Table Topic Master Guidelines

In a Toastmasters session

Below is a guideline of the Table Topic Master’s script -

Good Afternoon fellow Toastmasters and dear Guests (A greeting is needed that will involve everyone)

I am the Table Topic Master for today. As the TTM-

 I will have the liberty to pick anyone from the crowd and give a topic.
 You will have 1 to 2 minutes to speak on the topic.
 Guests have the liberty to change the topic only once
 But members do not have the freedom to do so.

Table topics helps you think on your feet, it helps you understand how to tackle a situation you are not
prepared for beforehand (You can speak some more on this if you want)

So let us begin,

 When you call up someone and give a topic, announce their names and the topic in the below
format –
Name, Topic(clearly), Topic again (Clearly) name.
This will help the speaker understand the topic properly, and also the evaluator to get the name,
and topic clearly.

 Ask for Volunteers for the first few topics, so that those who are very eager, will be given the
first chance.
 Call up members that you think may need practice.
 Involve guests after a few table topics, call them up, but make sure to give topics that they can
easily speak on (They may not be one from the list below, to identify guests, please mark them
while they introduce themselves at the start of the session, and see how well they can
communicate, it is important to give guests a topic they can speak on, so that they feel more
confident of coming to the podium, and not go back, not wanting to come to the session again).
Also, if you think they are not sure, offer to change the topic.
 Call up members and guests after that till you have time, ideally the section should end by 30
minutes of the scheduled end of the session.
 After the section, ask the timer to read out the time of all the Table Topic Speakers, and hand
over the podium to the Toastmaster of the Day.

Here are a few sample topics, you can choose different topics, but try to keep them thought
provoking topics, that have a twist in the wording, and can enable the speaker to speak on both
sides of the topic. We have found that Inspirational quotes are the best as they are used in contests
similar to the ones in the below list –

 Small things make perfection, but perfection isn’t a small thing.

  Dreams of the future are better than the history of the past
 It is better to have loved and lost, than not to have loved at all
 It is better to be envied than pitied
 He travels fastest, who travels alone
 Everything is funny as long as it happens to somebody else.
 Jealousy is as cruel as the grave
 What’s in a name?
 Two roads diverged, and I took the one less traveled by
 The butterfly counts not months, but moments
 The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining
 The more we elaborate, the less we communicate
 Loose lips, sink ships

Note: Try and give first chance to members who have are not playing any roles in that session so that
they feel more involved. After that involve smaller role players like the Ah counter compared to
someone who has already spoken as a Prepared speaker, TMOD or GE.