Everyone speaks: the workshop that replaced the agenda.
IN BRIEF
✦ The District is recruiting Area Directors for the new term — a leadership seat with GGTM's name all over it.
✦ A format flipped on one week’s notice, announced by the Co-VPEs - six speakers, two of them guests, zero evaluators.
✦ The word of the day was vitality - and the room was bursting with it, along with new ideas.
✦ No “Best Speech” tonight, by design: three modified awards, because winning is your story landing.
✦ GGTM’s Instagram and Eventbrite are live again - two of tonight’s guests found us there!
Dear {{First name | Fellow Toastmaster}}!
Serendipity had a good night. Two of the six speeches were literally titled for it; the other four kept bumping into it. The evening belonged to Sheila Vida - Toastmaster of the Evening, fresh off completing Level 4 of her pathway, and the member behind the 2025 open house and the Golden Gate Park picnic - who tore up the usual agenda with one week’s warning. Her claim: anyone can build a speech in fifteen minutes flat - and six people promptly did, on the spot, with the minimum trimmed to three minutes and no evaluators in sight.
The guests introduced themselves by object: a stick-shift Jeep key (Carlos, back for more, ChatGPT-referred), caseless Airpods (Daniel - he does this often), a survivor Motorola that outlasted a stolen phone abroad (Craita), a 3-D print (Jason, via Eventbrite), and an eyeshadow palette (Jules). Miwa, returning member, brought her smile.
THE FIFTEEN-MINUTE FORMULA
Sheila’s framework, in full
Message ·Impact · Flow · Audience
one minute to choose a topic two to pick the story five to find the core message five to structure it.
Progress over perfection. Build a story bank. Fill the club with speaks.
THE SIX
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“Coming Clean” - JASON, GUEST
An army confession from the early nineties: a new arrival name Yin - master’s degree, leadership post, non-citizen - whose meticulous habits Jason mocked, spider bite included. Decades and a few leadership roles later, he came clean: understanding someone’s situation only arrives through experience.
“Mentor” - DEREK OOF, MY HEART!
His father - gone when Derek was twenty-three - was his greatest mentor, in three phases: idolized in childhood, rebelled against in the teens, humanized in adulthood. The inheritance: discipline, modeled in daily tennis, and the conviction that life is short - a brief that still steers how he spends and lives.
“Plot Twist” - VEDANT WAS THAT IMPROMPTU?! & THE OSCAR GOES TO …
Three hours early to the airport; flight to Raleigh, cancelled anyway. One passenger rebooked at once, another shrugged and waited - and Vedant found his philosophy between them: if a solution exists, act on it; if none does, accept and move on. Either way, skip the worrying. The room gave it two ribbons.
“Serendipity, “ twice over - KAT & ELLA
Kat joined the California Staffing Professionals’ marketing committee out of curiosity - and met a consultant who ended up joining her AI-staffing startup and helping land its seed money. Ella, rushing here from the gym, ran into her favorite muralist, Vogue, at work on a Chinatown mural of Wong Kim Ark of Exclusion-era citizenship fame - and talked him into featuring in her next speech. The shared moral: stay open, stay curious; San Francisco does the rest.
“Have You Ever Really Wanted Something Badly? - JULES, GUEST
A tale readers of Mary Shelley will recognize: a man with a full life who builds another one, recoils from what he’s made, refuses it to companion, and loses everything in the pursuit that follows - the creature paying respects at the end. Jule’s questions lingered past the story. Would I be who I am if I’d gotten what I wanted? Would you let a want change who you are?
THE UNDERSTUDIES
—
Sheila's clock had room for only six. Nine more names went into the hat and came out unpicked — Alex Wu, Sunita, Albert, Agasthian, Val, Omar, Michelle, Dennis, and Shubham — and the President photographed the sticky notes for the record, his own among them. Nine members volunteering to speak on fifteen minutes' notice is the workshop working. July 22 has open slots; the bench goes first.
The waitlist, preserved for the record. Photograph: GGTM Officer Team
✦ ✦ ✦
THE RIBBONS, REMIXED
—
“WAS THAT IMPROMPTU?!”
Vedant Bothikar
“OOF, MY HEART!”
Derek Le
“ THE OSCAR GOES TO …”
Vedant Bothikar
No Best Speech tonight — by design. The prize was the landing.
THE POP QUIZ
Were you paying attention?
1. Who was Derek's biggest mentor? (His father.) 2. Which state was Vedant flying to? (North Carolina.) 3. Which committee did Kat join? (Marketing, for the California Staffing Professionals.) 4. Where is the Wong Kim Ark mural? (Chinatown.) 5. Where was the man in Jules's story? (Europe.)
✦ ✦ ✦
Meet Your Officers · Role 2 of 7
A new series: one officer role each week, starting at the top.
Vice President of Education -
Agasthian Ponnambalam & Luzee Bautista
Co-VPEs
The pair who announced tonight's format flip run the club's education engine — the speaking schedule, Pathways progress, and mentoring. Their range is already on record this term: Agasthian as Toastmaster of the Evening two weeks ago, building a night around self-love; Luzee as General Evaluator that same night, and on the timer tonight. Between them: a full calendar, and meetings that keep surprising us.
Agasthian Ponnambalam
Speaks about: Stories from Life, which helps me get closer to Love, Peace and Joy!
Enjoys: Running, Yoga, Strength training, The Moth!
Luzee Bautista
Speaks about: Life lessons, cat parenting bliss and chaos, and tried-and-tested career advice
Enjoys: Cats, chasing good food across cities, true crime marathons, and ranking up in Mobile Legends
Next issue: Role 3 of 7, the Vice President of Membership
THE CALENDAR
—
NOW RECRUITING
Area Directors wanted. The District is looking for members to step into Area Director roles — the leadership post that supports a handful of clubs through the year: officer support, club visits, and running the area contests. Curious? Talk to Alex Wu at Wednesday's meeting!
Wednesday, July 22
Speakers wanted. Prepared-speech slots are open. A Pathways project ready, or overdue? Claim a spot — new members especially welcome.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4
Small Talk Skills Workshop, with Rhino Toastmasters and coach Michael Shehane. 6:00–7:30 P.M., 560 Mission St. $10 Rhino members / $20 otherwise; pizza; optional happy hour. Register via the link.
Now Live
GGTM on Instagram & Eventbrite. Both are live again - tap the icons below. Proof they work: two of tonight’s guests found us there.
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