SPEAKER_01 0:12

Hi, my name's Brinkman O'Sullivan, a Toastmaster from Brisbane, Australia. Welcome to my Toastmasters World Tour podcast. Please join me as I travel virtually around the world and chat to Toastmasters from different countries and all walks of life. Let's explore! For this episode of Toastmaster's World Tour, we travel virtually to China's capital, Beijing, meaning Northern City, formerly mispronounced as Peking, the home of traditional Hutong neighborhoods, the Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square, to chat to Lilu Kerr, a three-time Olympic volunteer and English major, who is a project manager working on international programs between China and the United Nations. Let's take a look at his Toastmasters journey in the context of the Chinese Toastmasters scene and its benefits.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Okay, thank you. Thanks for your invitation, Brandon. It's a great honor for me to be here to have a chat with you about Toastmasters. Hi everyone, my name is Lola. I'm from China. Currently I'm working in Beijing as a project manager. My work is uh dealing with those international cooperation programs between China and the UN. I used to be an English major. This kind of work is quite relevant to my major and to my interest. As for Toastmasters, I joined Toastmasters two and a half years ago, and my home club is called the EF Phoenix's Toastmasters Club with an 18-year history in China. So it's a long history club in Beijing, and uh currently there are 54 members there. It's a big club in District 88. Also served my club as a VPM and also a president. And currently I'm an area director for in my district. I'm continuing my Tosmasters journey as a leader, and also I think I'm always a volunteer to serve our members and other clubs, and I think uh this is a great place for us to to grow and uh to strive to be a better self. Thank you, Brandon.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

And why did you join Toastmasters in the first place?

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Back to 2023. At that time I thought I should pick up my oral English because in my last work I didn't have any opportunity to speak English. And uh I thought that I need to keep the kind of feeling to to speak English because I think English is so important. No matter if I work or if I leave or travel, I think English is something that I didn't want to give up. So that's my first aspiration to join Telstra Masters. But after I joined EFNIX, I thought that at Telstra Masters I could again I I could gain more than just speaking English because there are so many nice people there and I can learn a lot from them. So it's one of the wisest choices I've ever made, I think.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Improving your English must have helped with your work dealing with the United Nations. Has it helped in any other way?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Yes, actually I changed my work in 2025, last year. I think uh after two years training or two years uh experience at Toastmasters, it helped me a lot when I was hunting for a new job. Last year, I think I did a great job in the interview, and I thought I I would contribute my success of the interview to my experience or to my contribution to Toastmasters in the past two years.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Recently it was Chinese New Year, so Gong Shi Fatsai. Thank you, Shishi.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

How did you celebrate Chinese New Year? I went back home. My hometown is in Zhujiang Province.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

So it's in the east, southeast part of China. And uh I went back home and had a re had a reunion with my family. We had a big feast together, and we also watched the Spring Festival Gala on the Chinese Spring Festival Eve. It it is like a quite a tradition in China for the Chinese people to get together and watch the gala together, and we would also make the fireworks there. So it's quite a celebration that we had in the spring festival.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Was that on TV?

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Yes, the spring festival was streamlined by CCTV on TV or on the internet. So uh everyone, no matter uh you can you can watch it at every corner, each corner of the world.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Awesome. And how is the transport getting back home?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

The transport actually I took the airplane back. Uh-huh. It will take like uh two hours. But uh usually, usually we have our high-speed train. It's very convenient one, it's almost the most convenient way for for us to travel across China because we have the most developed high-speed railway network, I think. And uh but you know, in the spring festival, we call it Twin Yu, which it means the transportation or the travel, yes, the rush travel between the spring festival, which will last for 40 days. During that time, all those high-speed train tickets are so hard to get because especially within the week of the spring festival holiday. So it's very not easy. It's not easy to get the train tickets, so I chose to buy an airplane ticket.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Joshua, that's exactly why I asked, because everyone's trying to return to their hometowns, aren't they? So it's a massive transport issue. But it sounds like wealthy, so that's good to hear. Everyone's at home, so I guess Toastmasters is probably not happening so much during that Golden Week, during Chinese New Year. Did you subsequently or beforehand celebrate Chinese New Year in your Toastmasters Club meeting in any way?

