Global Communicators TMC

GC 1088th Meeting

Speech Marathon
May 27, 2026 (Wed) 19:00 - 21:05 SOHO Modern City D-1910
4
Prepared Speeches
4
Evaluators
6
Guests

Agenda

19:00
President Opening - Sarah FENG
19:03
Toastmaster Opening - LEI
19:06
Guest Introduction - Cindy Wang
19:09
Functional Roles - Timer / Ah-Counter / WordSmith
19:15
Speaker 1: Hunter - Prepare or Act
19:26
Speaker 2: Joanne - The Fifty Meters of Courage
19:34
Break (10 min)
19:44
Speaker 3: Julie - Different Fields, Different Perspectives
19:51
Speaker 4: Cary - The Challenge of Becoming an Early Bird
20:06
Evaluation Session (Bing / Bella / Marco / Warren)
20:25
Functional Role Reports - Timer / Ah-Counter / WordSmith
20:32
General Evaluation - Cindy Wang
20:39
Vote & Award - Celebration - Closing

Roles

President
Sarah FENG
Toastmaster
LEI
VPM / GE
Cindy Wang
Timer
Yiyi
Ah-Counter
Jianghua
WordSmith
Yaxin (Jackie)
General Evaluator
Cindy Wang
Officer Team
IFO (Fulfillment, Influencer)

Guests

Yolanda - 媒体从业者
Yi - A One Club President
Rita - Evan Club, former VPM
Echo - Medical Writer
Marco - Story Series Club Coach
Yaxin - Grammarian

Guest Sharing

Rita
Evan Club, former VPM
Currently working on Pathway Level 5 project, came specifically to learn from this event. Has visited multiple Toastmasters clubs in Beijing since last year. Thrilled to hear excellent speakers and evaluators today. Welcomed everyone to visit her club.
Yolanda
Media Practitioner

First Speech Marathon: First time leaving her home club Bookworm to attend a Speech Marathon. Was truly amazed by seeing so many great speakers sharing their stories. The room was filled with supportive and positive energy. Audience members were fully focused on the speakers, showing genuine respect — this kind of atmosphere is rare and deeply impressive.

The Power of Storytelling: As a media professional, emphasized that storytelling is incredibly important — it shapes our daily lives and even the world. "You are defined by the stories you tell. Listeners judge who you are through your stories." Was deeply touched by all the little stories shared today.

Feedback Culture: Loves the feedback culture here — everyone genuinely invests in giving feedback, and receivers are fully engaged and open. This positive energy flow left a deep impression.

Marco
Story Series Club Coach

GC's Unique Value: A seasoned visitor who has been to many different clubs. GC balances traditional heritage with cutting-edge AI direction. The learning atmosphere is excellent — everyone helps each other. Even without a Table Topics session, every evaluator spent significant time preparing their evaluations, genuinely helping speakers improve.

Club Collaboration: "Toastmasters is not just about members helping each other — different clubs can also support one another. The core is giving your heart." Made new friends today and invited everyone to his club's Monday events: Chinese Speech session and English A1 session.

Word of the Day

ANCHOR
n. / v. - a point of stability; to secure or ground oneself
"We need an anchor. Our feelings are going up and down. I want to anchor myself, and I want you to anchor yourself."

