Toastmaster Table Topic Ideas for Impromptu Speaking - Aunt Agony

Instead of the Table Topics Master coming up with the table topics, instead open it up to the floor to come up with an “Dear Aunt Agony” question to pose to the table topics speaker. The speaker’s table topic speech will then be to give their advice.

Alternatively the Table Topics Master can set the questions, or take real ones clipped from the advice columns in magazines.

Subscribe to my blog: RSS reader    Email

Toastmaster Table Topic Ideas for Impromptu Speaking - Selling From Pictures

Table topics can take a persuasive stance by having table topic speakers sell a product.

How this can be done: Go to ecommerce stores and source for interesting products. Download their pictures and have the table topic speakers each choose a product to sell to the club.

The speakers should tell everyone what they think the product is and how it is used, and sell the product to the club.

Subscribe to my blog: RSS reader    Email

Toastmaster Table Topic Ideas for Impromptu Speaking - Talking From Pictures

This is a great idea. In our club, table topics are usually written topics on a piece of paper, but I thought, “Why don’t we use pictures for a change?”

So I found some pictures off the Internet, and assigned a number to each of them. I had the table topics speakers come up and pick a number, and the appropriate picture would be flashed on screen for them to talk about.

They were supposed to describe what they think is happening in the picture, or of a story that the picture reminded them of (e.g. if the picture was of a beach, they could talk about an experience they had at the beach). Of course, no captions are attached to the pictures.

An alternative to downloading the pictures is to cut pictures from newspapers or magazines.

Subscribe to my blog: RSS reader    Email

Toastmaster Table Topic Ideas for Impromptu Speaking - Christmas Gifts

This table topic theme is great for Christmas-themed chapter meetings nearer the end of the year - not only is it fun, it helps bond members together by making their gift exchanges a really memorable one!

Here’s how it goes: A member picks a wrapped gift from under the ‘tree’ (or it could be any item, you could use a couch or podium), or steals one from another member. Then the member has to explain why he or she thinks that their gift is the most wonderful gift in the world.

Subscribe to my blog: RSS reader    Email

Toastmasters Table Topic Ideas for Impromptu Speaking - Crazy Colours

On small slips of paper write out some unusual or very descriptive colors (day-glo orange, pea green, flamingo pink etc), and on each slip, write down a question along the lines of:

• Tell us why you plan to paint your house this color
• Explain why all your clothes this summer will be in this color
• Tell the person to your right why he/she should buy a car in this color.

Ask a Table Topics respondent to pick a slip and ask them the next question on the list. You never know what you’ll get.

Hint: It helps to call on someone who is known to have a wild imagination for the first response. After that people will get the idea that anything goes on this theme!

Subscribe to my blog: RSS reader    Email

Toastmasters Table Topic Ideas for Impromptu Speaking - Fortune Cookie

Have the speaker pick a fortune cookie and use the “fortune” as the topic to talk about. As a plus point, the speaker can eat the cookie after the speech too!

Subscribe to my blog: RSS reader    Email

Toastmasters Table Topic Ideas for Impromptu Speaking - Scented Cotton Wool

Hand out small plastic containers with cotton wool soaked in a scent - dettol, perfume, etc. Then ask the table topic participants what memories the scent evoked.

Subscribe to my blog: RSS reader    Email