Her Voice Magazine Vol. 1 | Page 6

7 months ahead: 1 month ahead: Begin recruiting mentors. Speech mentors should be an area or district presbyter or pastor who is willing to spend time with the speaker. Total time commitment is one to two hours. Ideally, speakers will travel to the mentor’s location for a 15 minute demonstration and 1 hour coaching session. At minimum, mentors will watch the YouTube video of the speaker, and meet via phone or Skype to give input and encouragement. Please see sample mentor invitation letter. The mentor program is a win-win for both speaker and mentor. Not only does the speaker receive great feedback and encouragement for their speech, the mentor has the opportunity to meet an up-and-coming leader in their area. • Recruit a speech coach for the Speaker Refinement Day. This day is vital to this event, as it moves the speakers to the next level and gives them the confidence they need to succeed. A good speech coach will be a great group fac