What a great opportunity it was to hear from the exciting Thomas Skipwith, DTM and District 59 Table Topics Winner (2010 in German), who led our Toastmasters Table Topics Workshop yesterday – Saturday, 20 February 2016.
The workshop, organised by Nuremberg Toastmasters, was well attended by Toastmasters from the various Toastmaster clubs in Nuremberg and Erlangen. There were a lot of new members as well as guests participating, making it a great get to know you event.
During the workshop we learnt, and got to practice, two techniques that gave us more structure when responding to Table Topics. All participants walked away with great confidence ready for any future challenging questions.
One of the techniques we learnt was the Past, Present and Future (PPF). Participants found this technique easy to remember and when combined with trigger words such as ‘that reminds me of a time’ and ‘Nowadays’ to ‘looking ahead to the future’, you could see fellow members, and even guests, grow after each practice we did.
Thomas also encouraged us to not only use the techniques we had just learnt, but to also try and dig deeper into the subject by including our own personal virtues, which would help us connect more with our audience. What are your personal virtues? Maybe its Honesty, Humility or Humbleness. Try including one of yours in your next speech or Table Topic.
Thomas ran a fantastic workshop motivating even the most experienced Toastmasters. Everyone benefited greatly, including our new club members and guests who were very keen to join the club afterwards.
Thank you Thomas Skipwith for facilitating such a rewarding event!!
Thomas Skipwith is a speaker, trainer, coach and author for public speaking. He is the founder and CEO of the DESCUBRIS Institute in Zurich. You can find out more by going to www.descubris.ch
If you would like to know more about Table Topics, Toastmasters International or what our club can offer you, we would be glad to welcome you to our next meeting. Please send a short email letting us know to our Vice President Membership – Alexander Theile.
Come along and experience Toastmasters!
We look forward to your visit.