Shin-Osaka Leaders Toastmasters Club

🌱The Role of Mentors in Toastmasters

At our latest meeting, we explored an important part of the Toastmasters experience: Mentoring.

What does a mentor do in a Toastmasters club?

A mentor acts as a guide for new members, helping them understand club culture, meeting roles, and how to prepare for their first speeches. Having a mentor makes the Toastmasters journey more comfortable and encouraging.

In the first speech, Mariko explained how the mentoring system works in both Toastmasters International and our own club, Shin-Osaka Leaders. She shared the mindset and responsibilities that make mentoring meaningful and effective.

In the second speech, Hideo shared his personal experience as a mentee and how mentorship supported his growth as a member.

People join Shin-Osaka Leaders Toastmasters for many different reasons:
・To become better public speakers
・To develop leadership skills
・To improve English communication skills
No matter the reason, having a mentor helps make the first step easier.

Mentoring in Toastmasters means:
・Taking personal interest in others
・Supporting members as a coach and role model
・Sharing knowledge, insight, and experience
・Helping others succeed

At Shin-Osaka Leaders Toastmasters, every new member is supported through this learning journey. Through each meeting, we continue learning and growing together.

We meet on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesday of each month.
If you’re interested in improving your public speaking, leadership, or English communication skills, we warmly welcome you as a guest!

142nd Regular meeting
March 31st, 2026
Web writer: Hiroyuki

👉Join Us: https://shinosakaleaders.wixsite.com/home/contact-us

💡Education Series Presentation

In Toastmasters, we normally make 5- to 7-minute speeches based on our education program called Pathways. At this meeting, however, our current president, Maho, made a presentation that was unusual in two ways.

The first thing that set her presentation apart from our regular speeches is that her allotted time was 10 to 15 minutes. That’s more than double the usual length. The other difference is that she based her presentation on the content prepared by Toastmasters International.

Let me elaborate on this. In Toastmasters, there are three Education Series, The Successful Club Series, The Better Speaker Series, and The Leadership Excellence Series, each containing about ten modules. Members are expected to familiarize themselves with the content of the module and add some elements to personalize it to match their own experience and the needs of the club members.

At this meeting, Maho made her presentation based on “The Leader as a Coach” module in The Leadership Excellence Series, talking about her experience guiding her team members at work to improve their performance and minimizing mistakes by focusing not on who made the mistake but on how the whole team can improve the system.

The second feature of the Education Series, namely using material prepared by someone else and adjusting it to your own presentation, is worth a try because we sometimes face that kind of situation. Under such circumstances, it would be a boring presentation if we were to follow the material word for word because there would be no originality and there would be no need for the audience to hear it from you. You are expected to cover the core components of the presentation, but at the same time, try to personalize it so it will have more meaning and impact.

Obviously, Education Series presentations are too challenging for beginners. That is why these presentations are reserved for more experienced members who have completed the first two levels in any path in Pathways so that we can build our skills one step at a time.

There are different types of projects in Toastmasters to help members build different kinds of skills. Join us and work with us to develop different types of communication and leadership skills.

141st Regular meeting
March 17th, 2026
Web writer: Hideo

👉Join Us: https://shinosakaleaders.wixsite.com/home/contact-us

🌱Speakers, Evaluators, and Evaluators’ Evaluators!

Here is a recap of the Shin-Osaka Leaders meeting on March 3rd.

With five guests joining both in person and online, a total of 15 participants made this meeting another successful and engaging one.

Our Toastmaster of the Day, our PR leader Stella, introduced tonight’s three speakers: Hideo, Hiroyuki, and Mariko. Their speeches set a positive tone for the meeting—motivational, engaging, and often humorous life stories that truly made us think.

The Table Topics session was conducted by our Topicsmaster, Bryant. Many of the questions began with “What,” such as “What habit changed your life?” and “What challenge made you stronger?” Challenging, aren’t they? These are exactly the kinds of questions that train us to deliver speeches off the cuff!

Tonight’s evaluators were in for a special opportunity, as we also held an Evaluators’ Evaluation session. Volunteer evaluators provided feedback to the evaluators, helping them reflect on and improve their performance.

Special thanks to our General Evaluator, Maho, for organizing this valuable session.
The Best Speaker and Best Evaluator awards went to Hideo, and the Best Table Topics Speaker award went to Dashe. Congratulations to all!

140th Regular meeting
March 3rd, 2026
Web writer: Junko

👉Join Us: https://shinosakaleaders.wixsite.com/home/contact-us

🗣️Voices Without Borders

Members gathered onsite and online for the 139th Regular Meeting, creating an evening filled with energy and growth

We were delighted to welcome a new guest from India — a reminder that our club connects voices across borders.

The Prepared Speech Session began with “Just Do It,” delivered by Bryant under the project Understanding Vocal Variety and Body Language.

The message was simple yet powerful: action creates change. It was not just about speaking — it was about showing the message. The audience leaned in, engaged not only by the content, but by the presence.

Next came “NonViolent Communication” by Swan.
Rather than simply explaining the concept, Swan guided the audience through a thoughtful exploration of how communication can shift from reaction to understanding.

The structured Q&A session encouraged reflection:
How do we express observations without judgment?
How do feelings connect to needs?
How do requests differ from demands?

The discussion was interactive, insightful, and deeply human. It was a reminder that communication is not just about speaking clearly — it is about listening with intention.

