Here we have a twofold purpose:
* To give everyone in the room an opportunity to speak.
* To get people to learn to think and speak on their feet.
BEFORE THE MEETING:
* Check what the theme is and try to prepare topics associated with the theme, if that is not possible create your own topic.
* Each speaker can be given an individual subject or a choice of subjects may be presented from which the members can draw at random.
AT THE MEETING:
* Briefly state the purpose of the topics sessions.
* Encourage visitors and members to participate.
* Make sure everyone knows the length of time they can speak for. (i.e. 1-2 minutes)
* Check your total time allocated to Table Topics, which will be on the agenda, and adjust the number of speakers accordingly, normally you would call on three or four speakers.
* Keep your comments short, as this is a chance for others to speak.
* Award the Table Topics Trophy to the person you thought should win at the end of the evening.
Tip: If you don’t have any ideas, try do a Google search for “Toastmasters Topic Ideas” or similar. You will find lots of good ideas.
