The 211th Regular Meeting: February 21, 2026 “Contest Spirit and a Heartfelt Farewell”

At our 211th Regular Meeting, the Senri Toastmasters Club atmosphere was filled with a unique blend of focused determination and warm sentiment. As we are currently in the midst of the contest season, our agenda included a special session dedicated to supporting our club contestants.

Highlight 1: Road to the Contest – Feedback for our Contestants

In addition to our usual content, we held a special practice session for our club contestants, Anne and Eri. Both delivered their contest-ready speeches, providing a "fruitful and beneficial" opportunity for all club members to engage in the spirit of "teamwork".

The venue was opened for feedback, and the response was overwhelming. Many members offered insightful comments and suggestions, creating a learning loop that benefited not only the contestants but every member in attendance. This session truly embodied our motto of "Growing Together."

📅 Mark your calendars!
The Area C3 Contest will be held on February 28th. We encourage anyone interested in witnessing high-level public speaking to come and support our contestants!

Highlight 2: A Fond Farewell to Mune-san

The meeting also carried a touch of sadness as we bid a "bittersweet" farewell to Mune-san. For the past four years, Mune-san has been a dedicated member, participating almost exclusively online from Tokyo. Due to a new work assignment, he will be moving to the United States.

In his closing remarks, Mune-san shared that his time with Senri Toastmasters significantly improved his English skills and public speaking confidence. He expressed that, thanks to the club, he now feels ready to share the joy of learning and prepared to embark on his new journey abroad. While we will miss his presence, we are incredibly proud of his accomplishments.

Good luck in the USA, Mune-san!
We will always be cheering for you from Senri! 

 (Kama-yan)

Special Meeting: Education Series – Presentation and Table Topics Contestant Practice | February 7, 2026

Participants at our February 7 meeting

On February 7, our Toastmasters club held a special meeting, titled “Better Speaker Series; Presentation and Table Topics Contestant Practice.” It aimed at our skill up in presentation and Table Topics speech, and especially for two Table Topics contestants.

Prepared Speech Session

This session opened with a presentation by Hiko, whose title “Knock Out Impromptu Speaking” had a playful atmosphere. The presentation, however, was based on the serious research, so the visual aid greatly helped the audience to better understand it. We look forward to members’ knocking-out speeches.

The second speaker was Ten Ten, who presented on “Your Body Speaks.” He said, “Your body speaks far louder than your words, therefore your speech can be improved by the repetition of training and your body language becomes natural. You’ll get the freedom to speak naturally.” This may come from his hands-on practice. His presentation had a profound meaning.

Table Topics Session

Sora’s choice of topic, "The Olympic Games or winter sports," was timely. Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games began on February 6, 2026. She gave her own comment to each speech and enriched this session.

Evaluation Session

The two evaluators, Rene and Kazu, greatly attracted our attention in their comments including suggestions. How to project the speaker himself with the visual aid and what is the good priority to beginners. These suggestions benefited us, too.

Table Topics Contestant-Practice and Feedback Session

Given topics, the two contestants (one is in English and the other in Japanese) delivered impromptu speeches twice. To each speech, other members gave feedback speeches. In a tense atmosphere, this pattern was very fruitful and beneficial to both the contestants and the members giving feedback. A chance like this is rare but desirable for all the members.

As a general evaluator, I report that the special meeting ended meaningfully, thanks to the great control of the Toastmaster of the Day, Marylin and all the other members’ dedication.
(Tami)

Education Series Special Meeting : "Successful Club Series" － January 31, 2026

Spotlight on Marylin's Speech: What will improve your skills

The January 31 Serni Toastmasters meeting featured three strong Prepared Speeches, but the one that left the deepest impression was Marylin's What will improve your skills. Her message stood out because it reframed something familiar —Toastmasters roles—as a powerful engine for personal growth.

Marylin explained that every role in a meeting carries a specific learning purpose. The Toastmaster of the Day builds facilitation and leadership. The Evaluator sharpens analytical thinking and constructive communication. The Timer and Grammarian strengthen observation, precision, and awareness. Rather than seeing roles as routine assignments, she encouraged members to view them as structured training modules designed to develop different skill sets.

What made her speech compelling was the clarity with which she connected these roles to real-world improvement. She emphasized that growth does not come only from delivering speeches. It comes from participating fully in the ecosystem of the club, observing others, supporting the meeting, and reflecting on what each role teaches. Her examples illustrated how even small responsibilities can lead to meaningful progress when approached with intention.

Her delivery was calm, thoughtful, and grounded in experience. The audience was reminded that Toastmasters is not just a place to speak, but a place to practice leadership, listening, and collaboration in a safe and supportive environment. By the end of her speech, members were inspired to take on roles more actively and to appreciate the hidden learning opportunities embedded in every meeting.

Marylin's message set the tone for the rest of the session, offering a foundation of “learning through participation” that resonated throughout the meeting.

(by Mune)

Club International Speech Competition (The 210th Regular Meeting): January 17, 2026

We held our Club Speech Competition again this year. The meeting began with an “Induction Ceremony.” Our new member, Shunya, joined us just as the new year began. A university student, he is now the youngest member of our club. We recited our Club’s Pledge, welcoming both the fresh member and the new year’s start.

 After the ceremony, we moved on to the Senri Toastmasters Club Speech Competition, featuring both English and Japanese speeches.