Prepared Speeches

Hunter TU
Prepare or Act
11 minutes
Contrasted two decision-making philosophies: Sun Tzu's "Never fight a battle without preparation" (Eastern prudence) vs. the Wild West "Shoot first and aim later" / Silicon Valley's "Move fast and break things" (Western adventure). Proposed four decision rules:
  • Cost of failure - Buying a house, marriage, surgery - prepare well. Posting videos, writing articles - act first.
  • Time window - Hot opportunities - shoot first. Long-term study - take your time.
  • Age - Before 30, mistakes cost less. Act first.
  • Team size - Small teams should think more. Big companies should act more.
Can I afford to lose it? If yes - act. If no - prepare.
Joanne
The Fifty Meters of Courage
7 minutes
A real story about chasing a Vice Minister of Health to secure project funding. With her 6-year-old son home alone, she missed her window during the conference tea break. As the official walked toward the parking lot, she followed him - 50 meters of hesitation, counting 10, 20, 30, 40 meters - and solved the problem in 2 minutes.
The distance between courage and hesitation - is just 50 meters.
Julie WEN
Different Fields, Different Perspectives
6 minutes
Three stories woven around one theme: (1) Searching for her mom's lost phone, feeling watched by strangers - then realizing in their eyes, she was the strange one. (2) The primary school textbook story of a starfruit (yangtao) - students sitting in different positions saw completely different shapes, none wrong. (3) A Xiaohongshu post about regretting accounting as a major - 3,000 likes, 1,000 comments, fierce debates between 15-year finance veterans and fresh graduates struggling to find jobs.
No one is wrong. No view is wrong. It just depends where you stand.
Cary
The Challenge of Becoming an Early Bird
7 min 50 sec
Listed famous early risers (Tim Cook, Richard Branson, Benjamin Franklin, Barack Obama, Zeng Guofan, Ji Xianlin) and their common habit. Defined "early bird" as having at least 90 minutes of free time before breakfast. Shared the benefits: meditation, exercise, nutritious breakfast, mental preparation, daily planning. Method: strong inner desire + identity shift ("I want" to "I am an early bird") + going to bed early. Confessed he went to bed at midnight and was sleepy during the speech.
Being an early bird is the first secret for keeping healthy, and the most important thing for cultivating yourself. - Zeng Guofan

Evaluations

Bing LIU on Hunter
Prepare or Act
  • Praise: Tried web-based presentation instead of PPT for flexible interaction. Improved vocal variety - used lower, more attractive voice when quoting Sun Tzu. Keynote-style delivery with a clear four-rule framework.
  • Suggestion: Add more real-life examples after each rule, like the personal example he used at the end - which was very effective.
Bella CHEN on Joanne
The Fifty Meters of Courage
  • Praise: Clear structure - interactive opening, building tension, powerful ending. The "50 meters" metaphor was impactful. Excellent eye contact and smile.
  • Suggestion: Add more vocal variety to make the storytelling even more engaging.
Marco on Julie
Different Fields, Different Perspectives
  • Interactive style: Asked Julie two questions live during evaluation.
  • Suggestion: Focus on deepening one story rather than covering three lightly. Use more body language and vocal variety.
  • Path guidance: Connected Level 1-2 (purposeful speech) to Level 2-3 (vocal variety and body language).
Warren on Cary
The Challenge of Becoming an Early Bird
  • Keyword method: Used RISE - Recognize, Improve, Suggest, Encourage.
  • Suggestion: Keywords need stronger connection to specific suggestions. Use a memorable story to anchor the message, as Marco suggested.

General Evaluation - Cindy Wang

  • LEI (Toastmaster) - Flexible and brave handling last-minute agenda changes. AI glasses demonstrated the club's tech-driven spirit. Suggested adding Q&A after speeches.
  • Yiyi (Timer) - Excellent backup performance. Loud, welcoming voice. Clear timing rules and concise report.
  • Jianghua (Ah-Counter) - Improved significantly from last time. Concise and to the point. Suggested wrapping up faster when the red card appears.
  • Yaxin (WordSmith) - Connected the word to the speeches beautifully. Suggested raising voice for confidence.
  • Bing - 3.5 min praise + suggestion + conclusion. Experienced and well-paced.
  • Bella - Master of vocal variety - changed tone when retelling Joanne's story, then returned to lower voice for her own point.
  • Marco - Interactive evaluation was novel. Connected the speech to Toastmasters pathway levels.
  • Warren - Smart keyword acronym, but needs tighter connection to content. Suggested making keywords more content-specific (e.g., "S" for Simplified).

Meeting Highlights

GC 1088th Meeting Minutes - Global Communicators TMC

A Cozy Home for Improvement - Established December 2003

Generated by AI - May 27, 2026