Table Topic Ideas

Table Topic Session is an item during Toastmasters Club Chapter Meeting where each voluntary speaker is given a random conversational topic prepared by the Table Topic Master. The speech will only last one to two minutes. The topic can be absolutely about anything, preferably something that is not too sensitive like topics related to sex, politics and religion.

In the event that you are the Table Topic Master, how are you going to prepare your list of topics?

Ideas for Table Topics can be generated in sevetral ways. The following are a few approach that I have taken in preparing table topics.

    These are just some suggestions but not exhaustive.

    I will be publishing those Past Table Topics that I had prepared in the past and will continue do so in future on this website. You can find the links to my past table topics at the bottom of this page or in the menu.

    Ideas

    General Paper Essay Questions

    The first time I took up the appointment as a Table Topic Master, I took the G.C.E. A-level General Paper Examination Past Year Questions Series. General Paper essay questions centre around current affairs, several topical issues which can be economical or even sceintific in nature. In particular, they can be regarded as general knowledge. For example,

      Books
      • Should capital punishment be abolished?
      • How important is mathematics to the laymen?
      • To what extent is human life in general about the survival of the fittest?

      Such General Paper essay questions need not necessarily be from the actual G.C.E. A-level General Paper Examinations. They can be sourced from individual school examinations, school common assessments or just simply class exercises.

      You can easily buy a past year examination series from a bookshop that sells school textbooks and examination question papers, borrowing from an A-level student or even a teacher, or perhaps just by searching for them on the internet. 

      General Paper questions are meant to be issues that can be argued for and against from many different angles. So they are excellent for discussion. Nevertheless, Table Topic Session is not an examination and the speaker is not be assessed academically and critically like an A-level student who is taking the A-level examination. It only provides the opportunity for the speaker to talk about the issue for one to two minutes.

      Life Challenges

      We face challenges and decision making regularly in life.

      What are you going to do when you come face to face with a challenging situation?

      •  Your boyfriend/girlfriend decided that he/she wants to pursue a postgraduate degree overseas. He/she may possibly even find a job and continue staying there a few more years after his/her graduation. Would you end your relationship with him/her?
      • You found out that this person you have been admiring for a long time is a divorcee. Would you continue to pursue a relationship with him/her?
      • You found out that your spouse who is working with you in the same company has been embezzling the company’s funds. Would you report him/her?
      Challenges

      Proverbs

      There are proverbs aplenty. English proverbs, Chinese proverbs, Spanish proverbs. Almost any race and culture have their own proverbs. Simply type in “proverbs” into the search engine and you will find a list of websites giving you hundreds of proverbs. You can ask the speaker to discuss, comment or challenge the proverbs.

      Proverbs

      English Proverbs

      • A leopard cannot change its spots.
      • All good things come to an end.
      • All that glitters is not gold.

      Spanish Proverbs

      • Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
      • As long as I get what I want, it doesn’t matter what you think.
      • Face up to what is. What is done is done.

      Chinese Proverbs

      • The player is lost, the watcher is lucid.
      • Don’t try to prove what people suspect, or you’ll make your guilt more obvious.
      • Food is the first priority of the people.

      Quotes

      Quotes are like proverbs, but they are not necessarily proverbs. You can find quotes from anywhere, such as:

      • movies
      • lyrics
      • literature
      • famous people

      Quotes From Movies

      I love movies and remember by heart part of those scripts I find especially memorable. There was once I prepared a table topic session based on love quotes from movies.

      • “You don’t want the truth because deep down you don’t talk about it. You can’t handle the truth” – A Few Good Men
      • “We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful…We realize that we are as ourselves unlimited and our experiences valid.” – The Colour Purple 
      • “Everything has an expiry date.” – Chungking Express
        Quotes

        Quotes From Lyrics

        What are your favourite songs? What are those favourite lines of yours from the lyrics? Use them for table topics.

        • “Bitter words mean little to me, autumn winds will blow right through me … when I’m old and wise.” – Old and Wise by Alan Parsons Project
        • “Sorry seems to be the hardest word.” – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word by Elton John
        • “But time makes you bolder, even children get older and I’m getting older, too.” – Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

        Quotes From Literature

        • “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor Hell a fury like a woman scorned” – William Congreve’s ‘The Mourning Bride’
        • “If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.” – William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’
        • “Honest people don’t hide their deeds.” – Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’

        Quotes From Famous People

        • “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
        • “Believe you can and you’re halfway there” – Theodore Roosevelt
        • “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison

        Controversial Issues

        Controversy

        Controversial issues provide a good platform for discussion, so there should be not a shortage of ideas to be shared by the speaker. However, be warned, let it not lead to a heated argument after the meeting.

        • Should there be absolute freedom of speech?
        • Should we allow social media to freely collect not just our personal data but also our internet browsing behaviour?
        • Should we implement minimum wage in our country?

        Current Trends

        What have been going on lately in your pop culture, in your country?

        What is the buzz that has been going on around you?

        Is it the latest mobile phone that Apple is releasing?

        Is it the latest scandal that is going around concerning some celebrity?

        Is it the news that the government is going to increase our Goods and Services Tax?

        • Is it a good idea for Singapore to open up travelling bubble amidst the latest outbreak of a new variant of the virus?
        • Do you think that the latest iPhone is worth buying?
        • How do you intend to spend the SingapoRediscover Vouchers?
        Trends

        Past Table Topics