I first learned those words while training to become a military officer. During a section attack, my job was to coordinate the movement of soldiers across the battlefield. Some moved faster than others, so to keep everyone together, I started slowing down the fastest soldiers so the slowest could keep up. My instructor disagreed. Loudly.

“John, your job is to motivate the slower soldiers to keep up and harness the energy of the fastest. Never step on enthusiasm!”

Years later, as a Combat Engineer troop commander in Afghanistan, I began to appreciate that lesson. Our camp contractor, Ali, had no shortage of ideas. While some were good, others needed work, but rather than point out every flaw, I learned to listen, ask questions, and look for ways to harness his enthusiasm. Sometimes we used his ideas, but more often we modified them. Because we listened and engaged him in finding solutions, Ali kept coming back with more ideas, and that mattered. At the time, I didn’t realize I was still learning what “never step on enthusiasm” really meant.

I eventually found the same lesson applied in an unexpected place: Toastmasters. I joined Toastmasters in 2009 to become a better public speaker. Like many members, I focused on delivering speeches, eliminating filler words, and trying to remember what to do with my hands. Over time, however, some of my most valuable lessons came not from speaking, but from evaluations.

As a speech evaluator, I learned that identifying problems is not the same as helping someone improve. The objective was not to demonstrate everything I could find wrong, but to help speakers improve without stepping on the enthusiasm that made them willing to stand up and try in the first place. That realization changed how I approached evaluations. Instead of immediately offering solutions, I started asking questions. Could you have slowed down and allowed the audience to sit with that moment? Was there an opportunity to bring that character to life with dialogue? What might have happened if you had used a prop or shared a photo with the club?

Questions create space for reflection. They also recognize something important: The evaluator does not always have the right answer. An inquisitive approach to feedback helps speakers find their own answers while preserving the enthusiasm that made them willing to stand up and try. I found the same approach equally valuable in club leadership.

Someone suggests a new way to attract members. Another has an idea to improve retention. Someone else wants to organize an event or market the club differently. Not every idea will work, and the easiest response is often to explain why: We tried that before. We don’t have the resources. That’s not how we normally do things. But when we immediately dismiss an idea, we risk losing something more valuable than the idea itself: the enthusiasm and engagement of the person who offered it.

The lesson I learned during that section attack was to harness enthusiasm, but it took years before I truly understood how to put that lesson into practice. Ask questions, explore possibilities, and give natural leaders the opportunity to bring others with them. Just as the fastest soldiers could help motivate the slower ones, enthusiastic club members can inspire others to contribute and get involved. Give them ownership and, when possible, the opportunity to put their ideas into action. In Afghanistan, that enthusiasm benefited the mission. In Toastmasters, it benefits the club.

I came to realize that whether coordinating soldiers, evaluating a speaker, or serving as a club officer, the challenge is creating an environment where people are willing to contribute, learn, adapt and try again. Toastmasters gives us the opportunity to continue learning and practicing that lesson every meeting. Good feedback helps people improve. Good leadership helps people contribute. Both begin with a guiding principle I first learned years ago in military training: never step on enthusiasm.

John Hallett is a retired Canadian Army Combat Engineer officer, author of Unconventional: A Combat Engineer’s Road to Afghanistan, and Vice President Education of MVP Advanced Toastmasters in Calgary, Alberta. He joined Toastmasters in 2009.