H
Hunter TU
Level 5 Completion Speech Β· 11'16"
"Pass the Flame"
Hunter opened with a live experiment: a lighter dipped in water cannot ignite itself β but touch it with another flame, and it burns again. Fresh back from New Zealand β exhausted, a student having lost 370 of her 400 dollars, a pile of projects waiting β he had become that wet lighter. Then came last week's meeting: he did almost nothing, yet watched everyone shine on stage, and felt the energy return.
He then told the parable of the horse stuck in the mud: no one jumped in to drag it out β the riders simply ran their horses around and around the pit, and the trapped horse found its own strength to climb out. "Everybody has the power to heal themselves β but they still need some flame, some energy from others."
Four years ago, his life was only work. "I was husband, I was son, I was father. But remove these roles β who am I?" GC gave the answer. His call to action: stand up, step up, speak up β to pass the flame.
"A wet lighter can't fix itself β it just needs someone to pass the flame."
β Hunter
π― Cindy (IE)
Evaluating Hunter
Opened with a live poll β "raise your hand if Hunter's charm brought you to this club" β nearly every hand went up. Praised his devotion and leadership: "You are not only the lighter, but also the torch." Touched by his bravery in sharing his low points, and by the horse video β "I almost cried." Two suggestions: watch eye contact (he occasionally looked at the ceiling, and closed his book right at the final thank-you); and for a Level 5 reflection speech, show the full growth arc β from newbie to a leader brave enough to build a new club.
Y
Yue
VC Β· Visionary Expression Β· 6'53"
"Side Quest, Real Growth"
How does a side quest drive the growth of your main quest? Yue's answer began with a hand-drawn sketch. Tina invited her into the GC Brain project; at the first meeting, Eva proposed a Golden Quote Wall; Warren built it in minutes β "I always wonder if Warren is made of diamond." Looking at the interface, an idea popped into her head: what if we show quotes in levels? She sketched it, and that messy sketch became the framework of the wall.
Warren spotted her product mindset and asked her to design the homepage. After several nights of thinking: the GC Solar System concept was born β her chaotic draft on the left, Warren's polished page on the right. The kicker? She's in sales β the TM gasped: "Are you a product manager? A designer?" Her growth loop: "As I got more involved, I became more confident. As I got more confident, I became more willing to show myself."
"How to let the side quest drive the growth of the main quest?"
β Yue
π― Yang (IE)
Evaluating Yue
Called the speech "a perfect combination of vocal and vision β like a short movie," with the timeline connecting Tina's invitation β Eva's idea β Warren's build into a full story: "She connects all the dots into lines, so we can see the full picture." Noted huge progress: far more relaxed than last time, natural movement and vocal variety. Two suggestions: step back one step when interacting with the PPT for a more natural posture; and since her pathway is Visionary Expression β next time use a sketch with bigger, clearer text so the back rows can read it.
TTM Bing LIU dealt from a deck of poker cards with hints on their backs β single topics plus one two-person role play. His framing: "I've been rejected many times, but rejected others only once or twice β the pain of being rejected is far more impressive."
A
Ano
Something you never reject
For years he never rejected a single suggestion from his mother, father or wife β noodles? yes. Travel? yes. The root cause: he had never built his own values, a complete character β he didn't know himself, so he didn't know how to say no. But in the last two years, he changed. Saying no starts with knowing who you are.
C
Camille
Something you've been afraid to try
She thought she had no talent for social media. Then she put a camera behind herself and tried β and the video was far better than imagined. First post: no likes, no comments. She kept going, asked friends, found her way β and eventually landed a collaboration with another vlogger. Today: 300,000 followers.
Y
Yang (Henry)
A "no" that later became "yes"
His new boss kept forgetting to send a partner email. Instead of giving up, Yang drafted the email with AI and sent it to his boss β all he had to do was click "send." Miracle happened. "Don't ever say no to opportunity. Reflect on what you can do to help move forward. Be resilient." Bonus: he spotted the Timer's start-time rule mid-meeting β sharp eyes.
B
Bella π Best Table Topics
A "no" you'd take back if you could
As an HR director juggling 3 projects and a year-end event, she waved off a payroll specialist's basic question. The employee figured it out alone β and made a payroll mistake that rippled through the whole company. "If I could go back, I would give her at least thirty seconds or one minute β and the result would be totally different."
C
Cindy
A rejection you were happy to receive
As a junior employee she asked her boss everything β until the boss refused: come back with your own proposal first. Years later, as a manager herself, she finally understood: the rejection taught her to think. "I'm happy about the rejection β and the suggestion that came along with it." Bing called it "a very perfect rejection."
