150 Table Topics questions, with a draw-a-topic timer
Stories
Which trip didn't go to plan, and what happened next?
0:00
Green at 1:00, yellow at 1:30, red at 2:00.
Good Table Topics questions are open, need no special knowledge and can be answered in a minute or two by anyone in the room. Here are 150 of them in seven themes, for a Toastmasters meeting, a team meeting or the dinner table. Draw one above and the timer shows green, yellow and red at the standard marks.
What is Table Topics?
Table Topics is the impromptu speaking part of a Toastmasters meeting. One member, the Topicsmaster, asks a question nobody has seen in advance and calls on someone in the room. That person stands up and answers for 1 to 2 minutes, with no notes and no time to prepare.
A timer keeps track with three lights. The usual marks are green at 1 minute, yellow at 1 minute 30 seconds and red at 2 minutes. The aim is to reach green and to wrap up at red.
It exists because most speaking at work is unprepared: a question in a meeting, an update nobody warned you about, a client who asks what you think. Table Topics is a low-stakes place to practice exactly that, which is why it moves so easily from a club to a team meeting.
150 Table Topics questions, by theme
Seven themes. Start a new group on work or stories, and bring in opinions and leadership once people are comfortable.
25 Table Topics questions about work
The safest start for a team: everyone has an answer, and you learn how your colleagues think about the job.
- 1.Which piece of criticism turned out to be right, and what did you do about it?
- 2.Which skill did you learn on the job that no class could have taught you?
- 3.Which part of your job would you keep if you could drop all the rest?
- 4.Which meeting would you cancel for good, and what would you put in its place?
- 5.When did a customer or a colleague last change your mind?
- 6.What's a mistake that turned out to be the best thing that happened to a project?
- 7.Which tool could you not do your job without, and why that one?
- 8.What would you tell someone on their first day in your role?
- 9.What did a job you didn't enjoy teach you about the work you want to do?
- 10.How do you know when a piece of work is finished?
- 11.What does good teamwork look like when nobody is watching?
- 12.Whose job here would you like to try for a week, and what would you want to learn from it?
- 13.What small change to how we work would save everyone an hour a week?
- 14.When do you do your best thinking, and how do you protect that time?
- 15.Which task did you once dread and now look forward to?
- 16.What does this team do well that we never talk about?
- 17.Which is harder: starting a project or finishing one?
- 18.What's the best way to disagree with a colleague?
- 19.What makes an email worth reading to the end?
- 20.Which work habit have you changed, and what made you change it?
- 21.How should a team mark the end of a big project?
- 22.What would you do with one extra hour in every workday?
- 23.What's the difference between being busy and being productive?
- 24.When has a tight deadline brought out your best work?
- 25.What does a good handover look like?
20 opinion and debate questions
Small arguments with no wrong side. The speaker picks a position in the first sentence and defends it.
- 26.Is it better to arrive early or exactly on time?
- 27.Should every meeting have a hard limit of 30 minutes?
- 28.Are handwritten notes better than typed ones?
- 29.Is it better to know a little about everything or everything about one thing?
- 30.Do first impressions matter as much as we think?
- 31.Should cameras be on in every video meeting?
- 32.Is competition good for a team?
- 33.Is it better to read one great book twice or two good books once?
- 34.Is it better to ask for permission or for forgiveness?
- 35.Does practice make perfect, or does it just make permanent?
- 36.Which should everyone learn first: to cook, to budget or to change a tire?
- 37.Which matters more in the long run: talent or effort?
- 38.Is it better to plan every detail of a trip or none of it?
- 39.Are open offices a good idea?
- 40.Is multitasking a skill or a myth?
- 41.Should you finish every book you start?
- 42.Is a phone call better than a message when the news is bad?
- 43.Would you take four longer workdays over five shorter ones?
- 44.Does technology give us more free time or less?
- 45.Is it better to be the first to try something new or to wait until it's proven?
20 hypothetical questions
No one can be wrong about a thing that hasn't happened. Good for nervous first-timers.
