Impromptu Speaking… Extemporaneous Speaking… Table Topics… Speaking “off the cuff”… are all part of our everyday experiences. The more ambitious and concerned you are about upward mobility, the more you need to be prepared for those common occurrences. Even if you rehearse an elevator speech, you will never know what the introduction will be until the occasion presents itself.
Toastmasters get a reasonable amount of exposure to Table Topics during our regular Club Meetings… and that is great.
But – is it enough?
I guess that depends on what your goals are. Is effective impromptu speaking in our everyday life situations a goal that is worthy of our investment?
If so, then we may want to master the theory and mechanics of impromptu speaking before we begin to take practice seriously. As they say, practice makes perfect, and we usually interpret that in a positive way. But if we practice bad actions, we also create perfectly bad habits.
Like so many of us who do not simply avoid Table Topics altogether, I struggled through a series of impromptu speech tests at my club, until I eventually became good enough at it, at least to win the District 81 Table Topics Championship in 2012.
We all agree that Table Topics is the fun part of our meetings… but there is nothing funny about it. We must be serious and intentional about mastering the skill as we enjoy the fun. You never can tell when your future will be determined by how effectively you delivered an impromptu speech. And, like so many other things, the time to prepare for the future is the present.
Systematic Table Topics training is more than something that will benefit Toastmasters personally. It will benefit us institutionally.
No one in their right mind disputes the great value of the Toastmasters education program. Equally undeniable is the documented need that millions of people have to overcome the fear of public speaking. Also equally undeniable is the fact that impromptu speaking is far more terrifying than delivering a prepared speech, especially on familiar subjects in friendly environments.
Our legacy program featured 16 communication manuals, and our Pathways Learning Experience features even more manuals. There is a need for a Path dedicated to Impromptu Speaking. This will be a win-win achievement for all parties.
Your thoughts, please!
You are invited to share your thoughts on this blog, any other blog, or submit your own on the topic of Impromptu Speaking.
Godfrey E. McAllister, DTM is a 21-year veteran Toastmaster.
