In thinking about Scott Adams discussion of active listening, I wanted to apply it to table topics.

How often do we, as Table Topics Masters, ask a question, and not care about the answer?  I think it is most of the time.  I know I have been guilty of it.  Revelling in the genius of my questions, rather than caring about the answer.

I think we could make a huge difference in the quality of table topics if we first and foremost care about the answer we receive.  When we care about that answer, we will ask a different question.  Illiciting a story that engages the audience should be the goal.

Think about this the next time you are Table Topics Master and let me know how it goes.

Do you find it difficult to give specific feedback to a single person when you are performing a table topics Evaluation?

Often table topics is the most feared aspect of a Toastmasters meeting.  The Table Topic Evaluator may feel like saying, “just answering the question at all was good enough”, when really they know a number of areas the speaker could improve.

One technique that is very useful in this situation is to use the another speaker as an example:

“I loved how you used gestures in your table topics.  They were both fluid and natural.  I didn’t see the other table topics speakers do that, so it stood out for me even more.  Your gestures today really made your topic come alive, especially when you were describing the hippopotamus!   Fellow Toastmasters, when you give a Table Topic speech, try to remember to use your gestures as you would in a regular speech.”

I just got back from the Sunset Division Toastmaster contest.  We had both the Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests.

The table topics question was very simple and succinct.

If you were 18 again.

It was interesting how similar that question is to the Area Contest question.  The Area contest question was:

If you could go back to when you were 10 years old, what advice would you give yourself.

When you next hear any table topics question, spend some time thinking about it and give it your best shot with all the hindsight you can muster.  What answer could you have given?  How could you have knocked it out of the park.  Internalize this answer.  After a while you will start giving these answers without the need for hindsight.

Do this for every question you hear for the next year and you will most likely be the one holding the trophy.

For Table Topics contests, here are 7 tips for great questions:

1. It should be short.
2. It should be simple.
3. It should be about something that everyone knows about.
4. It should not reference TV shows.
5. It should be politically correct.
6. It should not play with people’s emotions.
7. It should be open ended – not too specific.

The bottom line is this.  If you, as the Table Topics Master, follow the 7 tips above, and can personally come up with 2 great answers to your question off the top of your head, then you have a great question.

In the previous post I gave 7 example Table Topics questions primarily for use in contests.  Some were great, and some were not so great.  Here is my analysis.  Please leave your own comments below.

1. You wake up to find yourself on a desert island.  The sun is setting on the horizon.  You don’t have long before you are going to be engulfed in complete darkness.  You have no idea who you are or what you are doing here.  What do you do?

Bad! – This question takes too long to ask.  The question is too detailed.  It seems like an episode of Alias or 24.  It is not likely something that many people have given much thought too, except maybe Tom Hanks.

2. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Great! – A simple question, easy to ask.  I have yet to find one person that doesn’t like at least 1 animal.  The answer will tell us something about the person.

3. In the TV show Heroes, characters in the show have different “super powers.”  If you were on the show, what super power would you have and why?

Bad! – There’s an unnecessary reference to a TV show.  Not everyone will have seen the show.  Take out that reference and just simply ask people what super power they would like to have and why.

4. Your daughter’s pet hampster died today.  Your daughter is going to be distraught.  It is your job to break the news to her.  What do you tell her?

Bad! – Don’t play with people’s emotions.  Don’t ask a question that someone might not want to answer in a contest situation.

5. You have inherited $1M.  What charitable organizations do you donate to and why?

Bad! – This is almost a great question.  My problem with the question for a contest situation is that the charitable piece is unnecessary.  Why limit the creativity of the contestants?  Let them run wild with how they want to spend the money.

6. What is your favorite olympic sport and why?

Great! – This is almost bad!  Some people detest sports.  Still, it would be difficult to avoid the olympic games this year.  It would be trivial to turn the question around if you didn’t like sports.  The question is short and simple.

7. You are 14 years old.  Your Dad just came home from work to find out that you haven’t completed your schoolwork.  What is the most far-fetched excuse you can come up with as to why you haven’t done it?

Bad! – Too many criteria.  Why make the assertion that you are 14 years old?  The contestant may feel compelled to think of something that happened when they were 14.  The whole setup is unnecessary.  Having the Dad character is not needed.