Imagine someone says, “Tell me about your favourite childhood toy… you’ve got one minute — go!”
Most people panic. But, that’s the magic of Table Topics — Toastmasters’ clever way of helping you get comfortable with impromptu speaking.
What Are Table Topics?
Table Topics are short, spontaneous speaking exercises that help you think on your feet. A Table Topics Master gives a question or topic, and then a speaker has between 50 and 70 seconds to respond. On the spot.
The aim is to try and speak, and remain coherent, for 60 seconds.
Table Topics can still scare the most seasoned toastmasters. But that is the fun of it … it keeps us on our toes.
Topics can be:
- Light hearted - e.g. “What’s your dream holiday destination?”
- Thoughtful - e.g. “What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?”
- Totally unexpected - e.g.“If you were a vegetable, what would you be and why?”
Why Do Table Topics Matter?
In real life, we’re constantly called on to speak off-the-cuff:
- In meetings
- During interviews
- At social events
Table Topics trains you to respond clearly, quickly, coherently, and with confidence — no frantic scrambling for the right words.
How to Survive, and Thrive, in Table Topics
- Buy Time — The timer starts with your first word, so start by repeating the question or giving a short intro. For example, “That’s a great question!” works well.
- Pick a Point — Choose one angle and stick with it. You don’t need to cover everything. You don’t even have to answer the question you were given. Some of the funnies and most entertaining responses were completely off-topic.
- Wrap it Up — Aim for a beginning, middle, and end — even if it’s brief. Treat it like a mini speech.
Remember, no one is expecting perfection. Just progress.
At Miranda Toastmasters, Table Topics is often the funniest, most surprising part of the night — and where the most growth happens.
And, most importantly, we present the person with the best Table Topics answer with a highly prized award.
Beyond the club, Toastmasters has an annual Table Topics contest where Clubs send their best Table Topics contestants to compete against the best contestants from other clubs. It’s a lot of fun and there’s great, light-hearted, rivalry between the clubs.
Ready to see what it’s all about?
We meet on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month.
Meetings start at 7:00pm sharp and ask everyone arrive by 6.50pm and they’re usually over by 9:30pm Meetings go for around 2.5 hours, with a break in the middle.
For more information, visit the pages on this website, particularly the What’s On page. Or can email us and let us know you'll be there.
Come along to a meeting — we’d love to meet you.