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Oh yes. Actually, I still remember that the last meeting between before the Spring Festival, that we held a special meeting themed as the Chinese upcoming Chinese New Year. I think some of our senior members bring some calligraphy, the Chinese traditional calligraphy, and uh we used it as um table topic.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Yes, okay, awesome.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Those traditional Chinese calligraphy, there are some writings there, some best wishes, some wishes uh in the Chinese style. So we we had it, and uh every table topic speaker can come up on the stage and pick one and uh share a two-minute speech about this kind of wish. Yes, so I think that is kind of um creative way to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Toastmasters, and it's also a kind of promotion of our own culture.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

I love that. Is that common to use calligraphy as a trigger for table topics?

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Uh actually, I think uh in the last year of club, my club had two kind of like calligraphy themed uh table topics.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Okay. So it's not rare, but it's not your regular occurrence either.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Yeah, not that regular because we have either very creative or interesting table topics.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Okay. So during the meeting did they have a lion dance?

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Oh no, that that's kind of I think uh too difficult for us to get those I mean, to get those stuff or to I think it's kind of professional dance. Yes. Because it's originated from the south of China. And uh it's kind of a very festive, I mean it's a festive activity in China and uh not that easy to have those actors or performers in Toastmasters, but maybe I think it's a good proposal. Maybe next time we can we can have a try to have a line dance in Toastmasters meeting.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

I mean it's very entertaining, but it's also very loud. I think it'd be hard to hear anyone speak. Yes, very loud. And what about firecrackers? Did they send any firecrackers off during the meeting? Yes, fireworks.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Yeah, fireworks during the during the club meeting. No. But it will have fireworks. It will be fireworks when people are having those dial meeting, uh line meeting.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Yes, yeah. But during during your club meeting, did you ever set off some firecrackers?

SPEAKER_00 10:37

No, that's dangerous.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Start talking. One aspect of Toastmasters is volunteering for executive roles. Now I note you've done not only executive roles in Toastmasters, but you also have outside of Toastmasters extensive volunteering experience, including for the Olympics. Can you tell us a bit about that?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Actually, I'm also an Olympic volunteer for three times. For real 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, then Pyongyan 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea, and uh the last one is Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France. So these are my three Olympic experiences. All of them are fantastic and unforgettable. I think they are one of the life-changing decisions that I've ever made.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Awesome. What was your role exactly?

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Uh actually for the three Olympic Games, my role are event services members or event services volunteer. And my role there, all my responsibles uh responsibilities there are like uh tracking the tickets, guiding the pedestrians, uh spectators, and also helping those uh spectators with uh physical challenges.

SPEAKER_02 12:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Also, I would pro prov uh provide language services if necessary. So these are my main tasks there.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yes. So what did you enjoy the most about volunteering for the Olympics?

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Wow, I think uh I enjoyed most the people there. For example, when I was in Rail ten years ago, I still remember that one day I was working like for like eight hours. I was standing outside the stadium, the venue, and uh there was um Brazilian lady who came to me and uh she saw my volunteer um um like um my name card or or my or my credential. So she asked me follow Portuguese, I said no, I speak English. Wow, and then she just changed her language and said, Wow, where are you from? I said I'm from China, and then she said thank you for coming here to help us. Wow, at that moment that I thought even after a day-long hour, long day work, but when I heard her words, I felt so warm and I thought that everything is so worthy.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

So I think uh those are the moments that I cherished so much, even after 10 years, I still remember and I could always uh recall it so vividly.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yes. I love that, and it gave you the warm and fuzzies. It reminds me of a time when I was in Harabin in northeast China in winter, it was negative 35 degrees, and night was falling, and we just walked back across the frozen Song River, and there were families camping in tents on the edge of the frozen river, and a local person walked right across my path, and just out of politeness, I said, Wang Chonghao, which is as you know, good evening. And they just stopped and took a double take and said, Oh wow, you speak Chinese, and I said, Oh yeah, you know, yeah, a bit. And uh and they invited me and my daughter inside their family tent around their little campfire, and started feeding us kebabs and wanted to get to know us, and and it was that personal interaction was just so rich and heartwarming and physically warming too with the with the campfire. So I love those. I totally relate those personal experiences that you get and how language can can really open those things up.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Yes, exactly. I think these people are so lovely. The the Chinese people, as you mentioned, and the Brazilian people, they are so thoroughly lovely, so helpful, and always make of us warm heartwarmed. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Yeah. Speaking of the Olympics, and you're in Beijing, it reminds me of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And it was where I first started learning a bit of Chinese. And one of the first words I learnt because of the Beijing Olympics was Chayo, which you know, because you'd see these crowds of the Chinese, they're getting all very excited and going, Chayo, Chayo, which has and the literal translation in English is add oil, but it's the way of saying, Come on, go, you know, give it your best. And yes. That sort of led to an interest there. But it sounds like you didn't volunteer at the Beijing Olympics. You look quite young. I'm imagining you're pretty young at the time.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Yes, I was pretty young at Beijing during the Beijing Olympics, because but I thought I was quite influenced by the Beijing Olympic Games. Back then I was just 13 years old. I was in uh middle school. And uh at that time I was in my hometown and I didn't come to Beijing, I didn't watch the Games in person, but I watched the whole um events on TV. At that time I was so proud for my country, for the Olympics. And at that time I thought that I must I must participate in in the event one day when I grow up, when I have time, when I have energy, when I have passion. So I thought that I made it after like eight years. Yes. Yes. So that's the the first time that I made the decision to to be a volunteer at the Olympic Games. So yes, Beijing Olympic is is is the beginning.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Very, very influential. It planted the seed, and it's great to see that sort of come to fruition later on. So well done. Recently we had the Winter Olympics in Italy. You didn't get interested in being involved in that.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

