Thousands of Toastmasters across the globe have been ‘walking the Path’ in the cloud! They have been on the trail since their access was rolled out in their Districts!
Pathways Champions are ahead of the crowd now, reaching the pinnacles of success along the trail. You can find out how clubs, divisions and districts are tracking in their Pathways by viewing the stats for the progress of these Pathways Champions.
A few have been supported by guides and mentors whilst others are trail blazing on their own. Executives are now gearing up to learn how to ‘manage’ their clubs strategically and smartly. For example, those using easy-Speak for club management and using the featured tools to collate achievements and to forward plan for upcoming meetings.
Toastmasters Walk the Path!
I count myself fortunate to have been able to ‘walk the Path’ since December 2017 and to have conquered the ‘levels‘ with moderate success. For me it has been like ‘walking the Camino‘ and finding new perspectives and discovering new possibilities for my leadership goals.
Others are finding new challenges for their public speaking goals. There is still much chatter about the experiences, the good, the bad and the ugly; in the Pathways Discussion Forum; as more and more Toastmasters try on their Pathways Backpack and ‘walk the Path’.
Over in District 73 we have been helping the intrepid Pathways followers to get ready for their journey with a myriad of support resources, learner guides, stories and events.
Toastmasters on the Edge!
We are poised now on the ‘mountain ridge’, the transition period, as we move into the 2019/2020 Toastmasters year. Its time for club executives to prepare their members for success in Pathways and to support them as they move through the levels of Mastering Fundamentals, Learning Your Style, Increasing Knowledge, Building Skills and Demonstrating Expertise.
Here’s a few simple steps for training and supporting your Toastmasters to ‘walk the Path’ confidently and embrace projects strategically:
- Provide an overview of their journey, an itinerary to show destinations and a guide/mentor to support them.
- Design your meeting agendas to include Pathways Mentoring networking and feedback.
- Schedule at least one Pathways project speech in every meeting.
- Schedule Pathways Educationals at appropriate times during the year.
- Advise your members on how to access all resources, tutorials and events provided by their District
- Provide incentives to grow your own Club Pathways Champions
- Encourage members to set their own goals
- Build in Pathways goals to club success plan
- Encourage members to choose a ‘Themed’ approach to completion of projects and levels
- Encourage members to attend any special Pathways focussed events on the ground or in the cloud.
We are indeed Toastmasters in the Cloud as we explore even more opportunities for learning online, meeting online, competing online and training online.
Toastmasters Lead the Way!
Share your reflections!
As you wrap up the 2018/2019 year and plan ahead for the 2019/2020 ask yourselves these questions:
- What are your reflections so far, on your experiences as a Toastmaster in the Cloud?
- Where and how are you sharing those reflections with other Toastmasters in the Cloud?
- What help do you need to maximize your opportunities for growth, enjoyment and achievements by being a Toastmaster in the Cloud?
2 replies on “Toastmasters in the Cloud”
Nice job, well written and the tie to the mountains, walking the paths, the cloud are inspired. 👍😄
Thanks Mary. I was inspired by a wonderful story written by an Australian Toastmaster. The story is called the Mountaineer. If you are in D73 you can access that story in the latest edition of the Southern Cross Newsletter.