Table Topics

Table Topics

Table Topics tests your improvisational speaking skills, including your ability to quickly put your thoughts together. You may be asked to respond to a question given by a Topics Master, who is introduced by the Toastmaster of the Day and has prepared questions in advance.

Your responses are timed. Time is measured by the Timekeeper, who operates a series of lights at certain times. After you start your response with a word or a gesture, the Timekeeper monitors the length of your response. He or she will switch the green light on at one minute, an amber light at one and a half minutes, and a red light on at two minutes.

You may get scared about Table Topics because you may not wish to be tapped for speaking without preparation. All of us have felt that way sometimes. One of the ideas behind Toastmasters is to get you to think on the fly, that is, without any preparation. If you think about it, we speak like that to our friends, and since we are all friends at the club, what is there to be afraid of?

After all Table Topics are given, we vote for the best presentation using the ballots provided. The ballots are then given to the Ballot Counter for tabulation.

The Timer then states how long each Table Topics answer lasted. He or she may state the time of each presentation or simply state if each participant "qualified," meaning to fall within time limits imposed by District 58 Table Topics Contest rules. The Timer may also give actual times of the answers. If you took part, please notice if and how your answer fell within the time limits. If it just made minimum time, consider how you could add a supporting fact or example to lengthen your answer. If you had the red light come on, then use simpler versions of your ideas to shorten your answer. If you were told you did not qualify or noticed that your answer fell below minimum or over maximum time, then you may need to rework how you would provide your answer next time. Working with the time limits gives you good practice should you decide to participate in the contest.

The Topics Master now returns control of the meeting to the Toastmaster of the Day.