Regular Meeting 152, August 4, 2026 (Hybrid)

A.R.T.S.

At this meeting, we had two prepared speeches, including mine. The title of my speech was "A.R.T.S." This stands for two things: "Always Ready To Step Up" and "Always Ready To Speak."

At this meeting, the two prepared speakers demonstrated being Always Ready To Step Up. The first speaker, So, delivered his speeches at two consecutive meetings: on July 28 and August 4. He was not expected to, but after learning that a speech slot was still open, he said, "I'll make a speech." If he hadn't stepped up, we could have ended up with only one 5- to 7-minute speech, which would have meant a hefty 33-minute Table Topics Session (a session to practice impromptu speeches). Practicing impromptu speeches is not a bad idea, but when it's too long, we could get bored. He helped us avoid that unfortunate situation.

The other speaker, me, demonstrated being Always Ready To Step Up. Several days before the meeting, it turned out that Mariko, who was supposed to serve as Toastmaster of the Day, the facilitator of the education portion of the meeting, would have to join the meeting on a Shinkansen train. As it was impossible to facilitate a seventy-minute session from a Shinkansen train, I stepped up to double as the Toastmaster of the Day on top of my speaker role. It meant less time for me to practice my speech, but I didn't see anybody else who would have the time to put together the meeting agenda, which is a major or of Toastmaster of the Day.

How to be "Always Ready To Speak"

In my speech, I shared three tips for being Always Ready To Speak: 1) To revisit old speeches, 2) To practice making impromptu speeches using the Table Topics prompts from all our meetings, and 3) To keep building a Story/Message Bank.

1) To revisit old speeches

As we deliver prepared speeches, we have some speeches that we think deserve more of our attention—the ones we are not really happy about how they come along. We can always revisit them, revise them, and deliver again.

2) To practice making impromptu speeches using the Table Topics prompts

We have several Table Topics prompts at every meeting, but we only have a chance to speak on one, at most. Yet, we can practice using other prompts on our own. By practicing speaking impromptu, we can find some great materials that can be used for future prepared speeches. They may be a message, an episode, a quote, statistics, or a story. We can start crafting a speech based on some of these.

3) To keep building a Story/Message Bank

This is something all world-class Toastmasters speakers encourage us to do. Having a bank of anecdotes, quotes, stories, and messages will help us write a speech on short notice. It should be a lot easier than starting from scratch, since there are some materials to work with already.

On the day, So seemed a bit frustrated because he was not happy with his performance. I hope So and everybody else in the club will try these three tips and start their journey to be Always Ready To Speak.

Hideo Temma

Founding President and Secretary 2026-2027, Shin-Osaka Leaders Toastmasters Club