{"id":1357,"date":"2009-04-02T06:16:12","date_gmt":"2009-04-02T13:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/?p=1357"},"modified":"2009-04-28T11:04:41","modified_gmt":"2009-04-28T18:04:41","slug":"for-toastmasters-table-topics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alephnaught.com\/Blog\/2009\/04\/02\/for-toastmasters-table-topics\/","title":{"rendered":"For Toastmasters: Table Topics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Toastmasters<\/a> is a structured program to learn how to give good speeches.\u00c2\u00a0 One section of a meeting is called “Table Topics,” which is an opportunity for people to speak extemporaneously.\u00c2\u00a0 It can be hard to develop good Table Topics questions, so I’d like to suggest two that worked (very well, I got a lot of laughs and applause) for me in our local club<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I call this set of questions, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.”\u00c2\u00a0 The questions are all related to Monty Python but do not require any previous knowledge of it.\u00c2\u00a0 Its best delivered with a bad British accent (I grabbed a recording of the theme music from the television show and played it from my cell phone while approaching the lecturn).\u00c2\u00a0 Here are the questions I asked:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What is your quest?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What is your favorite color?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What is the air speed of an unladen swallow?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Why does nobody expect the Spanish Inquisition?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What did you learn at the Ministry of Silly Walks?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What was your last experience with deja-vu, that strange feeling we sometimes get that we’ve lived through something before?\u00c2\u00a0 (repeat it once)
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Is the Norwegian blue parrot dead?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What is the capital of Assyria?<\/p>\n

The second questions I call, “Which One and Why.”\u00c2\u00a0 Here are the questions I asked:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The place where I live is like a boat – which one and why?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 My life is like a river – which one and why?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 My coworkers see me as an architectural structure – which one and why?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I am like a famous person, living or dead – which one and why?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 My friends would say I’m like a song – which one and why?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I am like an office supply – which one and why?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I am like my pet – which one and why?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I see the world as a container – which one and why?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nTranslate<\/span><\/a>\"\"\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toastmasters is a structured program to learn how to give good speeches.\u00c2\u00a0 One section of a meeting is called “Table Topics,” which is an opportunity for people to speak extemporaneously.\u00c2\u00a0 It can be hard to develop good Table Topics questions, so I’d like to suggest two that worked (very well, I got a lot of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2363],"tags":[508,2364],"class_list":["post-1357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-toastmasters","tag-table-topics","tag-toastmasters"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t