Mentoring Speech-Sample pwmentorpgm, "Too HOT to Stop"

This is my 15th prepared speech under Pathways. The speech was delivered at the BF Community TMC in Las Piñas City in the Nov 17, 2018 Toastmasters Meeting.

Too HOT to Stop
(Mentoring Speech, Pathways Mentor Program, Nov 17, 2018, BF Community TMC, Cassalu Restaurant, Las Piñas City. Evaluated by Loise Bañez CC)

INTRODUCTION

Headliners of Tomorrow or HOT, H-O-T. Fellow Toastmasters, who hasn’t heard about it? And for those who have heard about it, do you know who became the first-ever champion of this Rookies Contest? It’s no other than, our very own, Renzo. Let’s give him a round of applause. And today, I’d like to share a bit of my experience on this contest as a mentor.

BODY

FIRST AND SECOND TIME (move right)
The first time I’ve heard of this Rookies Contest called HOT was during the Speakers Summit where it was announced by Leah and Raul that the Headliners of Tomorrow or HOT would be held. And I couldn’t quite figure it out. I’ve seen contests, competed in them, and even judged in one. So, this Rookies Contest was certainly the first-ever for Division H.

The second time I’ve heard about it was when after a telecom meeting which I failed to attend, the Club Officers announced unanimously that our contestant would be Renzo. The officers said Renzo didn’t even resist!

I knew joining a contest was one of his possible goals and asked him to confirm. I was floored by his reply. He knew he wanted to join a contest but didn’t realize it would be that soon. He casually said, “Well, the opportunity was there.”

Just like that. And as his mentor, that’s what I liked about his attitude. Renzo has this “Can-Do” attitude.

COACHING (back center)
My coaching to prepare him for the contest was a short-term focused type of mentoring. Apart from conversations via Facebook, we met on three separate occasions over a period of four weeks. This was to discuss the speech content and how we could tailor-fit the entire speech, slides and the delivery to meet the highest points in the judging criteria.

It wasn’t all smooth-sailing though. There were a couple of things I learned from this experience. One is that a mentor may not have all the answers but should be willing to find resources get those answers. The second is the value of video-recording a speech for a contest.

LEARNINGS (move left)
Renzo’s speech content was good enough. But for some reason, we were unable to inject some humor into the content to keep it light. For how do you put humor in a story about a serious knee accident?

And that is where I found help from a fresh pair of eyes. Two pairs, actually - in Leah. Leah is a talented writer and was able to give a fresh perspective.

And soon we were able to keep the speech informational, inspirational yet very light. Not only that, we were able to keep the message focused and tight, and therefore, easier to understand.

The second I learned is this. It pays to video record a speech for a contest. There’s a saying “A picture paints a thousand words.” If that’s true, then I say “A video paints a million words.”

In one of Renzo’s practice speeches, I video recorded his delivery. There were many memory lapses in that speech delivery. The nice thing about the video is that it gives immediate visual feedback.

It didn’t take much from me to tell him what was needed. He watched the video and just said how really bad it was. But to his credit, he pushed himself to hurdle that challenge. And I thought his performance at the contest had a flawless delivery.

CONCLUSION (back center)

So, what’s next for Renzo. There’s a saying. Strike while the iron is hot! Hey, do you know what’s common with our guy contestants who win contests? Lady Luck was with them. Our guy, Russell, had his Rissa. Who knows Renzo might just have Nathalie as his lucky charm.

So, there’s your challenge, Renzo. The District Convention or Discon in Cebu. Cebu beckons! Cebu Ta Bai! Toastmaster of the Day.


NOTE:
Since this speech is not a Path in Pathways and is not under any path, I wanted a specific and more appropriate introduction from the Toastmaster of the Day. Hence, I wrote out the introduction below for the TOD to read.

"Our next speaker will be delivering a speech project on Mentoring. It is the first of two speeches in the official Pathways Mentor Program of Toastmasters.

The purpose of this speech project is for the member to apply his mentoring skills to a short-term mentoring assignment, and to share his experience as a Toastmasters mentor.

For his project, our speaker has chosen the mentoring of a protégé in the recently concluded H.O.T. Speech Contest or Headliners of Tomorrow.

The speech is 5 to 7 minutes long. With the title, “Too HOT to Stop”, and to be evaluated by _________, please welcome ACG ALB Les Aquino."