04/03/2026
Last night meeting turned out to be far more eventful than we expected.
One thing went wrong after another, and before we knew it, every single speaker was running late.
That left us with a small group of early arrivals, all of us gathered in a room that suddenly felt a bit too quiet. We had a choice: let the awkward silence settle in… or make something of the moment.
So we improvised.
As we chatted with the group, two people opened up about why they’d joined the club in the first place.
Anxiety, they said.
Particularly in those moments when you’re suddenly put on the spot — like during the dreaded “elevator pitch” exercise. The pressure, the eyes on you, the expectation to sound confident… that’s where they stumbled.
Hearing that, we decided to shift the mood. Instead of asking anyone to talk about themselves, we introduced an activity we call the “taxi ride”. It’s simple, a bit silly, and wonderfully disarming.
Two people pair up. One becomes the taxi driver, the other the passenger. Each is given a character to play — perhaps a lost tourist, a spy in disguise, or a driver who’s convinced they’ve picked up a celebrity. Then, for two minutes, they play out the scene.
As the first pair began, the room changed. Laughter replaced tension. People leaned forward, curious. The anxiety that had weighed so heavily only minutes before started to melt away.
And in that little window of time, before the speakers finally arrived, we’d stumbled into something unexpectedly warm, human, and genuinely fun.
As the laughter from our little “taxi ride” exercise was still fading, our speakers finally began to arrive, one after another.
With everyone now in place, the evening settled back into its intended rhythm — and what a strong return it was.
We were treated to three cracking speeches, each with an intriguing title and a narrative that pulled us in.
Every speaker brought something different to the room, and together they gave us a sequence of talks that genuinely thrilled the audience.
After the speeches, we tried something a bit experimental for the topics session.
Instead of the usual prompts, we used a selection of oblique strategy cards — each one offering a curious, sometimes cryptic nudge to spark an idea.
Some prompts were playful, others more challenging, but all of them pushed people to think in unexpected directions.
What surprised us most was how deeply people went. Those little cards opened the door to moments of real honesty.
Several members shared personal reflections — stories touched by sadness, loss, and the quiet resilience that often follows.
It turned the session into something far more heartfelt than we’d originally planned, a reminder of how powerful it can be when people feel safe enough to speak openly