I think um, yes, I'm interested in it, and I've also watched a lot of games there. Uh but I mean on TV. Uh I think that being a volunteer, being a limited volunteer is quite uh kind of um exhausting, I mean, to some extent, because it's quite a uh tiring. And uh I think uh when I when I grow up or when when I get into the workplace, I don't have that much I mean time or I don't have that long holiday because I have to take a leave for volunteering. If for the Olympic especially for the Olympics, I have to stay there for like uh more than half an half a month. So it's not that easy for for us to take a long such a long leave there. And uh I think uh when I decided to get to Paris, because it it was in my twenties, I I thought Paris would be one of the I think Paris would be a happy ending for my Olympic volunteering journey in my twenties. So I thought it was a perfect circle from 2016 to 2024, and I served three Olympic Games in in Paris, uh I mean in the volunteers, uh in the Olympics. And uh maybe after I entered 30, I thought I would have more um more more things to do, and even even though I'm not an Olympic volunteer right now, I would I think I would also serve or be a volunteer in other areas like uh I'm serving and those UN volunteers or something else. Yes, I think I'm also a volunteer. Oh yes, you can see that I'm a volunteer at Toastmasters.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Yeah, yeah. I mean that three three Olympics is amazing, you know, that's a massive effort. You mentioned just now uh volunteering for the United Nations, what sort of capacity would that be in?

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Okay, actually I'm not an UN volunteer, but I do serve because in some of our programs or projects there are some UN volunteers on site or online, and uh those vol those projects are connected to SDG's sustainable development goals.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

And uh I think we are doing something to make the world a better place to live in, yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Awesome. Have you got some examples of that?

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Yes, but for example, in China we have several we have established several um projects, like uh women empowerment projects in Yunnan, Waipla Village, and also we have some like uh the UN procurement uh projects in Shanghai, which is aimed to promote the Chinese companies to to be a qualified supplier for UN system. Yes. So these are something that we do to promote the SDG of the UN and also for the priority areas of China's development.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

Okay, awesome. When I was in Beijing in 2013, I went and watched Crosstalk, which is Xiongsheng in Chinese. For our audience, Crosstalk is a traditional Chinese comedic performance typically done by two people. It's all about witty banter, rapid fire wordplay, puns, absurdity. It's been described as Chinese style comedic sparring. Lulu, have you ever been to a performance?

SPEAKER_00 21:18

You mean Xiang Sheng? You mean Shiangsheng?

SPEAKER_02 21:20

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Oh, it's a pity that I didn't watch the Xiangsheng in person, but I watched it a lot on TV or on my phone because it's kind of traditional. I think it's a special or typic Chinese art or performance. It's quite interesting and uh we can always we can laugh a lot throughout the performance. Very interesting. Some of them are even ironic or uh humorous, yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

Has crosstalk ever been used in any Toastmasters meetings or competitions?

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Oh not really, I think, but actually in Toastmasters in other meetings, we we use try to try some roleplays uh in the table topics. So in roleplays there are also usually two people and they will hold different opinions and so they will have a crosstalk like you said. But we didn't hold a crosstalk competition or contest in Toastmasters yet. Okay. But we do have a Chinese uh speech contest, yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

And is that sorry, that's table topic, so it's sort of impromptu crosstalk. Yes, impromptu. It sounds like one of the reasons you joined Toastmasters was to improve your English. So uh your club meetings totally in English, or do you ever have any Chinese in the meetings?

