Deliberate Practice

Prepared speeches

This meeting was supposed to have two ice breakers: Andy and Jennifer, both new members. Andy had spent the afternoon memorizing his speech, but a company anniversary dinner with American clients ran late, and he had to pull out just hours before the meeting. Jennifer became the sole speaker.

In the group chat the night before, Jennifer’s speech prep followed a familiar pattern. Tao had posted a timeline of “the ideal speech prep vs. reality”: ideally you start a month early; in reality, you open a folder the weekend before, and at 1 a.m. Monday you’re finally writing. Jennifer confirmed it was all too real for her too, that she still hadn’t memorized her lines by 5pm and just had to go on stage at 7pm regardless. Stella laughed that Jennifer had won the easy way, since Andy’s withdrawal left her as the only speaker.

Jennifer’s speech “If I Won an Oscar” was her ice breaker. After the meeting, she thanked the club for the welcome flowers and immediately started writing her second speech. Christy was impressed by the turnaround speed.

Table topics: Deliberate Practice

Rebecca ran the Table Topics with nine questions on deliberate practice, each paired with a photo: stepping out of your comfort zone, a breakthrough from deliberate practice, balancing practice with enjoyment, a mentor who supported you, measuring progress, experiencing a state of flow, keeping up a routine, the relationship between talent and deliberate practice, and whether deliberate practice can apply to non-skill areas like relationships or leadership (download the slides). Christy and Tracy tied for Best Table Topic Speaker.

Word of the Day

Dave chose “persistence”: continually trying even during tough times, the key to deliberate practice.

Meeting Manager debut

Tina ran her first meeting as Meeting Manager. Stella complimented her in the group chat, saying she’d done a great job for a first attempt. The next day, when Andy (who had to reschedule his speech) took the MM role for the following week, Tina became the mentor: Andy thanked her for teaching him how to be a Meeting Manager. Stella remarked that Tina had grown into an MM mentor almost overnight.

Three matching shirts

Stella, Cecilia, and Shirley showed up wearing the same shirt. “What a coincidence,” Stella wrote after the meeting. Nobody had coordinated.

The most relaxed TME

Stella called Danny the most relaxed TME in club history. Danny won Best Master for his performance.