Events
June 10th at 6:00 pm
Join us for an evening of connection, inspiration, and personal growth at our Startup Speakers Toastmasters Dinner!
What to Expect:
* Entertainment
* Delicious Food and Refreshments
* Networking & Speaking Opportunities
* Memorable Moments with Friends
Location: Dishdash Middle Eastern Cuisine
190 S Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale, CA
Photo by MasterTux from pixabay.com
June 7th at 7:10 am
TWIST OF FATE
Our life might change by chance in a strange, interesting, or unfortunate way. The twist could straightforwardly point out a new direction you should take in your life but in most cases, the twist looks quite unattractive and yet after a while, we call it a “blessing in disguise”. Let’s talk about the twist of fate which changed the course of our life and the life of others in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES
Karishma will give her speech on “The building blocks of resilience”.
Elvira will give the last speech in a series of speeches on “Dark Persuasive Techniques IV - A Promise to make you great”.
Georgi will speak on “How We Learn: Basic Theory”.
Photo by Pixabay from pexels.com
May 31st at 7:10 am
GREAT IDEAS
What makes a great idea? It offers a fresh perspective or a new solution to a problem. It breaks away from conventional thinking and introduces something innovative. But whether an idea is truly great we can tell only when we test it by putting it into execution and implementation. Let’s talk about your great ideas and how they worked out in your life in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES
Karishma will give her speech on “The building blocks of resilience”.
Elvira will give the last speech in a series of speeches on “Dark Persuasive Techniques IV - A Promise to make you great”.
Georgi will speak on “How We Learn: Basic Theory”.
Photo by geralt from pixabay.com
May 24th at 7:10 am
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Whether we like it or not conflicts are part of our life. A conflict can illuminate some issues in the communication of which we were not aware, and sometimes it becomes quite challenging to resolve it. But the most unpleasant side of the conflicts is that conflicts rarely leave a good feeling afterwards, sometimes results of it could be devastating. That is why it is important to learn how to resolve conflicts. Let’s share our stories of successful conflict resolutions in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES
Wendy, our President of the club and now in her new role of Division Director, will give her first speech.
Jose will continue a series of speeches on Meditation: “Meditation Goals - Parallelism”.
Leo, our new member, will be giving his Icebreaker speech.
May 17, 7:15 am-8:30 am
We’re hosting an education session on Pathways. Everyone is welcome!
Zoom: https://bit.ly/3V6YLjr
What's the fastest way for a Toastmaster to learn and grow into a competent speaker and leader? The key to the Toastmasters learning platform is the Pathways program. Pathways can accelerate and transform your learning. It’s like being onboard a bullet train.
In this highly interactive workshop, three of our most enthusiastic and experienced officers will speak about three key aspects of Pathways (see below), and a Q&A will follow.
The mechanics/how to use Pathways - Georgi
How to utilize Pathways to improve speech writing and presentation skills - Waiming
Why we use pathways - Elvira
Please join us. Bring your curiosity and enthusiasm. Let’s multiply our fun and wisdom!
See you Wednesday!
Photo by Pixabay from pexels.com
May 10th at 7:10 am
SOCIABLE
One of our fundamental needs is to belong and to be part of a social group. It is part of our nature to establish and maintain relationships because the quality of our relationship affects our well-being. Let’s get insight into what sociable means for you in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES
Georgi will be our first speaker.
Jose will continue a series of speeches on Meditation: “Meditation Goals - Multifacted”.
Elvira will be giving her third speech on the series “Dark Persuasive Techniques III. Divide and Conquer”.
Photo by 2Photo Pots from unsplash.com
May 3d at 7:10 am
ANIMAL STORIES
We love stories because, through them, it is easier for our brains to pair information with emotion and get powerful learning experiences. Through the stories about animals, we connect with animals, also both with our animal and human parts. Our pets provide companionship, bring joy to our lives, and give us affection. We can bond so closely with members of other species and make animals part of our families. Let’s tell animal stories in Table Topics
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Kumar, our new member continues speaking about growing food. Specifically about “Farm - AI - Speech 2”.
Elvira will be giving her third speech on the series “Dark Persuasive Techniques III. Divide and Conquer”.
Waiming will give a speech on longevity “Live longer, as a Toastmaster”.
Photo by Sincerely Media from unsplash.com
April 12th at 7:10 am
A PERFECT DAY
Is when everything happens just right for the entire day. Have you experienced such a day? From the morning up until you go to bed, you feel like it has been flowing flawlessly. Does it happen spontaneously or do we have the ability to create it? Let’s immerse into the things that take us into the world of the perfect in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Elvira will be giving her second speech on the series of “Dark Persuasive Techiniques”.
Erica will be speaking on the work-related topic “What will spring bring for Stormwater?”
