Why are Table Topics called “Table Topics”?

Have you ever wondered why we call our impromptu speaking exercises “Table Topics”? I have—so I asked Toastmasters International to get it straight from the horse’s mouth.

Thank you for contacting us today. In regards to your questions, The Story of Toastmasters, written by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley includes a brief summary of the origin of Table Topics, which I have included below. The practice of Table Topics gained popularity around 1934 and 1935. No explanation for why the program is called Table Topics is expressly stated.

It was at about this time that a new feature was added to the typical club program. In most clubs there had been various plans used to get all members on their feet at every meeting. Quotations, anecdotes and other features had been tried in miscellaneous fashion.

In the Santa Ana Toastmasters, Number 15, some of the men asked for more opportunities to discuss current topics, somewhat in the line of the “town meeting” which was being featured in radio programs. San Diego Toastmasters were experimenting on similar lines. Other clubs became interested, and the custom spread. In the course of months, “Table Topics,” as it came to be known, was generally adopted, and given official recognition. The chairman of the discussion was given the title of “Topicsmaster,” and the period of impromptu speaking became an established part of our procedure.

It can be assumed that the title originated in a member club, gained popularity and eventually became the official, trademarked term.

Shockingly, even Toastmasters International doesn’t know! The correct answer seems to have been lost in the mists of time. Of course, we can speculate. My personal theory, given the origin of current events for the role, is that someone said “let’s discuss topics like those we would discuss around the dinner table with friends and family”—hence, dinner table topics, or just table topics. That’s just a theory, however.

Do you have other theories, or any solid information on the origin of the name “Table Topics”? Please write in the comments!

Update December 2013: another theory is that discussions not pertinent to a meeting would be “tabled” for later, and then Table Topics became a part of the meeting set aside for getting those random thoughts out of the members’ systems. That’s just a wild guess, however, with no evidence.