Hello Fellow Toastmaster!

Multiple storytelling events where everyone brought their stories, pens and writing hats!

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📣 GGTM Club Announcements

Ghostmasters 10/29 meeting cancelled

Unfortunately, we are cancelling this year’s scheduled and much anticipated Ghostmasters meeting (originally this Wednesday). The Chamber of Commerce will be closed for their annual Excellence in Business Awards. 😁

 📆 Upcoming Events

Full list in the GGTM Calendar

🎡 GGTM Play Day and Picnic on November 8 (Sat)

Let’s soak up the sun (fingers crossed for good weather!), enjoy a laid-back picnic, and dive into some enjoyable Improv games together!

Snacks and refreshments are on us - just bring your energy, your laughter, and your best on-the-spot acting skills. Come hang out and play with GGTM!

🖋️ The Anatomy of a Story: Workshop Recap

Kyle, our VP of Education, hosted our first workshop of the year! He showed us that stories are how we connect. We learned that while facts inform, feelings truly resonate. The anatomy of the story is truly important, from the hook to the takeaway.

Workshop highlights

• 🧠 Facts vs feelings: We explored why feelings resonate way more than facts when trying to connect with the audience.

• 📖 Story structure: We broke down the essential parts of a compelling story: the hook, conflict, turning point, resolution and takeaway.

• 📝Craft and feedback: Members practiced crafting their own narratives using worksheets, followed by multiple rounds of sharing and revising.

Here are some of Kyle’s thoughts about the evening:

Toastmasters is all about continuous growth an improvement, and that's not just for our members -- it extends to our club too. In the interest of shaking things up, last night we ran the first iteration of a storytelling workshop designed to help members connect with their audience through stories.

Why practice telling stories? Because stories are how we connect. It's (relatively) easy to stand in front of a crowd and list facts, but facts don't resonate. Feelings resonate. The best speakers know how to connect with their audience and make them feel something. After all, most people won't remember exactly what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.

We began with a brief lesson and then crafted our own stories. The lesson covered the anatomy of a story (hook, conflict, turning point, resolution and takeaway). Then we moved onto creating our own stories using a worksheet for guidance. After that came two rounds of sharing, giving and receiving feedback, and revising our stories to minimize confusion and maximize emotional resonance. At the end, a few members shared their stories in front of the whole room. We learned, grew and connected with each other the entire night.

As the organizer and facilitator, I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone. I don't consider myself a particularly polished storyteller, and I'd never run a workshop before, so it was nerve-wracking at times to have so many people (20+!) essentially beta test something I'd just created. But Toastmasters is all about pushing yourself, getting feedback, and growing in a safe and supportive environment. In the end, everything was OK, and many people expressed their appreciation for my efforts, which I very much appreciated. Organizing and running a workshop was a lot of work, but it was an immensely rewarding experience in which I learned plenty myself.

🙋 Sign-up for roles on November 5, after the storytelling workshop 🙋‍♀️

 🎤 Tall Tales Under the Spotlight: Feinstein’s at the Nikko

For our second storytelling event at Feinstein’s, our very own Michelle was our host for the evening.

Event highlights

• 🌟Prestigious venue: This event was held at Feinstein’s at the Nikko, a renowned venue known for celebrity jazz and cabaret.

• 🎭 Improv icebreaker: We kicked off the night with an engaging round of “Two truths and a lie,” leading to humorous reveals about marriage, travel and totaled cars!

• 💃 Captivating topics: Nearly everyone participated in table topics, with stories ranging from retirement planning to tango.

• 🎥 Community support: The entire night underscored the supportive environment of Toastmasters, allowing a nervous, first-time host to absolutely crushing her debut.

From Michelle, the event host:

What an honor to host the Tall Tale Event at Feinstein's at the Nikko—a prestigious venue renowned for cabaret, jazz, and the American Songbook. This historic stage, known for its intimate setting and association with celebrity performers, has welcomed Tony Award-winning actresses, acclaimed jazz singers, and countless talented artists. Thanks to Golden Gate Toastmasters, I had the opportunity to stand where they once stood.

Three days before the event, I was asked to step in for the original host due to unforeseen circumstances. Despite my inexperience, I accepted immediately. I've been inspired by remarkable people: Toastmasters members pursuing TED Talks, a friend who spoke to thousands at a professional conference, and especially the original host who'd successfully led this event a month earlier. This was my chance to follow in their footsteps.

Was I nervous? Absolutely. I texted a performer friend just to talk through my anxiety. His enthusiastic reaction to the venue made me curious—so I researched Feinstein's the next day. That's when I realized the true honor: I couldn't have asked for a better venue for my hosting debut.

The event itself was unforgettable. We opened with "Two Truths and a Lie." Each attendee wrote down three statements about themselves, and I read them aloud for the audience to guess which was false. Jay jotted down all truths and no lie. Jack revealed he'd married three times and still believes in love. Agathsian had lived in 8 states across India and the US, not 10. Hannah confessed she didn't actually get married in Las Vegas—or anywhere. And Alex clarified he didn't total his car the moment he drove it off the lot—just scratched one side badly, though insurance covered it.

For the second part, we had Table Topics with story prompts. Thanks to the intimate group setting, nearly everyone participated. Matthew, a walk-in guest, spent almost 10 minutes sharing his thoughts on retirement planning. Jack delivered a long, engaging warm-up. Jay Yamamoto described an autumn walk he'd love to take. Alex shared his disbelief at becoming GGTM president. A guest who's a medical surgeon discussed his work experience and the importance of financial planning. And Hannah won Best Table Topics with her captivating story about tango.

As I said on stage that night, I was simply the emcee. The real work was done by the entire team. But standing under those lights, in that intimate and elegant space—making my debut as a host—I felt incredibly blessed.

Special shoutout to our prospective member, Fahad, who attended the event before even joining GGTM!

🏝️ GGTM Beyond the Board Room

Get to know our Golden Gate Toastmasters outside of our weekly Wednesday club meetings at the Chamber of Commerce Board Room.

📸 Member Spotlight

Congratulations to Michelle for completing her level 1 pathways for Visionary Communication.

🎉 Be part of the GGTM Newsletter! 🎉

Want to write a future issue or have something that you want featured with the club? Send a message to the #newsletter channel in Discord, email [email protected] or approach Omar or Sheila.