March 20, 2026 Club Meeting

Midtown Clayton TI Club #283:

Word of the Day: Galvanize (verb) – to spark energy; to create a sense of urgency or movement.

Attendance

Members: Susan, Mitch, Jaja, HK, Dora, Cheyenne, Tom, Rosemary, Mike, Chris, Andrea, SJ

Guests: Cameron, Jeana, Bashar, Jinal, Peggy

Opening

HK opened the meeting by reviewing the club mission.

Dora served as the Toastmaster of the Day and introduced the meeting agenda and roles:

Prepared Speeches

1. Cheyenne – Ice Breaker: “From Accent to Impact” 10:10

Journey from textbook English to real-life American English (“like a fast-moving train”).
First experience ordering food in English became a story of learning to express needs.
Despite knowing English, small talk and corporate presentations were long-time challenges.
After 25 years in the U.S., listening is no longer difficult.
Key insight: Speaking well isn’t just about pronunciation—it’s about being understood and felt.
Motivation: To articulate her thoughts clearly and authentically.

2. SJ – Mastery Pathway: “When Performance Becomes Your Identity” 6:46

Opened with the question: Who are you when you are not winning?
Reflected on a career of driving growth across roles.
Discussed how success can become synonymous with performance.
As an athlete, endurance is helpful; in corporate life, excessive endurance can become a trap.
Identity built exclusively on performance can lead to misalignment and burnout.
After leaving corporate, starting over is not glamorous—but requires clarity and intentional alignment.
Personal story: her child asking, “Why don’t you take a job, Mom?” sparked reflection on aligning identity with purpose.

3. Tom – “What’s Your Happy?” 7:54

Began by handing a dollar to an audience member and asking, “Does this make you happy?”
Noted that some people wait for happiness, while others actively pursue it.
Used NBA players as an example of an “offense” strategy—knowing your skills and working on them.
Shared a personal example of his 24‑year‑old son wanting a new relationship but staying home instead of putting himself out there (defensive strategy).
Reflected on redefining his own happiness instead of dwelling on past achievements.
Concluded with the question: What is your happy, and what are you going to do about it?

Speech Evaluations (2 minutes each)

Chris evaluating Cheyenne 1:50

Strengths: excellent pausing and pacing, natural conviction, sincere tone, strong gestures.
Suggestions: more consistent eye contact; follow the speech template; keep practicing to build comfort.

Mike evaluating SJ 1:48

Strengths: strong opening question, relatable examples, clear takeaways, great eye contact; effective conclusion with “Who are you?”
Suggestions: engage the audience even more throughout the speech.

HK evaluating Tom 1:56

Strengths: conveyed genuine emotion, moved away from the lectern with confidence, strong eye contact and gestures.
Effective bookending: started and ended with a question.
Smooth delivery with relatable examples.
Encouraged Tom to speak again soon.

Table Topics (led by Mitch)

Prompts included:

What is the most memorable “yes” you’ve ever said? – Jaja: Yes to a summer camp in the US for a month 1:11
What did you risk that you would risk again? — Jinal: presenting to executives 1:19
If you had to give a TED Talk tomorrow, what would the topic be? — Susan: leadership 1:20
If your life had a theme song, what would it be? — Peggy: “What a Difference a Day Makes,” tied to making a difference in someone’s life 1:08