The Evaluation Session reflected the heart of Toastmasters.
Evaluators offered constructive observations and practical suggestions, always rooted in encouragement. It was clear: feedback here is not criticism — it is fuel for improvement.

The 139th meeting reminded us that growth begins the moment we step up and speak.
See you at the next meeting.

139th Regular meeting
February 17th, 2026
Web writer: Bryant

👉Join Us: https://shinosakaleaders.wixsite.com/home/contact-us

📑The Power of Evaluation

If you give a speech to a dozen people, will they all hear the same thing?
Or will they each find different points to like and dislike?

We explored these questions in our latest regular meeting, which focused on a crucial tool for improvement: Evaluations.

・Educational Session:
The meeting began with Hideo, who shared a knowledge-packed presentation on how to evaluate effectively. He discussed both the methods and the manner required to make feedback impactful, including specific tips on word choice and grammar.

・Prepared Speech:
Next, Junko delivered her contest-hardened speech, with a heartwarming story told with masterful delivery. While her performance was already top-notch, we took on the challenge of helping her improve it even further through honest feedback.

・The Evaluation Workshop:
Usually, one speaker is assigned to one evaluator. In this session, however, we assigned four evaluators to Junko’s speech. It was fascinating to see that while the evaluators agreed on certain aspects, they also highlighted very different points for praise and improvement.

Through this focused discussion and practice, we all walked away as more capable evaluators.
We remain committed to honing our skills in public speaking and leadership.

If you would like to be a part of our next session, please feel free to drop us a line. We hope to see you at our next meeting!

138th Regular meeting
Feburary 3rd, 2026
Web writer: Swan

👉Join Us: https://shinosakaleaders.wixsite.com/home/contact-us

🌱Small but thriving

“Five years. It feels so unrealistic.”

This is how I open my speech as the founding president at our 5th Anniversary Meeting.
This is because I have always thought that Shin-Osaka Leaders is a new club.
Yet, it has lasted five years.
I am grateful for all the people who gathered here as guests, supporters, and members.

Four other founders and I began discussing launching a new club back in August 2019, and 63 people have been on the roster of the Shin-Osaka Leaders Toastmasters Club.
Though it is unfortunate that over fifty have left the club, I am proud that we have attracted this many people in the six and a half short years.

I’m also proud that the skills and the consequent confidence they acquired through our meetings based on the Toastmasters education program have helped them start a new chapter of their career.

Currently, our membership is smaller than it was. Yet, we have members eager to strengthen their public speaking, leadership, and overall communication skills, working together in a mutually supportive atmosphere.

Some members are eager to deliver speeches pretty frequently, partly because they want to practice more and partly because they want to keep the club’s momentum.
Some members take on multiple roles at meetings. Some members are active in inviting Toastmasters members from other clubs to help us by serving in some meeting roles.

This positive energy was evident at this meeting.
Our president, Maho, served in three roles: 1. Competition Chair, 2. Toastmaster of the Day, the facilitator of the meeting, and 3. Topicsmaster, who facilitates the Table Topics Session, where participants practice impromptu speeches.

Our Vice President Education, Mariko, served as the Chief Judge of the International Speech Competition and the General Evaluator, responsible for providing feedback to the entire meeting.

More importantly, two brand-new members, Bryant and Toshi, volunteered to compete in the International Speech Competition at this meeting and delivered well-structured, engaging speeches. We also had 15 guests to celebrate our small milestone in a festive mood.

Though we are currently a small club, members are eager to learn and do what they can to move us forward, envisioning a brighter future ahead.

I look forward to seeing what awaits us in the months and years ahead, welcoming even more guests, supporters, and members.

137th Regular meeting
January 24th, 2026
Web writer: HIdeo, Founding President

👉Join Us: https://shinosakaleaders.wixsite.com/home/contact-us

✨ Big Congratulations! ✨

Junko placed 2nd in the International Speech Contest on March 20! 🎤🏆

Your hard work, passion, and powerful message truly inspired us.
We are so proud of you! 👏

✨
Communicate with confidence.

Nervous to speak?
You’re not alone.

Take your first step in a supportive environment and start building your confidence.

💻Online Meeting
🗓️ March 31
🕢 7:30-9:10pm JST

✨ Join us from anywhere in Japan (or the world!)

Guests are always welcome!
Interested in joining?
Please click the website link in our profile and send us a message through the Contact Us form.

#新大阪

We are flattered. A Canadian Toastmasters guest, who visited us about two years ago, on April 16, 2024, to be exact, posted this YouTube Shorts on his channel.

In it, he mentioned our club, though he didn't quite remember our name accurately, as the best Toastmasters club he had been to in his travels!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RI80wjqnmB8

We are truly honored, and want to maintain and improve the quality of our meetings to live up to the expectations.

Below is the link to one of his videos, where he talks about his visit to Osaka and Shin-Osaka Leaders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUEOCnIpM7s

Yes, @T@TaylorSwifts my favourite artist. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

✨
Speak boldly. Inspire greatly.

Leadership begins with a voice.
Growth begins with courage.

At Shin-Osaka Leaders,
we don’t just practice speaking —
we build confident leaders.

Join us.
Let’s grow together.

Come join us on March 3rd.
Visit our website and reach out to us via the “Contact Us” form — we’d love to hear from you!

#新大阪
#大阪

#新大阪リーダーズトーストマスターズクラブ
#自己研鑽