Part 1—Theme

Why did I join Bruin Toastmasters?

A place to listen to people share their stories. And for me to share mine.

Part 2—Listening

• Travel to Europe
• Wanted to speak German, Italian, Spanish and French.
• Study in Beijing and Taiwan.
• Work with developmentally disabled adults
• Meditation retreat in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
• Buddhist study city temple in Taiwan.
  • Gave up becoming a buddhist scholar, but still have same haircut.
• Kauai Tahiti Fête
  • Danced like a man not a women during luau and earned trust of cultural leader

Part 3—Speaking

My first talk was about design principles

• accessibility—works for everyone
• performance—loads fast
• aesthetics—looks good

Yes, I was scared.
Yes, I was making myself vulnerability.
Yes, the gains outweighed and outlasted the fears.

I gave multiple talks over the course of the year. At a Creative Coding Festival. At a NASA Space hackathon. At Web Design Meetups. At UCLA. To students. To staff. Not only was I sharing my point of view, but I was becoming a leader.

• Depression, Anxiety, Burnout
• Group Therapy. Slowly got better. Share my voice. Come out of my shell. Become a leader.

We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for.

Workshops & Mentorship programs.

• Presenting work with confidence.
• Art direction for the web
• Join Bruin Toastmasters

Part 4—Finish

Don’t move fast and break things. Move slow and fix things.

1. Move slow, but not too slow.
2. Listen. Sleep on it. Look at it with a fresh perspective in the morning.
3. Be deliberate. Be relevant. Share my story.

Why did I join Toastmasters?

A place to listen to you share your story. And for me to share mine.

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Outline of my ice breaker talk for Bruin Toastmasters presented June 3, 2020 on Zoom.