GC 1099 · Have You Eaten?

Total 23 segments · ✅ On Time 8 · ⚠️ Warning 7 · ⏰ Overtime 8 · Under Time 0

Opening Trio Introductions

Table Topics

Role Play & Debate

Table Topics Evaluation

Prepared Speeches

Speech Evaluations

General Evaluation & Workshop

Bella opened with a personal story: before leaving for the UK to study, her mother secretly slipped a handwritten family recipe book into her hands. Upon arriving in the UK, she discovered that all the local Chinese food tasted sweet — completely unlike home. The recipe book became her emotional lifeline. Cooking from it, the aroma attracted her dorm mates to come over. Strangers became friends, and a cold dorm room turned into a space filled with the taste of home.

Julie opened with two beautiful lines of classical Chinese poetry:

These lines guided everyone to reflect on the emotions that food carries — from gathering around a hot pot on the first snow, to the simple home cooking from mom.

Q1 — Jianghua: The Reunion Memory of Handmade Five-Nut Mooncakes

As a child, he made mooncakes with his extended family using molds. The filling was simple — just peanuts and grains — but whenever he thinks of mooncakes, he remembers the unforgettable moments of family reunion.

Q3 — Byron: First Taste of Beijing's Traditional Snacks

On his first trip to Beijing, he went to the Drum Tower to try Douzhi (fermented mung bean milk) and Luzhu Huoshao (stewed offal with bread). The smell was unbearable at first, but it became his most unforgettable memory. This time back in Beijing, he plans to try again.

Q2 — Chen: Mom's Steamed Egg Custard

Every time she left for school, her mother would make her a bowl of steamed egg custard on the morning of departure. Later, when she missed home, she would make it for herself — and instantly feel the warmth of family.

R2 — Eva & Yang: Friend Invites You Out, You're Short on Cash

Eva enthusiastically invited Yang to Five Guys (100 RMB per person). Yang honestly said he was short on cash, suggested going Dutch, and proposed Micun Banfan (米村拌饭) instead (free rice refills). The duo delivered a hilarious yet heartwarming scene of honest communication.

R1 — Yue & Lei: Bargaining at a New Restaurant

Lei played the customer, Yue played the owner. The customer ordered beef, spicy chicken, and three bowls of rice, then asked for a discount. The owner initially refused, but seeing the large order, eventually agreed to give a returning-customer discount.

D1 — Bella & Cindy: Are Five-Nut Mooncakes Delicious?

Affirmative (Cindy): Mixed with large, whole nuts, every bite delivers different aromas. It's a traditional flavor that older generations grew up loving — it has stood the test of time for a reason.

Negative (Bella): When so many flavors are mixed together, you can't distinguish any single nut's taste. It's like rainbow ice cream — everything blends into just sweetness, ruining each nut's unique flavor.

TTE1 — Cary Chen

• Jianghua: Answered the question directly, shared a genuine personal experience, and naturally used the Word of the Day "remember." Very relaxed. Suggestion: take 20 seconds to think and structure before speaking.
• Chen: The steamed egg story was touching. Despite being away from the club for a long time, her stage presence remained strong. Suggestion: add more emotion when talking about experiences with her mother.
• R1 (Yue & Lei): Almost exclusively looked at each other, no eye contact with the audience. Suggestion: balance attention between partner and audience.
• D1 (Bella & Cindy): Bella used a brilliant technique — throwing the question back to her opponent with a counter-question. Everyone can learn from this. Cindy, even when unsure how to fight back, tried her best and connected to her family experience.

TTE2 — Cindy WANG

• TTM Julie: Excellent at designing engaging topics, smooth transitions, and using poetry to set the mood. The HTML page for displaying topics was clear and visually appealing. Suggestion: when guests are present, explain the rules and timing for each format more clearly, or invite a senior member to demo first.
• Byron: Humorous story that connected well with the audience. Suggestion: use more body language to show his reaction to the Douzhi, and make fuller use of the allotted time.
• R2 (Yang & Eva): Very relatable content. Suggestion: for role plays, establish a clear character identity first and connect emotions to that identity.

