When was the last time you were completely stumped by a question, a request, or a situation you found yourself in? How did you handle it?
I am no longer tricked by curve balls. As a Toastmaster for the last 4 years, I practice dealing with curve balls every week in our impromptu speaking section called Table Topics.
The idea behind this part of the program is to learn to deal with curve balls—efficiently and effectively. The Table Topics master (Toastmaster in-charge of the section), draws up a list of questions and fellow Toastmasters are required to speak on the topic for 1 minute with no notice. The questions are usually related to the theme for the meeting and are unusual.
Once a year, Toastmaster International runs a Table Topics competition and all Toastmasters against compete with each other. Last month, I won our club’s Table Topics competition and next weekend I will compete in the Area competition for our club. Here’s hoping that I can handle this curve ball when it is thrown my way.
If you struggle with what to say, consider looking into developing your skills further in a Toastmasters club in your area. http://www.toastmasters.org/