Mastering Table Topics

Front Cover - Mastering Table Topics Second Edition

Get 750 questions and learn how to answer them. Mastering Table Topics will help you develop your impromptu speaking skills by taking you step-by-step from being asked a question to delivering a well-structured and powerful speech.

What are Table Topics?

Table Topics help you practice answering questions — the type of speaking you do every day. You are asked a question, and you have to come up with an answer of one to two minutes in length. You learn to think on your feet and speak off the cuff.

Sounds easy? Like playing checkers or riding a bike, Table Topics are easy to learn, but requires dedicated practice to master. Mastering Table Topics will help you develop the skills you need to become a better impromptu speaker. It also contains questions that stimulate your imagination and challenge your thinking. Table Topics are fun!

What skills do you learn?

You will learn how to create a concise speech in a short amount of time. Learn how to listen to a question, choose the facts you want to cover, and structure your talk so it is easy for you to deliver and for the audience to remember. Use a few simple steps, and you’re ready to speak!

What type of questions do you have?

Mastering Table Topics includes questions on a variety of subjects: workplace situations, holidays, personal values, history, and many more. It also includes questions from past Toastmasters Table Topics contests. These questions stimulate your imagination and thinking, but they include simpler questions that won’t intimidate newer speakers. Want to try some? Here are a few:

  • It seems like every office has some sort of goody table with treats on it. What is your favorite snack at the office and why?
  • Anne Bradstreet wrote, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” What does this mean to you?
  • What song is your personal anthem? What does it mean to you?
  • You are visiting another country with a tour group and got separated from your traveling companions. You find yourself stuck in a village where no one speaks your language. What do you do?
  • Why do the most worthwhile things in life require the most effort?

I’m convinced! Where do I buy it?

Order Mastering Table Topics in paperback and eBook from these booksellers:

How do I learn more about Table Topics?

Follow my Twitter feed for more Table Topic questions and visit my website for topics on public speaking and (coming soon) reviews of other Table Topics products.

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