Speech 1 — Yue: "The Wound I Refuse to Pass On"

Pathway: Persuasive Influence · Level 1, Project 2 — Writing a Speech with Purpose

Using the metaphor of a "crease" or "fold," Yue shared the invisible scars left by emotional neglect in her family of origin. As a middle schooler, she fell into depression and reached out to her mother for help — only to be told, "Don't you have anything better to do?" Now as a mother herself, she has made a conscious decision to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma and become her child's safe zone.

Speech 2 — Yang: "Feeling Safe, Being Myself"

Pathway: Presentation Mastery · Level 2, Project 1 — Understanding Your Communication Style

Based on a "Communication Style Test," Yang discovered his "Initiating" style — enthusiastic, sociable, and fun-loving. But the test also revealed that he responds strongly to praise and needs a non-threatening environment. He reflected on his past management style: in weekly meetings, he would pick faults to establish authority — "How can you make the same mistake again?" — only to realize he was creating fear, not respect. After adopting the Sandwich Evaluation Principle, his team's atmosphere transformed, leading to deeper discussions and better results.

Three Steps to Build a Safe Communication Environment:

1. First, experience what it feels like to be in a safe, non-threatening communication environment.
2. Learn to praise and approve — the best way is to serve as an evaluator in Toastmasters and practice the Sandwich Principle deliberately.
3. Make praise and approval a daily habit — don't limit it to club meetings; weave it into every interaction in life.

IE1 — Eva (Evaluating Yue)

Highly praised the sincerity at the core of the speech. Shared additional context discovered from previous meeting minutes: Yue's mother has now started actively learning about parenting, and their relationship is gradually improving.

IE2 — Tina JI (Evaluating Yang)

Praised the speaker for perfectly weaving personal stories with the project requirements. Suggestion: the three suggestions at the end felt a bit dry without stories. Try binding each suggestion to a personal story — tell the story, extract the lesson, then repeat the core message at the end so the audience takes it home.

Grammarian — Lei WANG

Reported across four dimensions: good words, good sentences, modifiers, and filler word usage. Emphasized that good words don't need to be fancy or complex — simple, vivid expressions that resonate with the audience are the best. Word of the Day "remember" usage: Bella 2 times, Jianghua/Byron/Yue/Eva/Cary 1 time each.

Ah-Counter — Amily

Least filler words: Bing & Byron (fewer than 5 instances). Some members tend to overuse "and" as a connector.

General Evaluator — Bing Liu DTM

Recognized each evaluation team member's strengths: Amily opened with a question to grab attention and used pauses effectively; Lei displayed colorful notes like a knight showing his weapon; Warren used color-coded notes professionally; Cary clearly listed the evaluation sequence; Cindy paired every comment with a concrete example; Eva's facial expressions conveyed genuine emotion; Tina's delivery flowed like water. Suggestion: when evaluating prepared speeches, tie feedback to the official Pathway project objectives for more targeted help.

Warren YUE introduced the club's self-built website: gctoastmaster.club

Background: With 20+ years of accumulated content, 7–8 core members met weekly for months to build this platform.

Core Features:

• ✅ Meeting RSVP (unified portal, replacing scattered sign-up chains)
• ✅ Speech Management (officers can customize as needed)
• ✅ Agenda Print (download Excel → convert to PDF for clean printing)
• ✅ Anonymous Voting (random voting codes, one per WeChat account, supports modifications)
• ✅ Meeting Minutes Archive (all past minutes accessible anytime)
• ✅ AI Q&A Assistant (powered by DeepSeek, instant answers to role descriptions and more)

Tech Details: Hosted on the club's own server. AI features billed by token consumption.

• Outstanding Theme Design: Julie's HTML page for Table Topics was visually polished and paired beautifully with classical poetry — atmosphere was on point.
• Two High-Quality Prepared Speeches: Yue's intergenerational trauma topic was profound and moving; Yang's communication style topic was practical and relatable.
• Hilarious Role Plays: Yang & Eva's Five Guys vs. Micun Banfan and Yue & Lei's restaurant bargaining were full of life and had the room in stitches.
• Five-Nut Mooncake Thread: From Jianghua's Table Topics to Bella & Cindy's debate — a perfect narrative loop throughout the meeting.
• GC Website Is a Milestone: From the Stone Age to the modern era — own server + AI assistant, rare in the Toastmasters world.
• Successful Guest Conversion: Byron decided to join the club on the spot.
• Overtime Issue: 8 segments ran over time. TTE and GE segments need better time management.