Waiming, our member who always comes up with new compelling topics, will speak on “Unstable made stable”.
April 5th at 7:10 am
REVERSING COURSE
Sometimes we reverse course which means that we change our position or opinion to the opposite of what we have had before. Depending on the situation and our background we may see reversing course as a strength or weakness. When do we need to change course and when we rather stick to our original plan? Let’s talk about reversing course in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Jose will be giving his third speech on the Meditation (or self-hypnosis) series. His speech title is “Meditation Goals - Echoes”. Echoes - Winston Churchill said: "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it". Jose will incorporate that wisdom in his speech, discussing the echoes we experience in our lives.
Kumar, our new member is rocking the stage with his second speech.
Waiming, our seasoned member will speak on “A Tiktok story”.
March 29th at 7:10 am
SPRING INTO ACTION
A study by Psychology Professor Dr Gail Matthews at Dominican University of California confirms the importance of taking action to achieve goals. In Dr Gail Matthews's study, there were five groups of participants, each with different instructions. The first group had unwritten goals, the second wrote their goals down, the third wrote down both goals and action commitments, the fourth wrote goals and actions and gave them to a friend, and the fifth group gave their written goals and actions to a friend and also provided weekly updates. Guess who achieved significantly more than all the other groups? Let’s talk about Spring Into Actions in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Jose will be speaking on “What will spring bring for Stormwater? (Work-related speech).”
Elvira will give a 2d speech on the series "Dark Persuasive Techniques".
Georgi will be talking about “Modern Day Beauty”.
March 8th at 7:10 am
DREAMS AND AMBITIONS
Dreams can help us envision a better life for ourselves, ambitions provide the internal drive that can help us work toward long-term goals and continue to set new goals once we have achieved initial success. Let’s talk about Dreams and Ambitions in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Erica will be giving her Ice breaker speech.
Jose will be speaking on “Meditation Goals - Aspiration”.
Elvira will speak on "Dark Persuasive Techniques".
Photo by Colton Sturgeon from unsplash.com
March 1st at 7:10 am
ZEN MIND
Practicing Zen has become part of our life. Zen nurtures simplicity in precepting reality. There are many reasons why Zen has become so popular and different ways to practice Zen. Let’s talk about ZEN MIND in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Kumar and Erica will be giving their Ice breaker speech.
Waiming will speak on "JS' Disease".
February 15th at 7:10 am
OUR CIRCLES OF CARE
February 14th is Valentine’s day also known as a Love Day. We love not only romantically, but we also love our family, friends, pets, and nature. We care for them because we love them, we love them because they make us feel good, and in return, they care for us because they love us. There is the circle of care. They are an integral and indispensable part of our lives hence, caring for them gives us a sense of satisfaction and happiness. Let’s talk about OUR CIRCLES OF CARE in Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Georgi will be giving a speech on “TM Credits To Gifts”
Kumar will be giving his Ice breaker speech.
Karishma will be our third speaker.
February 8th at 7:10 am
LIFE IN 2053
Our ancestors had excellent observation skills and could predict season change for a year or two based on their observations. Now we are attempting to imagine what our life will look like in decades to come. So that we could make our today’s decisions accordingly. Join us for this exciting journey to the year 2053 on Wednesday.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Jose will be giving speech on “Metaphor Analysis”
Elvira will be speaking on “Dark Persuasive Techniques”.
Jing will be the third speaker.
Photo by Matteo Vistocco from unsplash.com
January 25th at 7:10 am
LEADERSHIP
Until the late 20th century, it was widely believed that leadership was something you had either been born with or not. In fact, by large in preindustrial times it was a privilege of high societal strata to have an opportunity to get training in leadership or training was confined to military purposes. Industrialisation changed the understanding of leadership by creating a demand for more managers and leaders, and by proving that the existing hierarchy of power and leadership was not effective in meeting the new needs of society anymore. Nowadays we are learning a lot about leadership, what kind of a leader we want to be, and what qualities we need to build and improve to become not just a leader, but a better leader. Let’s discuss leadership in the Table Topics.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Elvira will be speaking on “Power of questions”.
Jose will be giving a speech on “Metaphors”.
Photo by Bradyn Trollip from unsplash.com
January 18th at 7:10 am
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Unintended consequences are actions of people, and especially of governments have effects that are unanticipated or "unintended." Consequences could be positive and negative. Adam Smith's "invisible hand" of the market is the most famous metaphor and is an example of a positive unintended consequence. Smith claimed that each entrepreneur, seeking only their own gain, ends up being in the public interest. However, a lot of negative unintended consequences are unanticipated effects of regulation and new technologies. Let’s discuss positive and negative UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES and the ways to mitigate the negative ones.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Jing will be delivering a speech on “The Chrome Extension for Storytell.ai”.
Karishma and Pavy also will be giving speeches.
