Introduction to RDG TM Members

1. What's This All About?

When I started my Toastmasters career, I was lucky enough to get a mentor to help me with my first couple of speeches. For everything else, including how to do roles (and do them well), there was not much guidance. Later on, I found old new member orientation materials and revised them (around 2008) and started sending digital copies to new members. I started noticing the need for new member orientation from experienced members. While I was good at observing and learning that way, I've seen several people that join Toastmasters, get very little direction, and quit within a month or less. All the effort put into finding new members is wasted because said new members wouldn't stick around.

While strong, established clubs often have a solid mentoring program, new and struggling clubs often do not. While the RDG TM courses call for establishment of a mentoring or accountability buddy program, it's important to supplement that with a program designed to get new members on their feet quickly. If you're a new member (or considering joining Toastmasters), this program will shave months off your learning curve, if not years. Like other RDG TM courses, it's meant to work synergistically with the other courses in the series. Perhaps the biggest example is that the how-tos for performing meeting roles are in the RDG TM Meetings course. 

The goal of this course is to function as supplementary new member orientation material for most Toastmasters clubs. In the event that your club tells you something that contradicts what's here or there's instructions here to do something that club doesn't do, they are the authority. This material is meant to be a baseline, not tell you what you absolutely must do to succeed. Your club should implement its own "live" new member orientation program, with this material serving as a reference or extra study. There will be particulars they have that this course can't account for, however, this course will get you up to speed on most of what you will want to do to optimize your Toastmasters experience.

As with other courses, a moment to explain what I mean by "RDG Member" is in order. Let's have a look at an "non-RDG" Toastmaster:

• Is a Toastmaster "just because"
• Has more dreams than goals; none of them written down, none with deadlines
• Does roles when they feel like it, if at all, and never seeks to improve at doing them
• Rarely gives back to the club in participating in committees or officer roles, if they do, it's the bare minimum
• Practices a "it's good enough" attitude
• Loses interest and leaves the club in fairly short order

How does a RDG Member compare?

• Meets "4I" standards: Informed, Involved, Included/Invited, & Inspired
• Lives up to Toastmasters values of Respect, Integrity, Service, and Excellence, as well as the Toastmasters Promise
• Makes consistent progress toward educational goals, completing at least one per year (or equivalent in Pathways) 
• Volunteers for meeting roles, does them well, and takes feedback on how to do them better
• Gives back to the club by serving on committees, being an officer, or otherwise improving the club
• Wants to keep coming back

This isn't to say RDG Members are perfect (they're not), have everything together (they don't), or devote their lives to Toastmasters (certainly not). RDG members apply themselves consistently towards being better than who they were. My goal with this course isn't just to make you a better Toastmaster, but to be a better person - more skilled in speaking and leading, more confident, and able to take the skills you learn in your club out into your everyday world.

Finally, before the next chapter, a disclaimer: These courses and material are NOT official Toastmasters International material. They are simply the accumulated experience and learning I've tried to capture into a system to help other members and clubs avoid frustration and shave months or years off learning curves.

2. What's In It For You?

Why should you care about what's in this course?

In my experience, many Toastmasters clubs spend a lot of time, effort, and resources on getting guests in the door and convinced to be members, but several neglect the critical first thirty days after a guest becomes a member. This leads to a lot of new member dropout because they feel overwhelmed by everything going on. This leads to them never signing up for anything, let alone their first speech, and eventually dropping out. At best, you'll have a case of "presenteeism" - the member shows up, but doesn't do anything.

Even in clubs that do new member orientation, it's hard to squeeze in everything that a new member might need to know, never mind balance providing the information with not overloading the new member. Don't get me wrong - I want every club to perform new member orientation, but I wanted there to be a resource that anyone could use to supplement their new (and veteran!) member training. If you happen to be in a club that isn't providing new member orientation, please first let the officers know it's badly needed, and two, that they can use these courses as a resource.

Now, if you're a new member taking this course, welcome! I created the RDG series with the intent of making my accumulated knowledge and resources available to Toastmasters everywhere, so they could make use of it. If you're serious about self-development, these courses are for you. My goal is to guide you from new member to returning member by not only giving you the information you need, but also giving you a plan to learn the skills in an ordered manner. This way, you gradually pick up the skills, increase your confidence and competence, and then move up to bigger challenges in time. Along the way, you'll be progressing in the Toastmasters educational program. Unlike many who come into Toastmasters without a plan and just a wish to "get better", you'll get a clear plan to move forward, learn the skills, and multiply your confidence - if you do the work.

If you're a veteran member, my intention is to reinvigorate your commitment, and help you guide the "next generation" toward success. If you're looking to build your coaching and mentoring skills, you'll get that too.

3. A Little History

For over ninety years, Toastmasters has been helping people develop much needed communication and leadership skills by providing a safe and supportive environment. These skills can help you in almost every aspect of life, both professional and personal. With practice and dedication, you’ll not only gain mastery of presentation skills, but also supreme self-confidence in knowing you can effectively communicate your ideas to others. 

Toastmasters started in October 1924 by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, who met with others in the basement of a YMCA in Santa Ana, California. The original mission of the group was “to afford practice and training in the art of public speaking and in presiding over meetings, and to promote sociability and good fellowship among its members.” It grew and developed from there into what is likely the world’s best communication training group, and still remains not for profit. 

The purpose of these courses is to familiarize you with our club’s mechanics and with the Toastmasters program in general. Also contained within are some tips and resources you can go to for more information. Much of this is also present in the first set of manuals you will receive, though some specifics to this club are present as well. You’ll also learn about the Toastmasters educational programs and awards.

4. What Can You Expect From This Course?

There are some tenets and values of RDG that I've tried to apply evenly to each of the courses, and they'll be used here too.

• Comprehensive. I've been in Toastmasters for over a decade and earned my DTM. I've seen what consistently makes for better members and have tried to capture that here.
• Battle-tested. I'll give you what's worked for me and others when it comes to making the most of your membership.
• Time-efficient. Toastmasters is meant to make you a better person out in the real world, not be a second job. Once you get through your start up period, you should only be spending about an hour to an hour and a half per week outside of your club meetings. 
• Always improving, always learning. RDG members aren't perfect, they're just trying to get there. There may be some situations I haven't talked about yet in this course or that don't make sense. I encourage you to talk about it in the provided forums so everyone can learn.

If you take what's here and consistently apply it, I promise you that you'll be far ahead of most members who come in with just a wish that they "get a little bit better".

Let's begin.