Page 9 - October 2017 Voices

JUST SAYIN’ . . .
Walking the Path . . .
by Donna Stark, DTM—District Director
I gave an Ice Breaker speech last week. It
wasn’t my first Ice Breaker, but it was my first in
the Pathways program. Yes, Pathways is here!
Whether you’ve been anticipating the arrival
like a child at Christmas, or have been a little less
enthusiastic, the wait is over. Our opportunity to
experience the program first hand for ourselves
is here.
I’m finding that Pathways isn’t that different.
It’s enhanced, it offers opportunities to utilize
modern technology, and all I’ve come to
appreciate about Toastmasters is still there.
David Letterman I’m not, but I offer ten
reasons to consider Pathways.
1. Curiosity. Come on, admit it—aren’t you
at least a little bit curious? It won’t hurt, I
promise—even if you are the proverbial
cat.
2. The core of the Toastmasters program
used to be club meetings. And it still is!
I still gather in the same place with my
fellow Toasties to enjoy the Hour of Power.
We speak. We evaluate. We participate in
Table Topics. It’s all there!
3. Online tutorials. The “How to Evaluate”
module is excellent, and gives you the
opportunity to compare your thoughts
with that of an experienced evaluator. If
I’d had this as a new Toastmaster, I would
have been more confident about giving
speech evaluation a try. (And perhaps I course! I am a creature of habit. There is new
wouldn’t have felt the need to bargain with terminology to learn and new places to go to
the VP Education to please assign me to
any other role.)
4. I’m a Club Officer. There are things I need
to know to support the members in my
club! At some point a member will ask
me to approve something in Base Camp.
I should at least know what Base Camp is.
role at meetings is to welcome guests and Find YOUR path!
5. I’m a club member. Part of every member’s
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let them know a
little bit about the Toastmasters program.
Pathways is all our new members will
know—and it has a lot to offer! I will also
be better equipped to fill meeting roles,
especially that of speech evaluator, if I have
some familiarity with Pathways.
6. Pathways gives newer members an
opportunity to help seasoned members
get familiar with the program. Yes, you
can teach old Toasties new tricks!
7. Recognition badges! Now before you
quote from the movie, Blazing Saddles,
as a matter of fact I think I do need more
badges!
8. I don’t need more paper, but I can have it
if I want it. If you think everything must
be done using an electronic device, that’s
not the case. There’s a lot that can be done
online, or you can choose to print the
materials as needed. I printed off the Ice
Breaker evaluation form for my evaluator,
then uploaded it after the meeting.
9. I can access the materials in Chinese! (No,
I can’t read them. Yet.)
10. Why should you give Pathways a chance?
Why not?
Are there features that frustrate me? Of
find information. It can be humbling—I thought
I knew it all! I am still working in the existing
manuals. I have a DTM to wrap up before June,
2020—Scott Stevenson insists we made a deal.
Pathways . . . I can do this. You can too. Just sayin’.
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