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Actually, my club is pu a purely English club.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

Just one club that you're a member of? Yes, I only have one club.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

But you're an area director for about five other clubs? Yes, for other four clubs. Okay, so you're you're an area director for four other clubs. Uh any of them in Chinese?

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Yes. We have like a bilingual Toastmasters club. And also there are pure English club there, yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

So with the bilingual clubs, do they have like one meeting in English and then another in Chinese, or is it mixed within the meeting?

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Uh one English, one Chinese.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

Okay, so they don't mix it between like in an individual meeting? Yes.

unknown 23:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

Actually in Beijing, there are also some other kind of like uh with a special characteristics club. For example, we have like uh pure Chinese clubs, and also we have some impromptu drama, like uh we have an like drama club where you can play impromptu uh drama there, and also we have some uh foreign language clubs like uh French, French club, and also we have a Japanese club.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

These are all Toastmasters clubs.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Yes, they're all Toastmasters clubs in different languages.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Oh that's awesome. So when you go into competitions, what language is that usually in?

SPEAKER_00 24:36

Okay. Uh for competitions we only have the Chinese and English. Because um for because for those um like what I said, Japanese and French, there are only one club in Beijing. So there are not so many people there to compete or to attend the contests. Maybe they can have um like Japanese speech contest within their club, but for the area level or even district level, they there will only be the Chinese speech contest, the international speech contest, and uh we have evaluation contest or table topics, yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

And so with the Chinese competitions, does that go all the way to district?

SPEAKER_00 25:29

Yeah, the highest level for the Chinese speech contest would be the district level.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

At the district level, is that including the international competition that would be in Chinese as well?

SPEAKER_00 25:42

Yes, for district speech contests there will be a Chinese speech contest as well. But only the international speech contest winner will advance to the next phase of this international speech contest. Sure, I think. So the the champion, yeah, the champion of this district level for the Chinese speech contest will be the greatest honor for our Toastmasters in Beijing in Beijing, yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:10

I hear what you're saying that some people join Toastmasters to improve their English. Another place I know Chinese go to improve their English is English Corners. These are often informal gatherings in parks and other public places, and used to be really popular. Is that still a thing?

SPEAKER_00 26:28

Yes, I think so. I think there are also some English corners in Beijing, but I think it's they are actually something two things different. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Sure. Where I was driving at is that you know, one of the roles of club executives is to keep member numbers healthy because, like any club, there's going to be a natural rate of attrition. This means there needs to be a steady recruitment. So I'd imagine English Corners would be a good place to promote that. Has your club ever tried that? To go to English Corners to recruit Toastmasters members.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Actually, we don't have an like English Corners style meeting because I think um our club, yeah, Phoenix D's Toastmasters Club, is is kind of a professional one, and we would follow the rules of Toastmasters, and we will have tabletopic sessions, uh, we will have prepared speeches and also feedback sessions. So these are the very the structure that distinguishes Toastmasters and other English corners. We grow because we receive feedbacks. We we because we receive feedback. But in English corners, I think it's some where you can we can have free talks, we can talk anything, we can share our opinions. So it's more freestyle, I think. But but in Engl at English corners you you may not receive any feedback. It's just about free talking. And um people would be nice and um yeah, you will be uh you will be very happy because you will just spend time talking and sharing opinions. You will not have any pressure before the the meeting or before the English corner because you don't have a project list like Into Smart.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

When I talk about recruitment, I'm saying when you need to find new members, have you ever thought of using English corner as a place to find potentially interested people because they want to improve their English? And you know, suggest that okay, I see.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Actually, our new members are usually uh introduced by our members or other members from other clubs because they they would tell those guests that yeah, Phoenix is is one of the best toastmasters clubs. And um also we would have some promotion in on social media in in Beijing, in China. So maybe they would find our club on the social media and uh we we don't have an English colour to attract uh new guests, but we do have like uh a gossip lunch after our regular meeting, and we would revite uh we would invite our guests to join because they will know more on the table when we talk about what a Toastmasters is and how the club grows, but it's totally in Chinese, of course. Okay, so that's gossip lunch. Yeah, gossip lunch. Love that. Yeah, you should have a try if you come to Beijing.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Sure. Thank you. I'd love to do that. With your four or five clubs that you're area director for, uh, do you have any foreigners in any of those clubs?