K
Kacy (Guest)
Rejected once β but kept trying
She quit her sales job at New Oriental to apply for a teaching post: 1β2 months of unpaid training, and phonics was her weakness. First trial lesson, the trainer asked: "Were you sleepy?" She watched every teaching video online β phonics, grammar, KET/PET β and finished #1 in the training exam, then #1 in trial-class conversion for a whole year. Resilience in action.
V
Vicky (Guest)
A successful "no" β no guilt, no regret
After her baby was born, she resigned β saying no to career growth, yes to her son. "That time with my son is only once β you can never spend it again." Bing's verdict: "Great mother." Her first time on a Toastmasters stage.
π― Cary (TTE 1)
Evaluated Bing, Ano, Yang, Cindy, Vicky
Praised Bing's poker-card creativity and his live save β tossing Vicky an extra question so she could use her full stage time. Suggestion for all: give speakers at least 20 seconds to think. Ano: moving transformation story β craft a complete ending next time. Yang: lightning-fast callback to Bing's story β but eyes kept locking onto Bing's seat; share your gaze with the whole room. Cindy: clearly listened to every speaker β same eye-contact note. Vicky: first visit ever, yet relaxed with natural gestures β "the talent of a wonderful speaker."
π― Bella (TTE 2)
Evaluated Bing, Camille, Kacy
Loved Bing's closing philosophy β "Nothing ends, there's always a flow" β which carried her straight to Zhuangzi and the yin-yang of the book club. For Camille: build the full arc β open with where your career began, close with "I'm afraid of a lot of things, but I gave it a try anyway β and I'm glad I did." For Kacy: praised her courage to ask for clarification, her vocal variety ("Were you sleepy?"), and her use of the Word of the Day. Suggested closing: "Getting rejected is like a booster for me to work on what I can improve. I enjoy it β and I did it."
π Timer Report β Byron (first time!)
Last meeting's overtime rate was 67% β tonight: under 10% (17 of 23 qualified).
Precision awards: Cary 4'29" against a 4'30" target; Yue 6'53". One speaker overshot by exactly 2 seconds β twice β a tiny hesitation at the close.
Rule clarified on stage: murmuring while thinking counts as speaking time β if you need to think, think in silence.
π’ Ah-Counter Report β Yunduan
First run of the club's AI ah-counter tool (honest confession: forgot to switch speaker tracking at the start β some data approximate).
Top filler words: um Β· so Β· OK Β· you know. Counts: Hunter 9, Bella 5, Cindy 4, Kacy 3.
Tip: rewatch the video and hunt your own fillers.
π Grammarian Report β Warren
Debut of the AI-assisted Grammarian page, opening with a 37-second Jensen Huang clip on resilience.
RESILIENCE used 5 times (Bing, Yang, Kacy, Cary, Bella). Golden sentences collected from Hunter, Tina, Yang, Cindy, Yue β all headed for the Golden Quote Wall.
Language highlight of the night: a festival of metaphors β the flame, the denominator, the booster, the side quest.
π― General Evaluation β Sarah FENG
Challenged herself to evaluate 10 roles. Camille (AVO, first time): materials collected in advance, zero equipment failures. Hunter: opening finally finished on time β real improvement. Tina: rock-stable, flexibly granted one extra minute for the writing session. Jianghua (EGO): adorable, lifted the whole room. Byron: well-prepared fast learner. Grammarian: a shining AI-powered entrance β suggestion: add "improper usage" detection next time. TTEs: both seasoned β noted Cary took 5 speakers while Bella wisely kept 3 as a time buffer. Cindy: quality feedback on an 11-minute speech. Yang: detailed and genuine, grounded in Yue's pathway.
Quoted Bing: "Rejection is not the end. If you think it's right, you will do it in the future."
"A wet lighter can't fix itself β it just needs someone to pass the flame."
β Hunter
"Everybody has the power to heal themselves β but they still need some flame, some energy from others."
β Hunter
"Stand up, step up, speak up β to pass the flame."
β Hunter
"Each rejection adds one number to your denominator."
β Tina
"Don't ever say no to opportunity. Reflect on what you can do to help move forward. Be resilient."
β Yang
"If I could go back, I would give her at least thirty seconds or one minute β and the result would be totally different."
β Bella
"I'm happy about the rejection β and the suggestion that came along with it."
β Cindy
"As I got more involved, I became more confident. As I got more confident, I became more willing to show myself."
β Yue
"I was rejected once β but I tried, tried, tried until I was accepted."
β Kacy
"That time with my son is only once β you can never spend it again."
β Vicky
"Rejection is not the end. If you think it's right, you will do it in the future."
β Bing
"Nothing ends β there's always a flow."
β Bing
"You are not only the lighter, but also the torch."
β Cindy (evaluating Hunter)