East and West Learning Connections (EAWLC) is run by volunteers. Without their talents, commitment, and hard work, all the programs we have offered to the public just cannot possibly come into reality. Every year at our Annual General Meeting, our Board chooses a number of winners to receive the EAWLC Outstanding Service Awards based on time commitment, task impact, and organization involvement in the previous year.
Continue reading “2026 EAWLC Outstanding Service Award Winners”Category: Blogs
Notes for the 2026 Lunch Coaching Hour on Business Communication
April: Persuading Stakeholders to Support a New Idea
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos — an ancient yet timeless formula for persuasion. But Coach Ric first asked us how we feel about persuading others, and I think I understand why. Part of me still feels that if something is truly right, it should be obvious without needing persuasion. Because of that, Logos naturally feels the most comfortable to me. Logic makes sense. Facts make sense. But Coach Ric reminded us that people often buy feelings before they buy logic.
My heart agrees with him, but it will take practice for me to focus more on Ethos and Pathos instead of relying mainly on Logos. Many people in the audience felt the same way, so we decided to host a follow-up persuasion practice session next month. Check out slides and recordings of the April session.
Where Is Peace (& What’s Blind Tennis) / 何 以 安 宁 （ 兼 何 为 盲 人网 球 ）
By Yang Wang
Last Tuesday, my friends Chris and Teresa, a married couple, took me to their church for a Christmas lunch. I am agnostic, but have general interest in learning about the teachings of different religions and the philosophies behind them. Sometimes I go with friends to their gatherings. On the day, many participants brought delicious homemade dishes. After the meal, the pastor gave a speech, followed by Christmas carol singing by everybody. Some of the songs were familiar to me, others were not. Teresa is a francophone, and used to live in Montreal. She said in those days local newspapers would distribute Christmas carol booklets for free before the holiday. I could imagine how many warm and nostalgic memories would come to the minds of those who grew up singing these songs.
Continue reading “Where Is Peace (& What’s Blind Tennis) / 何 以 安 宁 （ 兼 何 为 盲 人网 球 ）”Notes for the 2025 Lunch Coaching Hour on Business Communication
November: Year End Review
Great conversations and insights seem to flow naturally during year-end reviews. It’s always wonderful to hear how people have learned and grown over the past two and a half years through EAWLC Lunch Coaching Hour. Slowly yet deeply, I’ve come to understand that communication is more about people than about language or technique. Want to see all the topics covered this year in one place? You can view them here.
EAWLC Member Salon Minutes
At East and West Learning Connections, we have been holding an online salon for registered members once a month since July 2022. Members and their families are welcome to take the opportunity to meet each other on Zoom, share recent experience, encounters, thoughts, and hear a guest speaker’s stories. Continue reading “EAWLC Member Salon Minutes”
Notes for the 2024 Lunch Coaching Hour on Business Communication
How to be an Effective Communicator for Presentations
October 24, 2024
There is an old saying in Chinese, “To stand like you are a pine tree (Zhan Ru Song),” symbolizing steadiness. Today, Coach Ric introduced us to a new tree to mimic during presentations: the palm tree. It represents both steadiness and natural flexibility. The session was packed with theoretical and practical advice, including RSVP (Rhythm, Speed, Volume, Pace) for voice and PPP (Pleasure/Pain Principle). My personal favourite, though, is his honesty about how he, a native speaker and communication coach, still practices his speeches and looks for improvement constantly. Check out this month’s material here.
Continue reading “Notes for the 2024 Lunch Coaching Hour on Business Communication”How to Order Chinese Cuisine Authentically to Get the Best of It
How to Order Chinese Cuisine Authentically to Get the Best of It
By Yang Wang
April 15, 2024
I hosted an eating-out for a blind women’s group last month on St. Patrick’s Day. In the group each member takes turns to organize an outing, usually to a restaurant of their choice.
I invited members to a Chinese restaurant, the Asian Legend in Scarborough. It was a bit of travel for some members who lived in the Downtown area or in the West end of the city. But hey, there were lots of authentic Chinese restaurants in Scarborough. And people in Scarborough spent that much time travelling to Downtown or further for work or entertainment all the time. I really wished we had had more subway lines extended to this east end of the city! The biggest truth was I had a ski accident in February, and was still having some headaches and dizziness so I took the advantage of being a host, and chose a good and relatively familiar restaurant that was nearby me. Anyway finally Five of us sat down at a Lazy Susan round table, and began to order.
Continue reading “How to Order Chinese Cuisine Authentically to Get the Best of It”
Notes for “EAWLC Dialogue with Ed Shiller”
By Ed Shiller at EAWLC, April 27, 2024
I’ll begin by sharing with you a few observations and experiences.
I believe that prejudice and racism are acquired traits, perhaps emerging as a consequence of the human instinct to form tight-knit communities of like-minded people.
Continue reading “Notes for “EAWLC Dialogue with Ed Shiller””EAWLC Outstanding Service Award Winners
East and West Learning Connections (EAWLC) is run by volunteers. Without their talents, commitment, and hard work, all the programs we have offered to the public just cannot possibly come into reality. Every year at our Annual General Meeting, our Board chooses a number of winners to receive the EAWLC Outstanding Service Awards based on time commitment, task impact, and organization involvement in the previous year. The award does not apply to board directors, advisors, or guest speakers, even though they are also volunteers to whom we are deeply grateful for their help. Each year there will be friends generously donating some cool items so we can give the winners as a gift. The winners are the representatives of all EAWLC volunteers who all come to help us with a giving heart for the community. Thank you so much, members, volunteers, and donors, for your great support and contributions!
2025 EAWLC Outstanding Service Award winners
Happy Loong or Dragon New Year and Family Day the Canadian Way
By Yang Wang
February 19, 2024
CCB Toronto Visionaries, a peer support organization for the blind, organized a trip to the Lunar New Year Reading and Tea at Montgomery’s Inn yesterday. The event was a celebration of the Lunar New Year (Feb 10-24) and the Family Day (Feb 18). Montgomery’s Inn was a museum in Toronto, turned from a historic inn built in the early 19th century. It was free for visionary members but was attended by a full room of people from across the city from all kinds of cultural backgrounds, age groups, and professions.
Continue reading “Happy Loong or Dragon New Year and Family Day the Canadian Way”