Impromptu Speaking - Tips and Topics

7/30/2019 Impromptu Speaking - Tips and Topics

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(Club#946002 | Area 1 | Division F | District 41)

www.d41tm.in



Table Topics - an introduction

A typical Toastmasters meeting has three parts - The Prepared Speech, The

Impromptu Speaking (Also called Table Topics) and Evaluation/ Feedback

session.

Table topics is at once the most anticipated, dreaded, and enjoyable session in

a Toastmasters meeting. Anyone may be called on to the stage, given a topic

and without any preparation, is expected to speak for a minimum of one

minute and a maximum of two minutes - with a grace of 30 secs. The Timer will

show a green flag to the speaker at 1 minute, a yellow flag at 1.30 secs and the

red flag at 2 minutes, which is held up as long as the speaker continues to

speak - even if he or she has overshot the grace period. At 2.31 seconds, the

speaker is disqualified for voting as the best Table Topic speaker for the day.

The Table Topics Master (TTM) selects about 8-12 topics, and depending onthe time available, invites members and guests to speak on various topics. The

TTM usually gives a brief introduction about the session, explaining what is

expected of speakers, reiterating the timings and saying why impromptu

speaking is essential. He or she might give some humorous examples of the

need to think on one's feet in real life - as for example, telling your husband

why you cannot eat more than one piece of the baked (yeah right! burned!!)

dish he's cooked up for you. Or how you'd fob off a relative who wants to come

with family and spend the summer vacations at your house

At Hyderabad Toastmasters, the pattern we follow is: First call an experienced Toastmaster, so that guests understand the format. The speaker is called on to

the dais; his name is asked or spoken out loud for all to hear. The topic is read

out clearly. In contests, the topic is read out a second time, but not in regular

meetings. The time starts as soon as the topic is announced and the TTM

leaves the dais. The speaker then starts speaking. However, on certain

occasions, we vary this format. One could, for example, read out the topic,

then ask for volunteers. Those who feel they'd like to speak about a topic can

then come on to the stage. At one meeting, the TTM read out a topic, and

invited anyone in a brown shirt to come and speak, then someone wearingchecks etc. At yet another meeting, the TTM asked members and guests to

come up if they felt the adjective applied to them...."Confused but happy",

"Inspiring leader", "Cheerful and lazy" etc. The person would come up, and a

topic linked to that adjective would be given. For example, "Confused but

happy --> "Don't cry over spilled milk".

We also prefer to end the session with an experienced Toastmaster. The TTM

notes all the names with the topic given, and at the end of the session, reads

out the name of the topic, name of the speaker - asking her to put up her hand

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and be recognized. Then the audience is invited to vote for the best table topic

speaker.

Table topics can be a lot of fun, especially when the TTM has a good sense of

humor, and makes even the person, who has not spoken a word, feel good

about having made the attempt. Applause should be encouraged at all times. A

person who goes blank with one topic could be offered another, simpler topic.

Topics should ideally be generic, not needing special knowledge. Club

members should be given an opportunity to speak, as should guests and

visiting Toastmasters. Often, guests who attempt Table topics end up joining

the club - as they realize how tough (yet fun) it is to speak on stage. There are

no hard and fast rules about how to go about conducting a Table topics session

- with the exception that it should always be fun!

How to handle table-topics

- TM Harsh Singhal, ACB, ALB

To the reader: Dear readers, some of these tips are ideas taken from

observing good speakers and how they do it, as also suggestions from

experienced speakers and some methods observed in practice at a few of our

club meetings. These tips are definitely not exhaustive, but are merely an

attempt to help fellow toastmasters and friends better their impromptu

speaking skills.

General Tip before we begin: Personalize these tips and tricks to your own

speaking style. Each Table Topic is like a prepared speech, it must have a

beginning, a body, and a conclusion. Remember that you need to be quick and

nimble in order to understand where you should apply which style to address a

particular table topic.

Method 1: Past Present Future

On the given topic begin speaking about its past. It can be the actual past of

the topic. It can be any connection that the topic may have with yourself or

anyone that you know, with respect to the "past". Then transition to the

present times on the topic. Give an example about it. Move to the future of the

topic and summarize to its end with panache.

