It is hot in Upper Darby. The kind of heat that takes your breath away when you go outside. The kind of heat that has you sweating before you turn off the shower. The kind of heat that makes you want to sit with a large glass of water in a darkened room.
I was home, thinking about ditching both my clothes and my Toastmasters meeting when my friend Janeane mentioned that Hilary Clinton is paid $200,000 for speaking engagements. Dreams of Hilary Clinton paydays danced in my head and I headed out.
As usual, I am filled with euphoria* that I attended. I love the fellowship I get from the ladies in the group, and I always leave feeling enthused about my next project and inspired by the speeches that were given.
The meeting was an unconventional one. There were no scheduled Prepared Speeches – the speeches that members deliver based on the 10 projects of the basic Communications & Leadership Manual. We did an evening of Impromptu Speeches based on “What’s Hot in Your Life?”
According to the official Toastmasters’ site, “Most of the talking we do every day – simple conversation – is impromptu speaking.**”
Participating in the Table Topics portion during a Toastmasters meeting is an excellent way to get involved. This allows seasoned Toastmasters to think quickly on their feet; gives new members a feel of presenting without the stress of the time requirement of the Prepared Speech; and allows guests to get a feel for public speaking.
The Questions asked were the following:
1. What is a hot ensemble in your closet?
2. What hot weather location do you enjoy?
3. What is the hottest place you’ve gone for vacation?
4. What is hot for you this year?
5. What dish do you like that is hot?
6. What activity can you do in hot weather that cannot be done in cold weather?
7. What gets you hot under the collar?
The answers varied for each person. One woman spoke of her love of cruising (the ship, not the bars) that I’m all set to book a cruise now! Another spoke of her love for lying on the beach and soaking of the sun for her favorite hot weather activity. Another described the sunset in Key West, Florida and that if one hasn’t seen the sun set there, it’’s a sight to behold.
See why I’m always so excited to go to a meeting?
If you’d like to work on your impromptu speaking, head to Toastmasters.org and look for a meeting near you. If you are in the Main Line area, check out my club, Main Line Speaks, at the Bala Cynwyd Library every first and third Monday from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
Be a Toastmaster for a post! In the comments, leave a sentence using “euphoria” and try your hand at the Table Topic Questions.
*The word of the day was euphoria. The definition of euphoria is a feeling of great happiness or well-being.
**Source, Table Topics Speaker. The articulate ad-libber
Thanks for your post. Your blog was the top of my Google search for Table Topics. I borrowed some of your ideas and you inspired me to come up with a few more!
Nicely done Raya!
My eldest daughter is named Euphoria and lack of sleep gets me hot under the collar.
Lack of coffee gets me hot under the collar! I hope Euphoria was tickled when she saw this.