As I was cleaning my room today, I happened to unearth my notes from the Toastmasters Area Level speech contest that happened earlier this year. It has been my habit to take notes of the words of wisdom that I hear from fellow Toastmasters when they deliver their speeches, and these were one of them.

Aside from learning a lot about public speaking and leadership, one of my favorite things about being involved in Toastmasters is listening to other people's stories and learning from them. If you are familiar with Humans of New York, I kind of compare this to that. In Toastmasters, it's just a 5-7 minute speech, but the experience is like looking at a chapter from each of the speaker's book of life. It fascinates me because, of course, each of us has our own unique stories, and through speeches, each Toastmaster gets to share their learnings from their life experiences to others. 

These are some of the notes that I was able to capture from the area contest that happened in January:

I may not remember most of their speeches, but reading these notes of mine from several months ago still resonates with me because these standalone statements are still relevant and very relatable. I've written something like this in the past, and similarly, those quotes still hold true. It just means that those kinds of messages are timeless and can be applied at any time in our lives. 

This is the reason why I love hearing speeches from others. I have heard some that moved me to tears, and I have witnessed speakers tear up delivering their own speeches. I do realize that delivering speeches can be so vulnerable, and I will always treasure the fact that Toastmasters, especially in my home club, cultivates such a safe space for everyone to share their stories.

It's actually contest season yet again. I am excited to be inspired, to cry, and to laugh from fellow Toastmaster's speeches. 🎉

~o~