Method 2: The 6 Questions - Who, What, When, Why, Where & How

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Avoid asking the question out loud. You may choose to vary the ordering of the

question which you ask yourself and paraphrase your thoughts/response to

that question as a table topic speech.

Method 3: For/Against - your opinion on the topic

The tip is quite self explanatory. You may wish to talk on both aspects if notindicated by the Table Topics Master. Keep it simple upto 2 or 3 supporting

points max.

Method 4: P.E.P - Point Example Point

Understand the topic given to you; make a point about it, give an example for

supporting your point, and summarize the point again. If you still have time you

may wish to give another example, and then summarize.

Method 5: The Story/Movie

If you're good at listening stories, chances are you can tell a story too. All you

need is a beginning, a plot, some characters and the climax. The story can be

real, fictitious or a mixture of both.

Method 6: U-Turn Transition

Don't speak on the given topic but speak on something of your own choice.

Example: I don't know whether Sachin Tendulkar will play in the next world

cup or not but let me tell you about my dreams of becoming the singingsensation of my school when I was eight years old...

And then build your story and bring it down to a smooth close.

Method 7: HIJACK the question

It so often happens that we often land up with a topic that we have no idea

about. This trick is the most handy in such situations.

Example: "Nano Technology is the future"

My immediate thought: I have no idea what this is. Is it a worm? Is it a

disease? What is it?!?...

Begin:

Mr. Table Topics Master, Fellow Toastmasters and welcomed guests, Nano

Technology is the future they say... I agree because I believe in the future. The

future holds many good things. It can be what we want to make of it, by our

actions today. Today however we are surrounded with technology. We have

become very dependent on technology. However we are smart enough to useit to the best and make our future shine brighter. And the best example of a

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superb future ahead with the use of fabulous technology is the latest Nano Car

by the Tata's. …….

Now I know the above example is quite short, and it will just cross over the one

minute mark. If you want to add more to it, then make full use of the next and

final tip.

Method 8: Potpourri

Mix n match all the previous tips and make a new Table Topics attempt each

time!

Go dazzle your audience!!

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TABLE TOPICS

Here we give a list of quotes, proverbs, sayings and phrases which you might

try at your Toastmaster club with the tips as mentioned in the previous pages.

1. Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped. -African Proverb

2. Life may not be the party we hoped for … but while we are here we might as well

dance!

3. The early worm gets eaten by the bird, so sleep late. -Unknown

4. When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived. -Henry David

Thoreau

5. Minds are like parachutes--they work best when open. -Thomas R. Dewar

6. By the time we realize our parents were right, we have children who think we're

wrong -Guillermo Hernandez

7.We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is

someone today -Stacia Tauscher

8. You can lead a fool to wisdom, but you can never make him think.

9. Alcohol may not be the solution, but it definitely makes you forget the question.

10.A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. -Steve Martin

11.If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.-Laurence J. Peter

12.Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

-Unknown

13.When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. -Unknown

14.You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one

person. –Unknown

15.Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. –Unknown

16.Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened. –Unknown

17.A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

18.Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open. – unknown

19.Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

-Unknown

20.The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity. -Thomas Henry

Huxley

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21.Sometimes the majority only means that all the fools are on the same side. –

Unknown

22.None are so empty as those who are full of themselves. -Andrew Jackson

23.Love may not make the world go round, but I must admit that it makes the ride

worthwhile.-Sean Connery

24.Diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest thing in the nicest way. -Isaac Goldberg

25.When a man marries a woman, they become one but the trouble starts when they

try to decide which one. –Unknown

26.If at first you don't succeed, try again, then quit. No use being stupid about it. –

Unknown

27.All great discoveries are made by mistake. –Unknown

28.We can't always control what happens to us, but we can always control how wereact to it. -Robert Urich

29.Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get

used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

30.The man who will not act until he knows all will never act at all. -Jim Elliot

31.We see things as we are, not as they are

32.Nobody ever said that life would be easy; they just said "it would be worth it"

33.How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child - W. Shakespeare

34.Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust

upon them - W. Shakespeare

35.Madness is methodical

36.A soft answer turns wrath away

37.It's better to burn out than fade away - Kurt Kobain

38.Artificial Intelligence is no match for natural stupidity

39.Nothing shows a man's character, than what he laughs at

40.Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar

41.Jealousy is the best compliment you can ever receive

42.The things we can die for, are the things that we live for...

