Facing Table Topics

Table topics is a part of the Toastmasters meeting that fills some members with fear; other people come to the meeting just to participate in Table Topics.

Extemporaneous speaking. It happens all day long. Chat at the water cooler. Meet a friend while standing in line. Answer the boss' unexpected question about your project. All these are just practice for tabletopics and the beneficiaries of tabletopic practice. There's nothing to fear from these chance daily discussions and there's nothing to fear from tabletopics.

Guest are never required to participate but are usually given the opportunity. Back before I joined Toastmasters and I was visiting a club I occasionally declined to do tabletopics. And I kicked myself all the way home! Yes, tabletopics can be challenging, but there is a good deal of pleasure and satisfaction in rising to a challenge and succeeding.

1. Smile! It will make you feel good, more confident and more relaxed. It also pleases the audience.
2. Remember the word of the day and use it in the first sentence you say. If you postpone it you may well forget to use it at all. If you use it in the first sentence, even if it's a sentence you planned before you heard the topic, everyone will be so impressed that they will respect the rest of the Topic response no matter what you say. And once you have the first sentence out you will have something to build on and momentum to keep you going.
3. If your mind is blank at the beginning of table topics then ask the Topicmaster to repeat the question. Use this time to think of an answer or at least an opening line to two. This will let you appear careful and precise to your audience.
4. If you have nothing to say then say nothing. If you're not done then be silent and think. This will appear to be a dramatic pause. It appears sage as you let your audience digest what you've already said. And it keeps from offending the Ah-Counter, better silence (except in radio) than Ahs!
5. If you need a little more time to think of a reply then greet your audience: "Mr/Ms Topic master, fellow toastmasters, and guests." There, you've politely introduced yourself and bought yourself another 10 seconds to think. Just make sure this is a Toastmasters meeting before using the exact wording described, it would not go over well if you are addressing the U.N. General Assembly!
6. Now we're down to the emergency techniques.
   • If you can't talk about the topic, maybe you can talk about how hard it is to talk about the topic! It's better to address the topic, but if you can't then go off on a tangent: tell a story related to it, describe how it affects you, tell a joke that relates (if you know a clean one that is appropriate to the topic).
   • You may me able to request a different topic. Some clubs and topicmasters (most actually) will have no objection to giving an alternate. Remember they've been on the receiving end of hard topics too.
   • Finally, if all else fails: Talk about something else. This is to be avoided unless the topic is really impossible. You can just announce that you've decided that you really must address someone else's topic because it is so pertinent to you. Or say you have something important to you that you want the tell the group. Some topicmasters will threaten to give you the same topic next meeting (so you should work out a response before then, but that gives you plenty of time to work out a response). You might even be able to use this to your advantage: Say that you once failed to respond to a topic, you've been bothered by it since then, and NOW you want to respond to it.

Do not fear the Toastmaster Club as an audience. Unlike most audiences every member has been the speaker at sometime, and expects to be again. This is one of the most receptive audiences you can find. Any comments will be constructive advice on how to do better next time.

Toastmasters do not throw stones.