January 11th at 7:10 am
SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Maslow made popular the concept of self-actualization which was coined by Kurt Goldstein. Self-actualization can generally be thought of as the full realization of one’s creative, intellectual, and social potential through internal drive versus external rewards like money, status, or power. According to the self-actualization theory meeting security needs and needs for belonging lay the foundation for self-actualization needs. For most of us, there is a combination of internal drives and external attractions which shape our path to self-actualization. Let’s discuss the most important factors for you on your self-actualization path.
PREPEARED SPEECHES:
Parminder will be giving his speech.
"Metaphors " will be given by Jose.
"Free Time: Design" will be given by Georgi.
Photo by Tim Mossholder from unsplash.com
January 4th at 7:10 am
RESOLUTIONS
As we welcome the new year, a common activity across many cultures is setting new year resolutions. New year pledges or promises are not new. This practice has been around for thousand of years. New year resolutions continue to capture people’s imagination, hopes, and promises for betterment. For thousands of years, the new year continues to symbolise a new threshold. An opportunity for a fresh start. Let’s discuss what a fresh start means for you at Table Topics.
PREPEARED SPEECHES:
Gowdhaman will be giving his speech.
"Power of expectations II" will be given by Elvira.
"Agency@ will be given by Waiming,
Photo by NASA from unsplash.com
December 28th at 7:10 am
MANNED SPACE
Norman Vincent Peale said, "Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you'll lang among the stars". Well before technology made these achievements possible space exploration had captured the minds of many people as well as space travel. Now flying on a plane is part of our life. Can you imagine that space travel will become an everyday routine as flights? Let’s discuss manned space future in the Table Topics!
SPEECHES
Jing is the first speaker.
Karishma will be giving her Icebreaker speech.
Jose is the third speaker.
Photo by Eilis Garvey from unsplash.com
December 21st at 7:10 am
ENDING
Good things in our lives come to an end. Often times we perceive endings as something sad because we feel attached to them. But they also seem to have a clarifying effect, one that often highlights the good. Now, research exploring just how powerful endings can be for our well-being shows that by simply imagining that things are coming to an end—a stage of our lives, our time in a certain place, a relationship—we may be able to better appreciate them before real endings loom. We might finally open ourselves to exploring new horizons. Bad things also come to an end. Let’s discuss and celebrate the end of the year 2022 in the Table Topics section of the meeting.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
"Pause And Reflect" will be given by Georgi.
"Relocation" will be given by Elvira.
"State of top-tech companies and how to land a stable job" will be given by Parminder.
Photo by Elyssa Fahndrich from unsplash.com
December 14th at 7:10 am
ENDING
Good things in our lives come to an end. Often times we perceive endings as something sad because we feel attached to them. But they also seem to have a clarifying effect, one that often highlights the good. Now, research exploring just how powerful endings can be for our well-being shows that by simply imagining that things are coming to an end—a stage of our lives, our time in a certain place, a relationship—we may be able to better appreciate them before real endings loom. We might finally open ourselves to exploring new horizons. Bad things also come to an end. Let’s discuss and celebrate the end of the year 2022 in the Table Topics section of the meeting.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
"Journey to The Stars" will be given by Wendy.
Second speech will be given by Pavy.
Third speech will be given by Jose.
Photo by Aron Visuals from unsplash.com
December 7th at 7:10 am
YOUR LIFE COMPASS
Our life compass helps us keep focused and aligned with what is important to us. It is a natural feeling that makes us know what is right and wrong and how we should behave. What helps us to listen to our inner compass? How do we form our values and beliefs which are at the core of our life compass? Let’s talk about your life compass in Table Topics portion of the meeting.
SPEECHES:
"Free Time" will be given by Georgi.
Ice breaker will be given by Pavy.
"Strawman, Steelman" will be given by Waiming.
Photo by Katrina Wright from unsplash.com
November 30th at 7:10 am
BIG DREAMS AND MASSIVE GOALS
Children dream big. Their imagination has no limits. But as we grow up something happens to our dreams and we become more … realistic. Or small. Sometimes we totally give up our dreams. Why does this happen? How can we stick to our dreams? How can we make our massive goals happen to come to realization? As Nil Armstrong said, “Shoot for the stars but if you happen to miss shoot for the moon instead.” Let's explore our “shooting star” strategies in Table Topics Section of the meeting.
SPEECHES
Parminder will speak on "Framework for success".
Elvira will speak on "Starting a new life".
Georgi will speak on "Member Appreciation Gifts".