43.There's always a little truth behind every "Just Kidding", knowledge behind every "I

don't know", and emotion behind every "I don't care".

44.The worst brings out the best in us

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45.Don't walk as if you rule the world, but as if you don't care who does.

46.The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

47.Wounds can turn into wisdom

48.Hope is like soap, with which you need to take bath everyday – Rajashekhar

Mamidana

49.Smile, even if its a sad smile, because sadder than a sad smile is not knowing how

to smile.

50.Dreams are like ice creams, if you don't act quickly, they will melt away.

51.Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret --Benjamin Disraeli

52.Old age puts more wrinkles on our minds than on our faces - Michel De Montaigne

53.The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel - Horace

Walpole

54.That which costs little is less valued - Miguel de Cervantes

55.A celebrity is one who works hard all his life to be known, then wears dark glasses

to avoid being recognized. - Fred Allen

56.To be great is to be misunderstood - Ralph Waldo Emerson

57.Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it - Confucius

58.Marriage has its pains, but celibacy has no pleasures - Samuel Johnson

59.Children suck the mother when they are young, and the father when they are old -

John Ray

60.In an underdeveloped country, don't drink the water. In a developed country, don't

breathe the air - Jonathan Raban

61.The first blow is half the battle - Oliver Goldsmith

62.He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well - Hebrew Proverb

63.I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.- Jonathan Winters

64.Familiarity breeds contempt... and children. - Mark Twain

65.Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.- Mark Twain

66.Never have children, only grandchildren.- Gore Vidal

67.A compliment is like a kiss through a veil.- Victor Hugo

68.A sweetheart is a bottle of wine, a wife is a wine bottle- Baudelaire

69.He who laughs last didn't get it- Helen Giangregorio

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70.Cheer up, the worst is yet to come- Philander Johnson

71.If you're not confused, you're not paying attention- Tom Peters

72.A goal without a plan is just a wish- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

73.Love is not altogether a delirium, yet it has many points in common therewith-

Thomas Carlyle

74.If you judge people, you have no time to love them.- Mother Teresa

75.Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all- Toni Morrison

76.If the love you think you felt goes away quickly, then what you felt was never love

to begin with- Henry Mac

77.Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.

78.When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you

are weeping for that which has been your delight.

79.Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you

your all.

80.Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.

81.Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters

are seared with scars.”

82.Yesterday is but today's memory, tomorrow is today's dream.

83.Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to

laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.

84.Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude

you bring to life.

85.After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music-

Aldous Huxley

86.Easy come, easy go

87.Familiarity breeds contempt

88.Give someone enough rope and he will hang himself

89.Look before you leap

90.Many hands make light work

91.Pride goes before fall

92.Procrastination is the thief of time

93.Still waters run deep

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94.Take care of pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves

95.United we stand, divided we fall

96.If you do not milk the cow fully, it falls sick – Lalu Prasad Yadav

97.Hatred does not cease by hatred but only by love; this is the eternal rule – Buddha

98.I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one – Marilyn Monroe

99.Don’t be afraid to see what you see – Ronald Regan

100. I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was – Muhammad Ali

101. An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching – Mohandas Gandhi

102. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new – Albert Einstein

103. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your

attitude – Maya Angelou

104. Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience – Ralph Waldo Emerson

105. Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men – John F. Kennedy

106. Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone – Ella Wilcox

107. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World – William Ross

Wallace

108. Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are – Kurt Cobain

109. If it is to be, it is up to me – Zig Ziglar

110. The tongue is the only tool that gets sharper with use - Washington Irving

111. Your attitude and not your aptitude will determine your altitude – Zig Ziglar

112. The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your

priorities – Stephen R Covey

113. Management works in the system, Leadership works on the system – Stephen R

Covey

114. A stitch in time saves nine

115. I am not young enough to know everything – Oscar Wilde

116. The public do not know enough to be experts, yet know enough to decide

between them – Samuel Butler

117. We're drowning in information and starving for knowledge – Rutherford D.

Rogers

118. When nothing is sure, everything is possible - Margaret Drabble

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119. Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and

leave a trail – Ralph Waldo Emerson

120. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character,

give him power – Abraham Lincoln

121. If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed – Adolf

Hitler

122. It is hard to interest those who have everything in those who have nothing –

Helen Keller

123. If you can’t make it good, at least make it look good – Bill Gates

124. Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be

counted counts – Albert Einstein

125. Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love – Albert Einstein

126. Live life every moment

127. Once in a lifetime

128. Opportunity knocks at you always- So keep your eyes wide open

129. Love, Labour, never lost

130. Happiness- The elixir of life

131. A stitch in time saves not nine but hundred

132. I want to stay hungry and foolish

133. You want to get closer to someone who will leave you alone

134. If my life flashes before my eyes, it’s worth watching because..

135. In my dictionary, I found feedback when I looked for failure

136. I want to be really really close to someone who will leave me alone

137. Keep looking, don't settle

138. Enough with calculating risk and reward - just do what you know is right

139. Crying is a sign of strength

140. Selfishness is one of the qualities apt to inspire love

141. If I were a director of movie 3-idiots (or some other movie), then end would have

been

142. Things we do not expect, happen more frequently than we wish

143. Avoid too lengthy meditation on the past, but a little is required.

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144. Intuition is a spiritual faculty that does not explain, but points the way

145. Bring two speakers on stage - ttm will tell the first line of a story "once upon a

time little Johnny (or any other club member) ....". Ask them to continue this for 2

minutes.

146. I don't care to belong to any club that will accept me as a member

147. The quickest way to make Zoom TV (or MTV/FTV etc TV channels ) a very

educational is ...

148. I repent because I lied to my mom

149. The more argument you win, the lesser friends you have ... but if you don’t

argue, you don’t add value.

150. I don't care to have every street mongrel come and tell me what to do. -

Unknown

151. First understand then be understood

152. What it takes to say "No"?

153.We are not here to do great things, but small things with great love -

Mother Theresa.

154. Work is love made visible - Khalil Gibran

155.Will I need an umbrella?

156.Those who are born in the wave and keep in it do not see the depression

and what is there – Unknown

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Hyderabad ToastmastersInspiring Leadership…

We would love to have you attend one of our meetings….

Hyderabad Toastmasters is the first community club in the City of Pearls.

HTM has a lovely mix of people ranging from IT Professionals,

Entrepreneurs, Doctors, Students, Home-makers, Government

Employees (India Post, no less!), Sales executives and youngsters

enhancing their skills while looking for work opportunities! Also, amongst

our members are past Division Governors and District officers, District

and Division level speech contest winners. Just a few reasons, why HTM

is referred to as the “Lighthouse Club of Hyderabad”.

We have our meetings on the second & fourth Sunday of every month

and I say with pride that we have not cancelled a single meeting, except

for one owing to a bandh.

We have had the opportunity to host several visiting Toastmasters and

guests from Australia, the Middle East, Europe, USA, Sri Lanka and of

course all over India. Their calls have indeed made our meetings very

exciting and their thoughts and ideas have without a doubt enriched our

TM experience. We at HTM look forward to having you as our guest!!

To attend a meeting, you may RSVP on our websitehttp://www.meetup.com/hyderabadtoastmasters.

The website will give you details of the meeting time, venue and also

availability of seats.

So when in Hyderabad, do drop in!

You can also get in touch with our VP-Membership TM Sudha on

[email protected] to attend meetings of Hyderabad

Toastmasters.

Salil Ganeriwal

President, Hyderabad Toastmasters (2013-14)

Email: [email protected]

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http://www.meetup.com/hyderabadtoastmasters

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.meetup.com/hyderabadtoastmasters



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Impromptu Speaking - Tips and Topics