This is my advanced speech from the Professional Speakers Series, The Keynote Speech

The title is "CHICers, Walk With Me"  There is a video, but only 9 mins worth, because the camera ran out of power.  But I hope it can still give the guests some valuable information of why it is worth it to join our club, and stay with the club.

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Do you feel it?  Every time you come here to join the CHIC meeting, you feel something special, something that cannot be summarized by a simple motto.  Today, I’ll try to express it through a few stories.  It’s important that I do this, because it another term of CHIC will pass again.  And in the past year, we have seen many members come and leave.  As the founder of the club, I always feel a sense of regret when a fellow member would no longer walk with me.  How I wish I could turn back time, and convince them.  But now, I have the chance to convince you, how valuable the experience it is to be part of CHIC, not only for the meeting as a guest, but as a member, not only for a few months, not only for a year until you attain your Competent Communicator, but for as long as we can be together.  I can’t convince you by telling you the mission statements, or of the educational programs, or anything you’ve heard before.  Today, I’ll try to convince you through a few stories.

Let me begin with our guests, especially if you’re first-time guests.  There is also so much value for you to join our meeting.  I can still remember the first time I joined a Toastmaster event.  It was at a District convention in jiuhuashanzhuang.  I have to admit, I sat in the back, listened to the speeches, and I fell asleep.  Perhaps it was because nobody greeted me, or because I had nothing to do, or because I didn’t think I could find any value.  So I want to make sure that when you come to our meeting, that you would feel warm and at home, and you can learn something from it.

I remember two guests, who had visited us for a few times.  And whenever the Table Topics section starts, I could see very clearly on their face, the same emotion that is experienced by many of us, even some members.  It was the emotion of anxiety, “Oh, please don’t call on me…”  mixed with a sense of anticipation, “Oh gosh, I really want to try it and see if I can do it”, mixed with a strong sense of doubt, “huh? There’s no way I can do it! I’m terrible. I don’t want to embarrass myself!”  I could tell, because I could see their hand fighting to go up.  On the day that the Table Topics Master called on them, an amazing thing happened.  One girl walked slowly to the stage, her face was completely white from the loss of blood.  But she thanked us for the chance for her to go on stage.  Because at that moment, she realized that she could do it.  Her name was Lorraine.  The other girl walked up, and I could see her knees shaking, her hands were trembling.  She was talking so nervously, that she didn’t answer the question at all…but afterwards, she said she can’t wait to do it again.  She realized that she could do it.   Her name was Penny, and she became a new member.   Even as a guest, when you come to our CHIC meeting, you can find your potential.

Once you become a member, the fun really starts.  The learning really starts.  There is a member who once was afraid to speak her mind.  Whenever her boss came to give her ‘feedback’, in a not-so-Toastmaster way, she would be terrified.  The thoughts that run through her head are things like, “I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, I’m always making mistakes.”  As she started her Toastmaster journey, transformation began to take place.  Maybe it’s from the encouragements from other members, and from her mentor.  Maybe it’s the process of speaking on stage, and preparing her speeches.  However it happened, one thing was obvious to me.  She always wear the biggest smile at the meeting.  She’s always so eager to share her stories.  She was comfortable being herself.  Her name is Joyce.  At CHIC, you can find your true self, and your confidence.

There was another member, who started out very quiet.  She could walk in at the start of the meeting, and walk out two hours later, and nobody would have noticed.  She barely spoke a word and rarely interacted with others.  It took some time, but she slowly came out of her shell.  In the past year, she put in a lot of effort in her speeches, and improved tremendously. But most importantly, she has developed friendship here, and even took on an officer role.  Her name is Lynn Gao, our Treasurer.  At CHIC, you can find your passion.

Finding your potential, finding yourself and self confidence, and your passion.  Those are valuable experiences you can get from CHIC as we encourage one another.  But there is even more.

The first time I heard this member speech, I knew immediately that he was full of talent.  His speaking skills have improved with each speech, and every speech, even evaluations, wer full of humor.  I can’t count how many times she made me laugh.  Then he became a mentor.  He took the job very seriously.  He gave the utmost encouragement for others to grow, reviewed speeches beforehand, and gave more detailed feedback after the delivery.  He had so much passion for Toastmasters already, and it was so beautiful and touching to see him pour out that passion to other people.  His name is Guo Yucheng.  He has shown that at CHIC, you can be a teacher, a nurturer.  You can be an IT farmer, and at the same time, a people farmer.

There is another member who once left Toastmasters for more than a year, and then came back.  She was at a point when she was lost, and wasn’t sure what Toastmasters meant to her.  But through the encouragement of her mentor, and friends around her, she went through trial by fire. 铁打成刚。 In a period of a few months, she took on a Treasurer role, contest chair, Area Governor assistant, and helped with ticket sale for a district conference, and was also a mentor for 3 members.  And I couldn’t understand one thing.  Why did people ever comment that she are jobless and homeless?  She demonstrated by example, that through Toastmasters and CHIC, you can be a leader of people.  In fact, she has taken her skills to her company and lead many initiatives in her department.  Her name is Lisa Zhang.

I’ve been through all these phases.  And nothing makes me happier than to see progress in the club, and in the members.  I hope that these stories have convinced you that staying with CHIC can add so much value in your lives.  So, I want to emphasize one important ingredient: You get as much as you can give.  The more often you come to the meetings, the more time you spend with other members, the more effort you put in encouraging others, the more dedication you put into preparing your speeches, the more you will grow.  Just like anything that is good in life, it takes investment.  I know you all have commitments.  Many of you have difficult jobs, and feel tired.  Sometimes you have personal problems and feel depressed and don’t want to come.  Sometimes you feel that you’re stuck, and you’re not getting anywhere and feel discouraged.  Sometimes you feel burned out by too many Toastmasters activities, and you just don’t feel like it.  Sometimes you have commitments to other activities, like family or girlfriends/boyfriends, and you need to rethink your time allocation.  I understand.  I’ve been there.   I’m also human, you know.  But I am lucky I stumbled upon a secret.  Whenever I force myself to come, no matter how much I don’t want to come, I always am thankful I did.  Because the smiles on your face; your passion and your enthusiasm give me a second chance to feel so good about being part of CHIC.  So, I want to encourage you to put in your commitment so you can experience so much more.

My dear members, and guests, what I really want is for us to experience all that together, for a long time to come.  Because there is more to CHIC after your first 10 speeches.  There is more to CHIC even after you get your Distinguished Toastmasters, the highest level of TM.  Why?  Because wouldn’t you agree, that we always have new potentials to discover; and as we change, we’ll have to rediscover ourselves, as we face challenges, rediscover our self-confidence, and as we fall, rediscover our passion.  We will never be the best, but we can always be better communicators, better farmers and leaders of people.  So, let’s walk this journey together.  Twenty years from now, I still want to make my trip every Wednesday to our CHIC meeting, even though I might walk with a cane, talk like this, and can’t hear very well, or even remember my speeches.  I want to grow old with you.  That is what CHIC means to me.  I hope you can carry that meaning deep in your heart.