What a memorable day! Today May 1st was the very first meeting of the new era Reiwa. Toastmaster Mikiko-san set the meeting theme as âSmile still stays on.â It makes us smile from ear to earð According to her, she selected it from the song âThe Show must go onâ by Queen.
Let me introduce our meeting helpers today. Timer Paul-san. Grammarian & Ah-counter Midori-san.
Word of the Day was âitâs a good thing ð (also itâs a good job British English)
used to say that you are glad something happened, because there would have been problems if it had not happened
e.g. Itâs a good thing youâre at home. Iâve lost my keys.
It was a good thing that we came early.
Good thing I had my medicine with me.
It seemed that no one used the word. As the role taker, sorry for my word choice, everyone!
Now itâs time to start our meeting! As warm-ups we had small talk session. Some members enjoyed their national holiday by going out with their family members or going abroad. Others relaxed at home and enjoyed the Golden Week. In addition, we had guests from Hong Kong and the U.S. Welcome aboardð
Then we had prepared speech session with 3 speakers. BTW, I wonder how they prepared their speeches for such a busy business season. In my case, when I try to make a speech, it will takeâŠforever to just prepare. Oh, well. I hope I make a speech within this yearð
The first speaker was LanAnh-san! Her speech title was âA football playerâ from Competent Communication Manual - 6 â Her speech objectives were to use voice volume, pitch, rate, and quality to reflect and add meaning and interest to the message; to use pauses to enhance the message; to use vocal variety smoothly and naturally. She started talking standing with some gestures practically and effectively. We saw how much her speech has got improved so much every time she made a speech. Her speech was very energetic with a lot of passion! She looked very confident in her speech. Awesome!
The second speaker was Yukimasa-san! His speech title was âA mentor and a protégéâ from Presentation Mastery - 12 His speech objective was to present an established story, a story about the speaker's life, or a fictional tale of the speaker's own creation. He started to talk as if his protégé were in front of him. We felt we were his protégé. He shared unforgettable memories in their old days. What he learned from his protege was, in a word, an empathetic listening skill. We realized how important it is in our life as well as Toastmaster activities.
The last speaker was Takako-san! Her speech title was âWill AI be our friend or enemy?â from Leadership Development - 4 Her speech objectives were to research and present an unfamiliar topic; to organize the speech clearly to maximize audience understanding; to craft clear and engaging transitions between main sections of your speech; to use and cite sources to support speech content, make source list available. It was intriguing and informative speech. In her speech she suggested that we think about AI from the 5 different perspectives: what is AI good at; jobs replaceable by AI; types of jobs unplaceable by AI; the singularity; challenges that AI will bring about. She concluded that we should collaborate and coexistence with AI.
Next, Table topic session conducted by Kazuko-san! The theme was related to vacation or this sightseeing season to make you smileð
1. What is your favorite holiday that is unique to your country? And what do you do during the holiday and how to celebrate it?
Surat-san mentioned a worldwide famous water festival Songkran in Thailand. I have watched the festival on TV, and I felt like visiting the place more while listening to his story. He proposed that we have different cultural experiences by going abroad to see something different from what you have.
2. Which sightseeing spot to visit do you recommend in your country?
Molly-san from Hong Kong recommends us to go hiking on the mountain or enjoy seeing the fantastic scenery both in the daytime and at night from the Peak. It is a major tourist attraction that offers views of Central, Victoria Harbour, Lamma Island, and the surrounding islands. When I went to the Peak 2 decades ago, it was cloudy, and I missed the outstanding view from the spot. I must visit the spot againð
3. What was the best vacation youâve ever had?
Alina-san from Florida went to a beach for a week in a summer with her family. I have never been to a beach there, but it must be a long white sand beach so that we can recharge our batteries.
4. What is your ideal way to spend Golden Week?
Kawasaki-san likes to do nothing. He lives in Mito now, but his parents live in Tokyo.
He graduated from university there. During Golden Week he went to see them and just relax with them.
5. What is your outdoor activity you enjoy doing during this time of the week?
Jota-san used to ski both in summer and winter. A couple months ago he tried skiing again. To his sadness, however he didnât enjoy it this year. In order to keep in good shape, he hopes he has a good time skiing in the latter half of this year.
6. Spring is the time for cleaning in some country. What does âspring cleaningâ in your house involve?
Yukimasa-san âKondo-ed everything these days by asking an over-arching question âDoes your stuff make you happy â or in Marie Kondo's words, spark joy?â She is a Japanese organising consultant and author. After he tidied up packs of boxes which contained something from his good and old days, he felt good.
7. Which country would you like to visit and why?
Midori-san actually took 2-week vacation to go to Australia for surfing. It was the best one. She enjoyed the local food, BBQ and others.
8. Which would you choose to spend either on mountains or at sea? And why?
Aaron-san would prefer to spend at sea because sea has a lot of things to explore. As for mountains, he thinks you can only see stars or the sky. Also, he loves to see and talk to himself with his company at sea.
To wrap up the meeting, Iâ d like to announceâŠ
The best table topic speakers were Aaron-san & Yukimasa-san!
The best evaluator was Yumi-san! Congratulations! ð
ã It was a good thing that everyone including wonderful guests had a very good timeð