Educational Info

Being the Topic Master

So you’ve been told, Next week your it, The dreaded Topic Master. You’ve seen the Masters of the trade do their thing, and it’s pretty difficult at times to be creative. Sure you could do current events or whatever, but how do you make the most out of being the TopicMaster.

Here’s some tips to help you gain confidence in the position…

1. First off, you’re not being put on the spot to answer a topic. Remember, you are the person that are putting jitters in the stomachs of other Toastmasters. Some people enjoy dealing with that feeling, and others are just learning to make those butterflies soar like eagles.

2. Next, do what you know. Make yourself feel comfortable by using topics and questions that you are knowledgable about. For instance, if you know a lot about computers per se, you could ask questions that would both educate, and entertain about computers. Toastmaster Bender, please explain how the processor speed differs from the bus speed. Just make sure you know the answer, and follow up the presentation of the topics with the information. If they answered it correctly, be encouraging!

3. Not all topics are verbal. I’ve seen where people will use objects that are not of the everyday variety, and ask someone to describe the usage. Or you may even have to describe an ink blot, or feel an object in a bag that you can not see. The creativity is in your hands.

4. Be creative. You aren’t limited by anything, with the exception of time, and good taste.

You can ask people to…

1. act out their favorite part of a play, or lines from a favorite speech.
2. make a poem up, based on using a color, or animal.
3. sing a song.
4. Pretend it is an official Tabletopics contest.
5. Run a mock news roundtable discussion.
6. Have a debate.
7. Describe the last movie they saw, or books they’ve read.
8. What would it would be like to live in another time period, or on another planet.
9. Pretend you’re a famous person.

So hopefully with this information, you will be able to present a round of Table Topics that will Inform, Educate, and help people to lose that nervousness when they are surprised with having to give that speech on the fly.

No Fear, Table Topics

When that point in the meeting comes, where that selected individual will approach the lecturn, does your stomach begin to turn. Do you want to run away in fear? Are you the most uncomfortable with this aspect of your Toastmaster experience? Well it doesn’t have to be that way, and I will introduce some tips that I hope will enhance your ability to handle Table Topics.

I remember when I was just thinking about joining a Toastmasters group. I asked a friend of mine if they knew anything about it. My friend said, “Judd, those people sit around making each other feel ackward, asking each other questions that they have no idea they will be asked, and then they have to present their ideas to the group! You may have to discuss the virtue of worms or something weird like that.” At that moment I knew that this was for me. I enjoyed engaging conversation, and this was a chance to show my mettle, or so I thought.

I went to my first Toastmasters meeting, and you know what, it wasn’t that bad at all. They did topics about current events and I was able to EXPRESS myself. Having the floor was a terrific experience though, which I really never had, and this enabled me to progress on to giving speeches. So this is definately where you can break ground as a Toastmaster. So back to taking the fear out if Table Topics.

With everyone asking your opinion, you lose site of some of the latitude that table topics gives you.

1. Did you know that you can lie with table topics? You are not obligated to tell your true beliefs or anything of the sort. If you don’t know what something means, or just aren’t sure about something, a good fib confidently delivered will come across just as good as the truth.
2. Did you know you don’t have to answer the question that you’ve been given? This especially applies when you’ve heard someone else get a question that you wanted to answer, and then you’re stuck with one that you don’t like. Say something like this… Mr. Topicmaster… that is a very good question, however I would just like to make a point of a question I heard earlier…. This works rather well, and you get to answer the question you want.
3. Don’t fear the silence! Don’t speak until you’re ready to. You are not obligated to say anything until you are ready to present your topic, so don’t feel rushed.
4. Don’t like the question, ask for another one…. Topicmasters rarely hear that!  

So there are some ideas to help you build and perform a better table topic. Good Luck!