Each speech made us laugh, surprised us, and had us nodding deeply in agreement. According the characters in their stories, their vocal tones shifted dramatically, and the directions of their faces were swiftly changed—almost like watching a performance of “Rakugo,” full of humor and heartfelt moments. I deeply regret that I can’t clear their details because they were conducted as part of the official Toastmasters International Speech Contest.

Following the Award Ceremony, we held the Evaluation Session for the one competitor whose speech was delivered as part of Toastmasters International Pathways project.

As the Competition Chair, I want to express my sincere gratitude. This event would not have been possible without our teamwork.

Thank you to all officers for your cooperation—our Timers for their precise time management, our Ballots Counters for their smooth coordination, and our dedicated anonymous judges, including those who joined us from other clubs.

(Hiko)

The 209th Regular Meeting: December 20, 2025 “Christmas Words & Phrases”

On December 20, 2025, Senri Toastmasters held its 209th regular meeting with the heartwarming theme, "Christmas Words & Phrases". The afternoon kicked off with a delightful live performance of "Jingle Bells," filling the room with festive magic. Fittingly, our Word of the Day was "delightful," which perfectly captured the spirit of the meeting.

Highlight 1: Managing a Difficult Audience
A major highlight was Hiko's project, "Managing a Difficult Audience". This project focuses on addressing common behaviors of difficult audience members in a calm and professional way to prepare for presentations outside of Toastmasters. Hiko managed these interruptions very politely and carefully. While he was a bit hesitant and it took some time to settle the disruptors, he remained calm throughout the process. The evaluator of Hiko’s speech, Kazu, provided an excellent suggestion: once you handle a disruptor, you should directly return to the main part of your story to maintain the flow. It was a valuable lesson for us all!

Highlight 2: Effort Blossoms in "My Senri Experience"
Another highlight was the "My Senri Experience" shared by Takashi. His story was highly relatable and filled with humor, drawing plenty of laughter from the audience. Takashi has been working hard behind the scenes as our Sergeant-at-Arms, taking English pronunciation lessons, and even studying abroad this past summer. All that effort truly blossomed in this speech. If he had been a speaker in the Prepared Speech session, I definitely would have cast my vote for him as the Best Speaker. It was wonderful to see his dedication pay off!

Inspiring Speeches in Brief
The Prepared Speech session was filled with a variety of wonderful presentations. Maririn showcased tactful vocal variety while sharing fond memories of the Expo, while Tenten delivered a motivating speech on taking an active role in the organization of our meetings. Kankan shared a resonating story about overcoming obstacles with the support of the person beside her, and Tamiko, our club’s "Queen of Humor," delivered a relatable and delightful presentation that left everyone in stitches.

In my General Evaluator report, I commended the delightful atmosphere created by our Toastmaster of the Day, Rene’s thoughtful decorations and her preparation. We closed the meeting with a warm "Happy Holidays!" I look forward to seeing everyone next year. Have a wonderful holiday season and a great New Year!

(Eri)

Evaluation Workshop - A Day of Learning and Growth : December 6 , 2025

On December 6th, our Toastmasters club held a special Evaluation Workshop meeting that brought together members for an enriching learning experience focused on one of the most valuable skills in public speaking: delivering constructive and motivating evaluations.

The Power of "Evaluate to Motivate"

The session opened with an insightful presentation by Kazu, titled "Evaluate to Motivate," which set the foundation for the day's activities. This keynote emphasized the importance of delivering evaluations that not only provide constructive feedback but also “push” speakers to continue improving their craft.

Test Speech by Eri

Eri delivered the test speech that would serve as the focus for our evaluation practice. Prior to the meeting, Eri kindly shared her evaluation form, including her project and speech purpose, allowing all participants to better understand her objectives and prepare thoughtful feedback.

Hands-On Practice in Breakout Sessions

The heart of the workshop was the practice breakout sessions, where every member had the opportunity to deliver their own evaluation speech. Participants were divided into four breakout rooms:

• Breakout 1: Rene, Tenten, Takashi and a guest
• Breakout 2: Anne, Mune, and Hiko
• Breakout 3: Marylin, Tamiko, and Kazu
• Breakout 4: Eri, Kankan, Ma-chan

Each group practiced delivering evaluations while sharing observations about what they found effective and any points for improvement. Each member had their own perspective of what part of the speech they liked best. This session provided valuable insights from different angles and experience levels. After an intensive 30 minute practice session we had a nice 10 minute break with an impromptu jam session of ukulele and flute recorder playing.

The Evaluation Session

Following the break, the workshop transitioned into a dynamic evaluation session that demonstrated the multi-layered nature of feedback in Toastmasters. Tenten provided feedback on Kazu’s opening presentation, while three evaluators, representing their respective breakout rooms, evaluated Eri's test speech. In a unique feature that demonstrated the profound (Word of the Day) depth of our learning process, four additional evaluators then evaluated the evaluation speeches themselves, creating a rich learning loop that benefited everyone present!

Supporting Roles

The meeting ran smoothly thanks to our dedicated meeting role takers who kept us on track as Kankan served as Timer, Ma-chan served as Ah-Counter, and Eri took on the triple role of test speaker, Grammarian and Zoom Master. Thanks to their dedication, the workshop remained sharp throughout the session.

Closing Thoughts

This special meeting reinforced a fundamental spirit of Senri Toastmasters: evaluations don't just critique—they motivate, inspire, and help fellow members reach their dream to become better speakers and communicators.

We look forward to seeing how the skills practiced during this workshop will enhance the quality of evaluations at our regular meetings.

(Anne)