I met Raj nearly 4 years ago via the Official Toastmasters Member Group on the LinkedIn social media site. He posted in the group that he needed some guidance for a speech project he was doing. No one in his club had done that particular project.
By the way, Raj lives in the United Arab Emirates, half way round the world from Denver, Colorado where I live.
Reaching out to Raj was one of the first times I offered to help a complete stranger via a social media site. Since we were both members of Toastmasters International, he didn’t exactly feel like a complete stranger. Yet in many ways he was.
Over the years, Raj and I have stayed in touch, both via LinkedIn and just through regular email. I am honored that he calls me his Toastmaster mentor. Since I met him, I have advised him on matters relating to leadership as well as to public speaking. And he has provided great ideas to me.
Recently Raj asked me if I knew anyone who had started a gavel Toastmasters club. He and some of his fellow members of his Apple Toastmasters club were in the process of creating a gavel club for children in their area.
Here is how Toastmasters International describes a gavel club:
Gavel clubs are a way of providing Toastmasters’ self-improvement methods and materials to people who may be ineligible for regular membership due to age, inability to pay dues or other circumstances. Gavel clubs provide Toastmasters members and clubs with an excellent opportunity for community service. They can be found in high schools, colleges, rehabilitation institutions, hospitals and elsewhere.
Read more at: http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/MemberExperience/SatellitePrograms/GavelClubs.aspx
Immediately I thought of my Toastmasters friends Alex and Pattie, both of whom support a gavel club in a local correctional facility for women. So, I put them in touch with Raj.
They were able to provide Raj with specific suggestions for how to both start such a club and how to keep one going. I felt like a proud matchmaker as I was copied in their exchanges of emails.
Apple Gaveliers, open to children 12-18, will launch on November 24, 2012, all because there are some very generous Toastmasters who want young people to also improve their communication and leadership skills.
Who have you met via social media whom you then matched with someone else you knew? Maybe you matched them with another social media buddy. Or maybe it was with someone you know in person.
For me, a lifelong matchmaker and connector, being part of social media provides countless opportunities to help bring people together in positive and exciting ways.
Joyce Feustel, Founder of Boomers’ Social Media Tutor, helps people relatively new to social media to become more effective and comfortable in their use of this medium. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com
Having DTM Joyce as a mentor (not just a mentor, an unseen, never-spoken-to mentor) is a privilege – since that day way back in 2008 or 09, the moment anyone asks me about anything in TM, the first name that comes up is hers. At most of our club excom meetings I mention how this virtual networking has guided me and how excited am I about attending the International Convention in 2013 so I would get to meet this trio mentor group..
Alex and Pattie – not as well-known as the former but still they have made sure to be the guides and mentors in starting this Gavel club.
If anyone anywhere wants to verify what mentoring can do for a Toastmaster, have a look at our bonding for the past 4 years.
Long live the spirit of Toastmasters.
Raj, thanks for this touching testimonial. See you in Cincinnati!!
I recently reviewed my online connections to identify patterns and processes for how I became connected. The most obvious trend was connections that started with face-to-face (or IRL – In Real Life) relationships. But you raise an interesting point here. On my next pass, I’m going to look for active connections with people I’ve never met in person.
I’ll let you know what turns up.
Debi, glad this post got you to thinking about this idea broadening your connecting relationships.
It is interesting to learn how well you can gauge sincerity and good intentions without ever meeting in person. That has been a revelation to me. It takes trust, yes, but it also takes a willingness to take a risk. And so far, for me, the risks have led to increased friendships, and increased opportunities to share not just Toastmasters, but lives in general. For me, the world has become a smaller, friendlier place.
Yes, Pattie, it is fascinating to me how much you can find out about someone’s character without meeting in person. I like your last sentence so much – that the world has become a smaller, friendlier place.
Great article, with valuable comments from Raj, Debi and Pattie!
I felt the ease with which you brought us together, is worth mentioning. Our relationship with Raj never hit a bump. Your credibility suggests you vet people you refer. End of story. What a pleasant change to see constructive posts like yours, which focus on the positive aspects of an experience. May it continue….. 🙂
Thanks so much, Alex, for what you wrote, especially the part about having constructive posts. That is certainly a goal of mine in this blog. Better to build someone up than to tear them down.