At Toastmasters, the aim is that every member has an opportunity to speak at the Club meetings. Many will be allocated a specific role such as Grammarian or an Evaluator and some members will present a prepared speech from their Pathway.
For those who do not have a role, the Table Topics session provides an opportunity to ‘Think on your feet’ and deliver a brief speech that is totally unprepared. The Table Topics session should be fun and whilst originality is encouraged when choosing the theme of the topics, the questions should not be too difficult or overly challenge speakers
Before the meeting
If you wish to present a slide deck (e.g. PowerPoint) to facilitate your Table Topics session, please contact the Sergeant at Arms at least 1 day in advance. Don’t rely on email alone, as your email may get lost in a spam filter; we would suggest using WhatsApp so you can get clear confirmation that they have seen your message. The Sergeant at Arms will identify 1 laptop for use by all presenters, and ensure all slide decks are loaded onto it in advance.
On the night, familiarize yourself with the members that are present and those who do not have a role for the evening. You should give priority to those who would not otherwise have an opportunity to speak at the meeting. If there are guests you may ask them if they would be comfortable to participate in the session.
The General Evaluator should not be called to speak.
Hand a copy of your intended questions to the Table Topics Evaluator and the General Evaluator of the evening.
During the meeting
Before the session begins, the TME will ask the Table Topics Evaluator to introduce you to the stage.
Depending on time and at the discretion of the TME you can usually call 4/5 speakers but it is important to be mindful of the available time usually 15 minutes for this part of the evening.
Following a brief introduction of the Table Topics theme and the aim of the session, (remember the session is designed to allow others to speak and ‘Think on their feet’), you will ask the first question to the audience and remind them of the allocated speaking time. This will allow everyone to start mentally preparing before you actually call upon a specific member to speak. You may wish to choose a more experienced member to be your first speaker, so they can show the others how it’s done.
Speakers should be encouraged to use the Word of the Day.
At the end of the session, hand back the stage to the TME who will ask for the individual recorded timings and ask the audience to vote for the best Table Topics Speaker. Where speakers have exceeded or not reached their permitted time the TME will decide if they are eligible for voting or not.
The Table Topics Masters role helps members to gain greater organizational skills, and also improves time management abilities.
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