6th September 23 Starting at 21:00 Asia/Tokyo
Word of the Day: vivacious = attractively energetic and enthusiastic
Venue: Online Club
11 attendees = 6 members
(1 member attended staying at a hotel on her business trip. How vivacious she is! Otsukaresamadesu! )
+ 5 honorable guests from the US, Vietnam, Singapore, and Japan
(5 guests! Thank you for your interest in our club!)
We started with Small talk session as usual. A vivacious member sounds really busy working both home and abroad. Another vivacious member has been enjoying running to her heart’s content again though it’s been scorching hot and humid in Japan. Also, she introduced one of the oldest members in her marathon club. He is 82 years old. Wow. I wonder how they rejuvenate themselves physically and mentally and keep running.
(Unlike them, I don’t, nay, won’t run. My father used to be a Hakone Ekiden marathon runner, but I don’t have his DNA. haha…)
Other members were happy to devote their time to others by becoming a substitute cooker or an escort for a little lady despite their hectic work schedule. They have volunteer spirits! Lastly, as for one more member’s update, she mentioned her experience of being unconscious under general anesthesia in a medical checkup. It was a relief to know she had no problem :)
By the way, to be honest, I had such a super busy day at work on the day that I felt sleepy and I was often about to lose ‘consciousness’ during the meeting. I didn’t fully understand what speakers were saying. My apologies! But thanks to the recorded video every meeting, I reviewed it and now I’m writing this blog. Thanks, Yukimasa-san :) (Even if you as a member can’t attend meetings for some reason, then you can check the recorded video anytime to see how they were conducted.
Next session is…. Thoughts for the day conducted by Mikiko-san! She talked about the historical victory Japan’s men’s basketball team made. It secured Japan a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics. This is the first time in 48 years that the team has won a ticket to the Olympics as the result of a qualifier. How exciting! She went on to share her impressive episodes including ‘Never-give- up spirits’ with us.
Now, the prepared speech session gets started! We have 1 speaker, Takako-san! Her speech title was ‘Transition of Leadership’. Her speech objectives are: to deliver a speech reflecting on the personal experience of serving in a leadership role for at least six months where a 360° evaluation of the speaker's leadership skills was conducted and a succession plan was created. I couldn’t have made such a good speech. She mentioned one of the volunteer groups she’s belonged to. She took positions as a president or a vice president a few times and managed to conduct regular meetings both online and offline, getting affected by Covid-19. She emphasized how much she could make the most use of what she learned through Toastmasters. Amazingly done, Takako-san!
Another exciting moment, Table Topics Session started. Kazuko-san had prepared 4 questions: “What is your favorite holiday in your country?” ; “September is the new month of school year in other countries. Do you think it is a good idea?” ; (Regarding the season of leaves changing clor,) choose one of your favorite colors and why?; (Kazuko-san is really into marathon.)What kind of sports or anything you want to take up?”
Honorable readers, what would you have answered to her simple but interesting questions if you had been present at the meeting? When it comes to off-the-cuff speech like this session, some of you may feel overwhelmed. I did when I became a member almost 2 decades ago.
No worries ;) You can ask the table topic master to give you another question. Or you may skip the question like a few attendees did in the past. But why don’t you give it a try to express yourself? Even if you can’t talk a little bit, that’s OK. No problem:) There is always the first time for everyone. We feel you and support you. I’m an English teacher, but I often make a lot of mistakes in grammar, word usage, and so on, which embarrass me, though. haha…
Try to get out of your comfort zone, and you will enjoy communicating one day, one of the honorable guests A-san. We look forward to welcoming you again as well as other honorable guests:) Everyone, let’s enjoy the process to reach your goals! ……Am I too vivacious?!
Oops! I almost forgot to mention a delightful news!! We’ve got a new member from the U.S. Welcome aboard, Jesse-san! We are very much looking forward to learning from you ;)
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