{"id":1396,"date":"2026-10-02T06:10:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T21:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/otemachi.blog\/toastmasters\/?p=1396"},"modified":"2026-10-05T00:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T15:40:28","slug":"2026-9-30-regular-meeting-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/otemachi.blog\/toastmasters\/2026\/10\/02\/2026-9-30-regular-meeting-report\/","title":{"rendered":"2026\/9\/30 Regular Meeting Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three guests took the stage, and one took home an award<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Guests usually watch Table Topics from their seats. At our 211th meeting on September 30, all three of our guests stood up, took a question they had never seen before, and spoke in front of the room. One of them was voted Best Table Topics Speaker by the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That does not happen at every meeting. It says a lot about the three people who visited us. We hope it also says something about the room: Otemachi Toastmasters Club is a place where it feels safe to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of the evening was “Find Your Takeaway,” and the Word of the Evening was “insightful.” Here is what we took home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table Topics: no preparation, no script<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Table Topics is the improvised part of a Toastmasters meeting. You hear a question, you get no time to prepare, and you speak for one to two minutes. Max stepped in as Table Topics Master and asked questions around the idea of a takeaway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What made this evening special, was that Max invited each of our three guests to take a question, and all three said yes. Members and guests took turns, and the guests more than held their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A returning guest<\/strong> was asked about a takeaway from a movie. He chose “The Wind Rises” and gave us two lessons from it: do not give up, and make memories even when time is limited. A clear message, delivered on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another returning guest<\/strong> was asked about a takeaway from a past trip. The answer took us to a conference abroad during graduate school, and to the moment of realizing how much networking matters in academia. That realization led to a career in industry instead. A complete story with a turning point, told without a single note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first-time guest<\/strong> spoke last. She had recently returned from studying in London and was asked for her favorite “takeaway menu.” Her answer was a simple dessert: vanilla ice cream with avocado and espresso. Then came the reason. Hot and cold, sweet and bitter, white and black, all in one small dish. She kept building right up to the red card, and the room voted her speech the best of the night. Best Table Topics Speaker on a first visit.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our members joined in too. Hiro told us that learning English felt like magic, because it opened doors to people all over the world. Kanmani drew on “The Courage to Be Disliked”: see both sides, stay positive, and act with courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepared speeches: a piano, a new colleague, and a surfer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Three members gave prepared speeches, each five to seven minutes, each from their own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naoko, “Why Did I Sign Up Again?”<\/strong> After watching her daughter’s recital, Naoko decided to learn piano herself. She cannot read music fluently, so she wrote out every note by hand and memorized Chopin’s Nocturne by finger. On stage the mistakes piled up, and she played to the very end anyway. She is already aiming at next year’s recital. “Whatever level you are, if you can say ‘I can play the piano,’ isn’t that cool?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rintaro, “I Said Yes. Now What?”<\/strong> Rintaro was suddenly asked to tutor a new employee. He looked back at two people who had guided him: one who taught him how to think, and one who gave him a safe place to talk. His takeaway was that good support means adapting to the person in front of you. “Sometimes people need an answer, sometimes a solution, but sometimes we need someone to be there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noritama, “Learning from Surfing.”<\/strong> Noritama watched a colleague compete in a surfing contest. While the others chased early waves, his colleague waited alone in his own position, caught a big one, and won the semifinal. In the final the wave never came, and he finished third and stayed positive. Noritama turned that into advice for his own new business project: prepare carefully, do not simply follow others, wait patiently, act fast when the moment comes, and move on if it does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n