First-time, Moment of Truth, Advice, Judge, Side Split

This week, I shared some memorable moments with my fellow Toastmasters.

Having completed my three-day backpacking trip in Pingtung County, I took the train back to New Taipei City before noon on Thursday and joined a meeting of my fellow Toastmasters that same evening.

This meeting was special because my fellow Toastmaster Jo was moderating a thirty-minute panel discussion titled Moment of Truth in Toastmasters, and I was honored to be invited as one of the panelists.

There was, as usual, an interesting meeting theme under which everyone shared their memorable first-time experiences, both within and outside of Toastmasters, in an open, friendly, and uplifting atmosphere.

My most memorable first at Toastmasters was its culture of helping and serving one another, as well as the Table Topic session for practicing impromptu speech in English, both  experienced during a meeting I joined as a guest nearly two years ago. This experience assured me that this was the community I should join to experience further.

Since then, I have continued experiencing new firsts in the Toastmasters community, with the most dramatic and surreal one occurring two and a half months ago when I, following Toastmasters' learning Pathways, stumbled upon something totally unexpected: an elective project called 'Write a Compelling Blog.' I chose it without hesitation because writing is another passion of mine, alongside English. Now, with 21 posts completed on my personal blog, my lifelong dream of 'being a writer' has come true.

That's also what I shared at the panel discussion about my moment of truth at Toastmasters, including how I embraced my new identity as a blogger, something I could only dream of during my busy career in international commerce. Additionally, by combining my love of English and writing, I write my blog posts in English. Although it's time-consuming and challenging since English is not my mother tongue, it's all worth it because I know I’ve taken my hobbies to the next level through deliberate practice.

By the way, joining a panel discussion was another first for me. As the meeting came to an end, all our guests and fellow Toastmasters left in high spirits and inspired, and then I had a pleasant 40-minute bike ride home, as usual. But that's not the end of the story.

The following day, Friday, I attended another meeting with my fellow Toastmasters and was assigned the role of Language Evaluator.

This was yet another special meeting where my fellow Toastmaster David delivered the concluding speech of his seventh learning Pathway within five years, a feat I've never heard of in my less than two-year experience with the community. I don't know if it's a record in Toastmasters, but I can imagine how committed he has been to his personal growth along the way.

In addition, there was a special 25-minute workshop titled Is it Real or Fake (How to Act on Stage), hosted by my fellow Toastmaster Sterling. As a Toastmaster and a veteran actor, Sterling showed the audience vividly what those professional yet fascinating details of stage performance have to do with public speaking, which were eye-opening, entertaining, insightful, and educational. Among other things, I was most amazed by how effortlessly he did a side split in a split second.

Sterling is the same age as me, but I, in contrast, can hardly reach the ground with my fingers without bending my knees. He started learning Kung Fu at 10 and has continued practicing it ever since—55 years and counting. What an inspiring personal story!

Although the meeting was special, we still had an interesting theme as usual, which was 'advice'. In line with this theme, I chose 'judge' as the Word of the Day for everyone to incorporate into their speeches in the meeting. I chose it because when receiving advice, solicited or not, we should judge if it truly works for us. Conversely, we should never give advice by judging others, friends and strangers alike.

Well, it’s another first for me: spending time with my fellow Toastmasters two nights in a row, following a three-day backpacking trip in Pingtung, the southernmost county of Taiwan. What a packed and fulfilling week!