 |
|
 |
|
|
|
When You Are a Table Topic
Respondent |
|
 |
|
|
Table Topics helps develop your ability to
organize your thoughts quickly and respond to impromptu questions or
topics. The Table Topics section of the meeting usually follows the
prepared speech presentations. The Toastmaster of the meeting introduces
the Topicsmaster, who gives a brief description of the purpose of Table
Topics.
The Topicsmaster states the question or topic briefly and then calls on
a member or guest at random to respond. Each Table Topics speaker
receives a different topic or question.
As a Table Topics speaker, you may stand next to your chair or move to
the lectern to give your response depending on the policy of your club.
The Topicsmaster will specify the allotted time for responses.
Help with Impromptu Speaking: |
|
|
|
Taking the Terror out of Table Topics
|
|
Table Topics (TT) is the
segment of a Toastmasters meeting that provides opportunity to practice
giving impromptu speeches. The purpose is to have members "think on
their feet" and speak for one to two minutes. Table Topics is used to
get people NOT on the program involved – and by expanding or eliminating
Table Topics the TopicMaster can keep the club meeting within the time
limits of each meeting.
In real life, TT can be used in daily
conversation: at a party, in a business meeting, in court, during a
parole hearing, for job interviews or any time you are interacting with
others.
Here are a few tricks that you may find helpful.
The most important element of speaking off-the-cuff is structure.
Structure separates a clear message from panic-stricken,
adrenalin-induced, stream of consciousness, word-association, meandering
presentation.
How do you prepare structure on-the-fly? That’s simple. Don’t. Prepare
ahead of time. Have a mental model for answering questions. A generic
model that I use for answering most Table Topics questions is
Thesis-Point-Point. The thesis is the premise, the one sentence that
summarizes your point of view. Point 1 and Point 2 are the two points
that you will use to support, expand on, and explain your thesis.
The most important element of speaking off-the-cuff is structure.
Structure separates a clear message from panic-stricken,
adrenalin-induced, stream of consciousness, word-association, meandering
presentation.
Or use the P.R.E.P. method: Point-Reason-Example-Point. Make your Point,
give a Reason you believe this Point is valid, give an Example, then
restate your Point.
Identify the common speech structures and practice using them until they
become a part of your subconscious. Don’t try to think of them as you
speak; know them before you speak. When you consistently identify the
structures, you use in your prepared speeches, you are more likely to
have them available in your subconscious for Table Topics. Here are many
of the common structures: |
|
- Chronological (Past, present, future)
- Sequential (First, second,
third
- Cause and Effect
- Problem and Solution
- Geographical (Asia, Canada,
USA)
- Categorical (Sales, Delivery, Finance)
- Compare and contrast (Big and
little, light and dark)
- Hierarchical: (Top, middle, bottom)
- Increasing Detail (General to Specific)
- Building Requisite Knowledge (Know “A” before “B”)
- Options (Plan A, Plan B, Plan C)
- xpanding Radius (Branch, Country, World)
- Priority (Critical, Important, Optional)
|
|
Helpful Hints: |
|
- Don’t Panic - If you can, just stop caring
about table topics. Remember, everyone in the audience has been in
your position, has probably dried up at some point and is willing
you to do well, so you don’t need to worry about their reaction.
- Buy Time - Give yourself time for your nerves
to die down and for you to think of something to say. If you need
to, just talk for a while about something vaguely related to the
theme, or even about something totally unrelated: sooner or later,
inspiration will come.
- Go with the first little idea - Sooner or
later, a little idea will pop into your head. Even if it’s just a
little idea, start talking about it. Don’t reject it in the hope
that a bigger idea will come along: the little idea must be
expressed first. If you do reject it, it’ll sulk, and will block the
big idea from ever getting through.
- Express an opinion, right at the start - Unless
you’re a beginner, try not to give a long introduction. Instead,
answer the question or express an opinion, and do so at the start.
This is easier for closed questions (e.g. “What was your favorite
holiday?”), but you can also do it for open questions (e.g. “Talk
about holidays”). So long as you can seize your little idea and turn
it into something concrete.
- Remember the rule of threes - You can put some
structure into your speech by breaking it down into three main
points that justify your opinion or reinforce it. (For example, “My
best holiday ever was in Tibet, and there are three reasons why.”),
You don’t need them all before you start: instead, you can think of
the first point while answering the question, then think of the
second point while talking about the first, and so on. It’s
surprising how often this works.
- Know when to stop - Try not to ramble your way
through a long conclusion. Instead, recap your answer and the main
points of your speech, finish with a punchy ending and hand back to
the table topics master.
- Draw on your own experiences - When you’re
given a table topic, you can ask yourself if there’s anything in
your own experience that will answer the question or illustrate your
argument. As well as making it easier for you to answer the
question, a personal reply will often sound more heartfelt that
other answers you might give.
- Be eccentric - The best topics are often those
where the speaker avoids a serious or conventional answer, and
instead tried something unusual or entertaining. For example, you
can deliver your speech in character, or deliver an unexpected or
contrarian argument. By doing this, you can grab the audience’s
attention, and can free yourself from the constraints of a
conventional approach.
- Keep doing table topics - Finally, keep
practicing. The more you do it, the less nervous you’ll become, the
easier you’ll find it, and the more you’ll enjoy it.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|