Fun Ideas for Toastmasters Table Topics Questions

This article explains how to improve impromptu public speaking skills either by attending a Toastmasters meeting or incorporating public speaking games into your family routines. 15 buckets of fun themed questions are provided to get you started.

What is Toastmasters?

Toastmasters is an educational organization that builds confidence and teaches public speaking skills through a worldwide network of clubs that meet online and in person.  I can personally attest that in my 20+ year career, Toastmasters made the biggest impact on my professional development by a factor of 100.  Anxiety speaking in front of others is what led me to start attending meetings and the work that I put in to strengthen my mental fortitude and tactical speaking skills continues to serve me well in both professional and social speaking situations.  Strong communication skills are essential in nearly every single profession and can help you rise in your career more quickly.  They can also help build confidence for letting your voice be heard in social, community and even household speaking situations.  

What is Table Topics?

Table Topics is the impromptu speech part of a Toastmasters club meeting.  There is a designated Table Topics master who is in charge of introducing this part of the meeting. Participation is voluntary and doesn’t require advance preparation or sign-up for club members.  Each question the Table Topics master poses will be unique and therefore each participant has an opportunity to practice answering a question that they did not know in advance, in front of other audience members. Table Topics helps members simulate how to react during the impromptu public speaking moments that invariably occur in life such as…

• You are at a meeting or event and are asked to introduce yourself to the group and share something interesting about yourself.
• You are called upon to answer a question or share a thought during a work or social event meeting.
• Even just regular conversation or small talk with a group of people can be considered impromptu speaking as you haven’t put together prepared thoughts on a topic.

The more we practice putting ourselves into these impromptu situations, the better we will become at managing any mental or physical stress that can accompany public speaking and / or feeling like you have been put on the spot. 

Family Table Topics to Practice at Home

What if you love the idea of Toastmasters Table Topics but it is just not feasible for you to attend a meeting on a regular basis?  Introduce a fun Table Topics session in your home.  Kids, just like adults, are faced with impromptu public speaking moments all the time.  Practicing at home, in a comfortable environment, introduces the public speaking learning process early and ideally builds confidence with this important skill. My kids love any games that have to do with categories or themes.  Below are Table Topics questions organized into themes to get you started.  Take turns being the Table Topics master and, if you plan in advance, you can have your kids come up with their own fun ideas, themes and questions.  You’ll be amazed at the great ideas creative minds bring to the game. You can incorporate Table Topics into family dinnertime or game night.

Family Themes

Table Topics Participant: PREPARING FOR YOUR QUESTION

Since Table Topics is aimed to help participants practice impromptu public speaking, there is not a way to prepare for your question.  What you can do however, is come to the meeting with a growth mindset and be willing to accept whatever question is asked of you.  Public speaking is nerve wracking for so many people and it can cause physical manifestations of stress that include a racing heart, sweating, dizziness and more.  The human fear of failure and being judged by others is strong and is often the cause of these physical symptoms.  The butterflies may never go away completely but the good news is that the more we practice, the less intimidating public speaking becomes, and those unwelcome physical and mental feelings start to lessen. 

There is a very real possibility that a response to the question posed to you won’t immediately come to mind.  Remind yourself that you are in safe company and are participating to become better prepared for impromptu questions and conversations that will inevitably come your way in life.  It is perfectly ok to silently reflect on the question while you think of how to begin.  Don’t feel like you need to immediately begin speaking or fill the air with filler words such as “um….hmmm…” if nothing comes to mind right away while you think.  Silence can be golden and often takes discipline to exercise.  Also, what may feel like minutes of pause to you is probably only a few seconds in reality!

PREPARING TO BE THE TABLE TOPICS MASTER

The role of table topics master is to come prepared with 6-8 questions as the Table Topics session usually lasts 15-20 minutes.  The best Table Topics are ideally ones that the majority of your fellow toastmasters will understand and be able to answer vs. a question that is obscure or super niche.  Try to avoid anything that is potentially controversial such as politics including any polarizing social issues of the moment. If there are new members attending your chapter meeting for the first time, be sure and explain exactly how Table Topics works so that they understand how to participate, time limits, etc.

In terms of the prepared questions, you have a few options. 

• You can pick questions that align with the theme of the meeting, if there is one at your particular Toastmasters club.  To do this, you would need to coordinate in advance with the member picking the theme.  
• You can choose a theme for your Table Topics session that is independent of any broader meeting themes.  For example, you many prepare 6-8 questions around the theme of the Olympics or home improvement
• Your list of questions can be totally random and draw from a variety of categories.

There is really no right answer for how you choose to organize your topic ideas.

Themes

Food

• Tell us about a meal that you ate in the last day.
• Tell us about a meal you cooked in the last week.
• Do you prefer to cook at home on a Friday night or go out to a restaurant?
• Do you think restaurant prices have made dining out unattainable for many?
• Do you use food delivery services such as Door Dash or Uber Eats?
• What do you eat for lunch most days?
• Do you prefer quick service or traditional restaurant dining?
• Do you enjoy cooking, or does it feel like a chore?

Work

• How do you avoid burnout in your career?
• Which alternative career would you pursue, if given the option?
• Is it easy for you to compartmentalize work?
• Tell us about your most inspiring manager.
• What do you do on your commute to work?
• What is the most important thing you have learned in your career?
• Do you plan to stay in your same career until you retire?
• Have you ever considered becoming an entrepreneur?

Table Topics is a fun part of Toastmasters meetings in that it gives people who may not have signed up for a specified speaking role, an opportunity to get up on stage and share a little bit about themselves with the audience.  Above all, whether you are the Table Topics Master or the participant, go into the experience ready to have fun and don’t overthink it!

Related

• A Creative Guide to 100+ Toastmasters Table Topics Questions 
• How to Effectively Practice a Speech or Presentation How to Effectively Practice a Speech or Presentation
• Public Speaking Exercises to Improve Your Speaking Skills 
• What to Wear for an Important Speech or Presentation