At Club Awesome Toastmasters, we thoroughly enjoy impromptu speaking opportunities. Table Topics is the Toastmasters format for impromptu speaking, which entails giving a 1 to 2 minute speech immediately after being presented with a topic.
In the July edition of Toastmaster magazine, Christopher Cox shares 10 tips for presenting Table Topics:
- Don’t panic.
- Buy time.
- Go with the first idea that comes to mind.
- Express an opinion from the start.
- Structure your speech into 3 main points.
- To develop your argument, ask who, what, why, where, when, and how.
- Know when to stop.
- Prepare in advance.
- Leverage your own experiences.
- Be eccentric.
For additional details, and special tip number 11, be sure to see the full article: 10 Tips for Terrific Table Topics [1].
Club Awesome members regularly practice impromptu speaking skills over a meal during our Table Topics Breakfast and Dinner sessions, which occur monthly.
Our next Table Topics Breakfast will take place on July 21, 2017 in Coral Springs, FL, just after our regular meeting. Guests are welcome to join us for the meeting and breakfast. Contact us for more details.
[1] Cox, C. (2017, July). 10 tips for terrific table topics. Toastmaster, 21. https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2017/july2017/tabletopics