, follow this link:  https://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Online-Clubs-List
2. Start a podcast
One of the projects for Pathways is to start a podcast. This would be a great time to look into how to complete that project. What topic would you want your podcast themed around? How long would you want your podcast to run? The possibilities are endless!
You can see the official Toastmasters podcasts to get some ideas here: https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/news-and-announcements/podcasts
3. Start a blog
While on this break, you could start a blog or a vlog, which is a video based blog. The Toastmasters blog project requires 8 posts within a month. With the break from in person meetings, this is a great time to get started on your blog so you have time to reflect on what you learned.
You can find information on how to create the blog on Pathways.
4. Record Live on Social Media speeches
If you are still on the Legacy program, you can work on the Interpretative Reading manual by reading your selected pieces live on social media, such as Facebook. For the Pathways program, level four has an elective of creating a social media presence.
You can find information on how to use live to continue giving speeches in Pathways or on the traditional program.
5. Write speeches to give to your club later
While on break, you can use this time to read through different projects and brainstorm speeches that would fulfill them. This is a great time to explore the Pathways platform and plan out which speeches you would like to give to complete them.

Roots of Yaquina Toastmasters

Yaquina Toastmasters started on April 1st, 1965. They are a club that is apart of Toastmasters International, an international speaking and leadership organization. Since it's beginning in 1924, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. Yaquina Toastmasters strives to provide a fun and supportive atmosphere where their members can practice public speaking and leadership skills. This allows their members to grow in confidence and overcome their fears. To help their members achieve their goals, Yaquina Toastmasters has a mentorship program, where every member has a mentor that will guide them through the education program towards their goal.
As a club, they are active in their community, helping the Loyalty Day Princesses perfect their scholarship speeches, assisting clubs such as the 4H members as they work on their competition speeches, and supporting professionals in the community to further their career and ambitions.
To aid in the members' growth, Yaquina Toastmasters has an educational program that all members have the opportunity to go through. This new program is called Pathways, which is made up of ten different Paths that members can choose from, which can be seen in the graphic below. Each Path includes five different levels that increase in difficulty (see below). These Paths will teach both leadership and public speaking skills to the members, and can be customized to the person's interest.

As a member of Toastmasters, there are opportunities to practice leadership skills at club and district levels. Every club has seven officers, including the President, Vice President of Education, Vice President of Membership and Vice President of Public Relations. There are also the Treasurer, Secretary, and Sergeant at Arms. In addition to year long roles, there are meeting roles that members can practice their skills doing. These include roles such as timer, speech evaluator, grammarian and Toastmaster of the day. Other meeting roles are general evaluator, table topics master, and speakers. Members also have the opportunity to give prepared speeches at meetings, and participate in Table Topics, practicing on impromptu speaking.
Yaquina Toastmasters meets every Tuesday at 7 AM PST at Pig 'N Pancake in the back meeting room. We would love to have you join us!

Do you want to use paper projects instead of online?

Step 1- Launch your project
Step 2- Make sure your popup blocker is disabled
Step 3- Find the navigation bar at the end of the page
Step 4- Go to evaluation page
Step 5- Hit print my project

Reflecting on a Path

On January 31st, 2020 Lauralee Norris completed Level Five of Innovative Planning Path, one of the Paths offered in the Toastmasters Education Program Pathways. Lauralee is the only current member of Yaquina Toastmasters who has completed a full Path on Pathways.
Norris chose Innovative Planning because she wanted the challenge of developing a long term project, and seeing it through from conception to celebration. For her Path, Norris chose to explore topics that she was not familiar with, such as creating a podcast and presenting an hour long presentation at Oregon Coast Community College.
One of the projects required to complete the Innovative Planning Path is to complete a High Performance Leadership Project, which would be the second High Performance Leadership Project Norris has completed with Toastmasters. The first project focused on a public relations campaign to bring awareness to Yaquina Toastmasters. For Innovative Planning, Norris chose to use her position as a Pathways Guide to help spread information about the Pathways program, and make the program easier to understand for everyone. To do this, Norris created step-by-step guides and recorded videos to help other Toastmasters navigate the new education program. 
Norris said that "for the new Pathways program, I wanted to lead by example and show that this new education system is meaningful for everyone to try." This is why she created over 70 blog posts and videos to help Toastmasters with this program.
When reflecting on her journey on Pathways, Norris felt like it has given her a variety of opportunities to experiment with new ways of public speaking, like her podcast project and trying out new public relations strategies. While there have been both ups and downs, Norris has enjoyed being able to use her skills as a Pathways Guide to become a mentor through her videos and blog posts for Toastmasters near and far. 
Norris said that "throughout this journey to one completed Path on Pathways, I have become a mentor my fellow club members, grow as a speaker and become a more organized leader."

District 7 Pathways Introduction

Five Levels of Leadership Development

Mastering Fundamentals

• Ice Breaker
• Evaluation and Feedback
• Researching and Presenting

Learning Your Style

• Managing Time
• Understanding Your Leadership Style
• Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring

Increasing Knowledge

• Planning and Implementing

Building Skills

• Leading Your Team

Demonstrating Expertise

• Manage Successful Events
• Reflect on Your Path

Five Levels of Innovative Planning

Mastering Fundamentals

• Ice Breaker
• Evaluation and Feedback
• Researching and Presenting

Learning Your Style

• Understanding Your Leadership Style
• Connect With Your Audience
• Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring

Increasing Knowledge

• Present a Proposal

Building Skills

• Manage Projects Successfully

Demonstrating Expertise

• High Performance Leadership
• Reflect on Your Path

Five Levels of Engaging Humor

Mastering Fundamentals

• Ice Breaker
• Evaluation and Feedback
• Researching and Presenting

Learning Your Style

• Know Your Sense of Humor
• Connect with Your Audience
• Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring

Increasing Knowledge

• Engage Your Audience With Humor

Building Skills

• The Power of Humor in an Impromptu Speech

Demonstrating Expertise

• Deliver Your Message With Humor
• Reflect on Your Path

What does it mean to be someone's mentor?

When you think mentor, what is the first thing that comes to mind? A person? A teacher? A friend? A guide? According to the Merriam- Webster Dictionary the term mentor means a trusted counselor or guide. The term 'mentor' can be applied to many different people in many different situations. Mentor's can be found at work, at school, in the community or in a friend group. 

Think of the mentors you have worked with in your life. Was there someone who helped you get started in your career, offering advice and guidance, showing you how things worked and how to get things done? Consider your education. Was there a teacher who took a special interest in you and who had an especially positive influence on your life? We all can probably name two people who have had a profound positive effect on our lives. 

What does a mentor actually do?
A mentor:
Takes a personal interest in and helps an inexperienced person (mentee) 
Serves as a role model, coach, and confidante 
Offers knowledge, insight, perspective, and wisdom useful to the mentee 
Helps someone become successful and learns new skills themselves

Most new members join a Toastmasters club because they have the desire to work on their  speaking and/or leadership. They believe that by improving their speaking and/or leadership skills will help them advance in their career or offer them greater personal satisfaction. Think of when you joined a new organization. Did you feel lost? Was there someone there to guide you and help you learn the workings of that organization? 

Being a mentor can be a wonderful experience and rewarding. As a mentor, you can share what you learned in Toastmasters and help a newer member to start working on and achieving their goals. 

Is your New Year's resolution to give back to your community? Maybe this year your resolution can be to help other members meet their goals by becoming a Toastmaster's mentor. 

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