Photo by Cristi Ursea from unsplash.com
November 16th at 7:10 am
COURAGE AND FEAR
Fear is one of our fundamental feelings which accompanies us throughout evolution so that we could survive and thrive. Courage is on the other hand was countering our fear when the cost of fear that was too high. In other words, courage comes into play when our ancestors were facing the choice of dying of a lack of food, but staying safe in a cave or going into a wilderness and an unknown territory full of danger and risking their lives to provide food. We always have this very hard choice between courage and fear, between staying safe and exploring the world. Let’s talk about courage and fear.
SPEECHES
Wendy will speak on "Leadership Activation".
Georgi will speak on "Networking".
Photo by Vladislav Babienko from unsplash.com
November 9th at 7:10 am
DECISION MAKING
Every day we make decisions big and small. Some of our choices bring us closer to the life we dream of or take us away from what we want.
Let’s talk about applying effective strategies and techniques can help you improve your decision-making skills.
SPEECHES
Georgi will speak on "Yeltsin Visits Texas".
Waiming will speak on "Chief Twit".
Image by Toa Heftiba from unsplash.com
November 2d at 7:10 am
HALLOWEEN AND OTHER HOLIDAYS.
Halloween origins from el Día de Los Muertos in Mexico, or Day of the Dead. It dates back 3,000 years to pre-Columbian times and occurs when the gates of heaven open, allowing the spirit of deceased ones to be reunited with their still-living family. People in other countries worldwide also celebrate reunification with dead ancestors in one form or another on specific days.
From grim and ghastly to fun and festive, different cultures have various ways of celebrating connection with the dearly departed. Let’s talk about our experience of celebrating different events of human life, and how it helps us appreciate life as we live it.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
Gowdham will speak on "Staying ahead of the game".
Elvira will speak on "Power of expectation".
Ray will speak on "Homecoming at a snail's pace".
Image by Dious from flikr.com
October 26th at 7:10 am
REFLECTION ON HUMAN NATURE
We, humans, have constantly been evolving our relationship with our environment which includes nature, other humans, and ourselves. This process has been reflected in our traits and our Human Nature. Behavioral psychologist Steven Pinker points out that humans at the beginning of our civilization used to have many more “demonic” traits. Still, we are becoming less violent, more cooperative, and more humane. Modern understanding of human nature includes ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Let’s talk about ever-fascinating, changing, and not changing aspects of Human Nature.
PREPARED SPEECHES:
"Storytell.ai: Distill Signal From Noise" will be given by Jing.
"Power of expectations" will be given my Elvira.
"Free Time" will be given by Georgi.
Image by Oliver via flickr.com
October 19th at 7:10 am
TRADITIONS AND MODERNITY
Traditions are normally associated with something tried and tested, something well-known , predictable and reliable. The negative sides of traditions could that they are too old and too stagnant. On the other side of the spectrum is modernity which we associate with progressive ideas, new technologies and the ability to learn and adapt. On the negative side of modernity is that we don’t know the long-term consequences of the new things yet. Let’s share ideas on tradition and modernity in different areas of our life.
SPEACHES:
"Storytell.ai: Distill Signal From Noise" will be given by Jing.
"Power of expectations" will be given my Elvira.
"Free Time" will be given by Georgi.
October 12th at 7:10 am
HABITS AND RITUALS
What makes a person rich, happy and healthy? Harnessing the power of habits is a great way to pursue success. Committing to habits and rituals allows us to hone our skills necessary to succeed. Habits and rituals also prime our mental state for staying optimistic and seeking solutions when things are difficult. What are those habits and rituals? Let’s explore them together in Table Topics and prepared speeches portions of the meeting!
SPEECHES
"Empowering emotional state" will be given by Elvira
"Anywhereist" will be given by Georgi
"Whence we came" will be given by Waiming
October 5th at 7:10 am
Diffusion of innovations
It is believed that Arthur Schopenhauer once said, “All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; second, it is violently opposed; and third, it is accepted as self-evident.
When we innovate, not all our ideas make their way into the world. But those few which make, according to Diffusion of innovation theory, go through the stages quite similar to the proverbial truth. It might explain why we need to invest disproportionately a lot of our time and energy at the beginning compared to any other stages of the innovative process. Diffusion of innovation is a theory that helps manage our expectations, persevere and stay motivated in our pursuit of innovation.
Join us this meeting and learn more!
SPEECHES
"Fundraising for your startup" will be given by Parminder.
"Simple Diet" will be give by Jose.
"Flow" will be given by Waiming.
We are thrilled to announce that we are hosting our Open House on 28th September (Wednesday). It is a special event and we have invited a fitting speaker for our keynote, Nathalie Brochstein.
Whenever we hear of billion-dollar acquisitions (think Figma by Adobe or Mailchimp by Intuit), we wonder what it takes to build these successful companies. Well, overcoming quite a few hard challenges for sure. And one common one seems to be building strong and visionary leadership teams.
At our Open House on Wednesday, watch Nathalie Brochstein break down the art of building leadership teams. Don’t miss this opportunity.