How to Relieve the Pressure of Tabletopics

In a Toastmasters meeting, Table Topics is the activity which allows everyone to practice inpromptu speaking. It gives the performer the opportunity to practice organizing and delivering his or her thought under fire. To be sure, it has the potential to raise one's pressure ad cause incoherent babble, alas, for too many of us.

For Toastmasters, the key to success is to be prepared and to be bold. Risk putting your thinking process to work. It may result in the proverbial stretch which leads to new ability. However, the task should be approached with anticipation and courage, not fear and hesitation. For those who could use a sure-fire recipe, it is only necessary to remember the characteristics that make a good speech and apply them on a small scale.

I have developed an acronlym which will allow you to remember this recipe. Thus when you are called upon to participate in Table Topics, you will keep the pressure low and enhance your level of success. The recipe is as follows:

Call the audience to attention by a question, fact, statistic, gesture or other vocal means. Tell them what you will tell them, tell them what you have to tell, tell them why you told them using the following four elements:

Organize your Table Topics speech to:

P - make a point, state your opinion, related to the subject given by the Table Topics Master.
R - give a reason for your statement, briefly, clearly, in a rational fashion
E - explain your point or statement and give an example to illustrate, clarify
S - summarize your idea concluding on your initial statement

If for any reason the subject given is foreign or you have precious little to say about it, look upon the challenge as an opportunity to be creative and make use of lateral thinking. Use the subject to launch yourself through comparison or analogy into an area or subject that you are comfortable with. Or even simpler, clearly state that the subject "is interesting and immediately brings to mind an experience I had in another field...". In this way, you can greatly reduce the babble and apply the PRES technique.

NOTE: Table Topics should be an opportunity for every toastmaster to release the child in us and give a free hand to our imagination and humour.

You will note that PRES is the root of the word PRESSURE and is used to remind yourself that there is no pressure in delivering a Table Topic if you keep in mind the simple recipe I have suggested.