SPEAKER_00 30:06

Yes, actually, in my home club, there are four or five nationalities there, including the US, other remote uh member in the US, and also we have members from the Netherlands, from Japan, and Saudi Arabia. So it's an international club.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

I see. Has your club got an online component as well?

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Yes, we are on we have we are mixed hybrid, we have hybrid meeting, so you can join us online.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

And so are those foreigners there in person or are they all online?

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Actually, only the American members are online, and also some Chinese members who are located out of Beijing, they will attend the meeting online. The rest of us would join in person.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Okay. And with your Mandarin speaking clubs, are there any foreigners involved in those clubs?

SPEAKER_00 31:07

Yes, some foreigners working in Beijing would have to try, and uh they want to improve their Chinese or Mandarin, they would come and uh talk in Chinese.

SPEAKER_01 31:21

And how do they get on?

SPEAKER_00 31:24

Yeah, they've made progress. They've made a very I think uh it's a good place for them to learn Chinese and to make Chinese friends there. Very good.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

What nationalities do they tend to be?

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Also, actually in my area or in my club, because I'm an English-speaking club, so there are no one coming to learn Chinese, for the rest of my clubs in my area, uh, they are all Chinese, I think. We don't have foreign friends there, but I do know that in some other clubs out of my area, uh like uh the the friends from Germany, from Saudi Arabia, they would also attend some Chinese or bilingual Toastmasters Club to learn Chinese or to make Chinese friends there.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Awesome. And so is there a problem joining? Can anyone any Toastmaster join online?

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Some clubs they do have their online meeting and they will share the online link, but some clubs they are purely on-site, you have to come there in person.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

So can a like a foreigner join one of the online clubs? Yes. There used to be talk of the Great Firewall of China. Have you heard of that? Oh yes. Does that cause an issue with foreigners wanting to join an online Chinese Toastmasters club?

SPEAKER_00 32:58

I think it's okay because Jack thinking you may just uh uh download the the meeting, meeting app, like 10 cent meeting, and you can just join just like our American friends, our American member who join us every week. And it doesn't mean you have to be careful what you say, particularly as a foreigner or in Tosmasters, I think uh uh uh usually we we don't talk about politics, race, sex, or religion. Yes. These are something a little bit sensitive we should avoid. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Okay. How do you find subjects for your speeches, Lila?

SPEAKER_00 33:45

Oh, I'm I would usually get my inspirations f in my daily life. For example, when I saw something interesting, or when I have some interesting stories in my workplace or in my life, I would try to make them into a speech, then I would deliver it at my club.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

And have you done things that are quite uniquely Chinese?

SPEAKER_00 34:13

Actually, unique uniquely Chinese, I I don't think so, but I do I do share some of my experiences in the Olympics, because it's unique for me, and um it's also somehow inspiring for some other members because some of my members they told me that after hearing my stories at uh at the Olympics, they they decided to be an Olympic volunteer as well.

SPEAKER_01 34:43

Okay, awesome. So people are joining to improve their English, and I hear grammarian is quite a big role in these meetings. Is that the case?

SPEAKER_00 34:53

Yes. For Chinese people, I think uh grammar is something difficult for us to pay attention to, and uh whenever we speak, we have to pay attention to our grammar, and uh I would always try my best to avoid making some uh simple errors.

SPEAKER_01 35:13

So when you're speaking, you're being evaluated by a grammarian. How do you know that the grammarians' corrections are correct if they're also fellow learners?

SPEAKER_00 35:25

Yes, I think usually those grammarians are some English teachers who or who are good at English, who have a great English mastery, they are more sensitive to those errors, especially those grammarian errors, and uh they would point out at their report at the at the end of the meeting, so we can learn from those grammarian and teachers.

SPEAKER_01 35:55

Sure, so you'll select the most qualified, you won't just give everyone a shot at being grammarian.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Yes, I we would um encourage every member to have a try because I think all the roles are valuable for them to have a try. And uh yeah, the grammarian I think it's one of the most challenging roles in in our club, but it's also very interesting, and uh we can all all of us can learn a lot from from it.

SPEAKER_01 36:32

So if you had your like weakest English speaker as the grammarian, and then they gave some feedback that wasn't correct, would a stronger English speaker then correct their correction?

