Table Topics: when anyone can have the chance to speak impromptu for 1-2 minutes. It’s fun, it prepares you for job interviews, it helps you learn to give speeches with less preparation and less reliance on scripts, and did I mention it’s fun? (Why are they called “Table Topics” anyway? What kind of name is that?) Table Topics can be the most...

Table Topics can be far and away the most creative part of the meeting! Not just in what the Table Topics speakers say, but what the Topicsmaster comes up with. Look for approaches to Table Topics that have never been tried in your club before. Once in a while, turn common approaches or Table Topics best practices. What if each topic was affected by the previous...

Page 71 of the Competent Communication manual briefly mentions that the general evaluator is responsible for the members of the evaluation team, including the “Table Topics evaluator if your club has one.” This brief allusion to this optional role is practically all Toastmasters International has to say on the matter. It is an official Toastmasters...

Some clubs—even some divisions—mistakenly believe the SAA opens meetings, then turns control over to the President, who turns control over to the Toastmaster of the Day. From page 22 of the officer’s manual (the link should go straight there): The club president opens and presides over every club, business, and executive committee meeting. It’s my...

I firmly believe, for both regular meetings and contests, that prepared speeches should be scheduled on the agenda before impromptu events. For club meetings, this generally means you should have prepared speeches, then table topics, then the evaluation segment of the meeting. (In advanced clubs, I think there’s an argument for giving evaluations as immediate...

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...