by Mary Augustine, CL, ALB,
Toastmaster has helped me grow in so many ways both professionally and personally, but the specific tool that made the magic happen outside my comfort zone is Table Topics. I went to my first Toastmasters meeting with a large fear of public speaking, so large I have a visible physical reaction when asked to speak. I was nauseous, vulnerable, sweaty and might I say nearly frozen in my tracks. I went to the meeting hoping to be able to speak in front of a large group of people and lose my fear overtime. I was fine with speaking one on one, am usually pretty witty, friendly, and social enough to make small talk; so, I thought. Until I tried Table Topics…
Table Topics became my worst enemy. It is not your usual couple of word reply, or 2-3 sentence reply to a co-worker, your boss, or the neighbor down the street. It is a reply that needs structure: an intro, a couple of points, and a conclusion all to state back the answer to the person giving you the topic and typically in front of a large group of people. Add some humor, dramatic pauses, and a quick story and you can win a Table Topics competition.
Table Topics is an art form and takes plenty of practice to perfect. Once you get the hang of it, it is an invaluable tool. Imagine being asked by your boss, in front a group of coworkers, what are your thoughts on how to improve a process at work.
Well boss, thank you for asking me this question. I have so many ideas about how to improve this process, and I am so glad to share them with all of you. First, I would take the existing process and tweak it by doing “this”, it’s a minor improvement and will make all the difference. Second, I would add “this” step to the process to alleviate the confusion. And last, I would take out step 5 to make it more efficient. Step 5 is redundant to Step 2. Tweaking the process, adding “this” and taking out Step 5; in my opinion, would speed up our efficiency and should save 2-3 days of time and save us an estimated $ amount.
It’s still only 5 sentences, less than a 2-minute speech, but so impactful! Who would think something that takes 2 minutes per meeting would help you grow?
Mary is a member of Wichita Downtown Toastmasters Club #4989 and is a Past Area Director for A22.