SPEAKER_00 36:47

Yeah, maybe, because I think uh we we are quite friendly. I think maybe we have we will point out the problem or point out the question in a very friendly and kind way to remind of speakers that they can improve. I think uh we are all English learners, we we we will make mistakes for sure. So it's never a shame for us to make mistakes, and uh we would always accept uh those uh problems or questions or advice uh pleasantly, yeah, you know, pla with with pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Also, really embraced the concept when I was trying to learn Chinese that mistakes are your friend, because that's that's how you learn. So I agree with that. Has Toastmasters impacted or influenced any other aspects of your life, Lola?

SPEAKER_00 37:41

Well, I think um uh because when I was immersed in this invi in the environment and the in the atmosphere, the people around me in Toastmasters are so energetic, positive, and passionate. I could always be influenced by them, and uh they would also um empower me to be more optimistic towards life, towards those difficulties in my life, and uh they would also empower me to to to be a better uh employer, employee at my workplace. And also I think uh this is a place where I can learn not only communication skills but leadership style uh skills. There are so many outstanding leaders here, and uh I can I can see that what kind of leader that I want to be in the future and uh how I want to be treated or how I should treat others in workplace. I really learned a lot from from my fellows in Toastmasters.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

That's awesome. What is your favorite Toastmasters experience?

SPEAKER_00 38:59

My favorite Toastmaster experience, I think it should be the annual conference, I mean the annual district conference. It's a place, it's a big gathering for Toastmasters from different places in China. And uh we will share our stories, we'll have speech contests, have a workshop there, and uh it's a great place for an it's a great an occasion for us to make friends, to share ideas, and to be empowered once again. So it's one of the most exciting and it's something, some event that I'm really looking forward to every year.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

That's great. What was your favorite Toastmasters speech that you delivered?

SPEAKER_00 39:48

The competition speech that I delivered last year is about my Olympic journey, how I become an Olympic volunteer. I think it was quite inspiring, and uh some of the audience told me that they were really touched and um inspired by my speech. So I think that's the value of my speech of the competition. That was the international competition? Yes, international competition in English.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

Okay, awesome. What's your favorite Toastmasters speech that you've ever heard?

SPEAKER_00 40:25

Oh, the Toastmaster speech I got heard it should be the the table topic speech delivered by our champion last year, the district champion last year, because I was the table topic speech contest chair, and uh he was our contestant and he delivered a speech uh which m delivered his ambition or aspiration to deliver or to compete for China in the in on the international speech contest. So I thought it was very inspiring and uh finally yes, I at in the end he got the champion uh in the district. So it was one of the most inspiring and powerful speech I've ever heard.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

What was the topic?

SPEAKER_00 41:18

The topic was what does it mean to live a meaningful life?

SPEAKER_01 41:23

Ah okay. What was the gist of his response?

SPEAKER_00 41:27

He just uh connected his uh experiences from um speech uh from the club level to district to international. I mean, he he just connected he his experience as a toastmaster and he said when from a very shy boy who didn't dare to deliver a table topic in the first meeting at the club, then gradually he competed in several competition contests in the club, then the area, division, then district, and he then he just expects that he could represent China to compete in the international speech contest. Yes. And then he did, he made it. Because he also won the international speech contest, I mean the English speech contest, and he advanced to the quarterfinal, the semifinal of the international speech contest.

SPEAKER_01 42:30

What what year was that, sorry?

SPEAKER_00 42:32

He advanced to the semifinal of the international speech contest in the US last year, representing China. Who can I ask his name? His name is Johnson. Johnson John.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Okay, so I'll have to look that up online and see if I can add a link in the show notes. That sounds interesting. Thank you for that. Is there anything else you'd like to add today, Lula?

SPEAKER_00 42:55

Uh not that much. I think uh it's this is quite productive and informative interview. Thank you, Brendan.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

Bukurchi, you're welcome. Hunt Gunnar. It's been a pleasure to get to know you, Lula. Thank you so much. Dorcher, thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 43:14

My pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

Thank you. Thanks for listening to today's show. One of the key elements of Toastmasters is evaluations. This is how we grow and improve, both by encouraging comments for things we got right and points for improvement. We all learn and benefit from these evaluations, not just the person being evaluated. So any feedback in the comments is greatly appreciated. If you have a Toastmaster story you'd like to share or would like to be on the show, I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me at Toastmastersworldtour at gmail.com. Thanks for listening.