- 46.If you could add one subject to every school's timetable, what would it be and why?
- 47.If you were handed a billboard on the busiest road in town, what would you put on it?
- 48.If you could sit down with the person you were ten years ago, what would you talk about?
- 49.If you could master one instrument overnight, where would you play it first?
- 50.If you had to teach a one-hour class tomorrow, what would it be about?
- 51.If your town gave you an empty building, what would you open in it?
- 52.If you could watch any moment in history from a safe seat, which would you choose?
- 53.If you could ask the whole world one survey question, what would you ask?
- 54.If you could give every child one experience, what would it be?
- 55.If you could rename the town you live in, what would you call it and why?
- 56.If you could live for a year in a city you've never visited, which would you choose?
- 57.If you could fix one everyday annoyance for everyone, which would you pick?
- 58.If every building in your town had to be painted one color, which color and why?
- 59.If you could apprentice with any craftsperson for a month, which craft would you choose?
- 60.If you could have a conversation with one animal, which would you choose and what would you ask?
- 61.If you could be a world expert in something for one day only, what would you do with it?
- 62.If you had to give up your phone or your car for a year, which one goes?
- 63.If you could keep only one book, one film and one song, which would they be?
- 64.If you could bring back one thing from your childhood, what would it be?
- 65.If you could put on a festival in your town, what would it celebrate?
Need more of these? Our what if questions are all hypotheticals.
25 storytelling questions
The easiest answers to give, because the speaker already knows how the story ends. Ask for one moment, not a life history.
- 66.Which trip didn't go to plan, and what happened next?
- 67.What's the story behind your name or a nickname you've had?
- 68.Which meal do you still think about, and who was at the table?
- 69.What's the longest you've ever waited for something, and was it worth it?
- 70.When did you last get caught in the rain, and what happened next?
- 71.Who went out of their way for you when they didn't have to?
- 72.Which ritual of yours started by accident?
- 73.What were you sure you'd hate and ended up loving?
- 74.When did you get completely lost, and how did you find your way?
- 75.When did you surprise someone, and how did it turn out?
- 76.What's the story behind the best photo you've ever taken?
- 77.What was the first thing you saved up to buy?
- 78.What's the best thing you ever won, and how did you win it?
- 79.Which hobby did you give up and still miss?
- 80.When were you part of an audience you'll never forget?
- 81.What skill did someone in your family pass down to you?
- 82.What's the hardest you've ever laughed, and what set it off?
- 83.Which object have you kept for years, and why can't you part with it?
- 84.When did you take a risk that paid off?
- 85.What's the most memorable thing you've seen from a window seat?
- 86.Which day would you happily live again, exactly as it was?
- 87.What's the first thing you remember being really good at?
- 88.Who did you meet by chance who became important to you?
- 89.What challenge did you take on just to prove you could?
- 90.What have you built, grown or fixed that you're still proud of?
20 funny Table Topics questions
A serious speech about a silly subject. The straighter the speaker plays it, the better it lands.
- 91.What would a pigeon's guide to your city recommend?
- 92.What would your front door say about the people who use it?
- 93.Which kitchen utensil deserves an award, and what would it say in its acceptance speech?
- 94.How would you sell a single paper clip to this room?
- 95.What's your official complaint to the inventor of the alarm clock?
- 96.Why is the sandwich the greatest invention of all time?
- 97.What would you say in a farewell speech to your oldest pair of shoes?
- 98.How would you explain the internet to someone from the year 1800?
- 99.What would you change first if you were put in charge of your street for a week?
- 100.Why does Monday deserve a second chance?
- 101.What would a tour guide say about your kitchen?
- 102.Which vegetable would make the best motivational speaker, and what's its message?
- 103.How would you defend a dog accused of eating the homework?
- 104.What would you say to convince a cat to take a bath?
- 105.What review would you leave for this week's weather?
- 106.What would the instruction manual for you say on page one?
- 107.Why should every office have an official nap time?
- 108.You've just won an award for something very ordinary. What is it, and what's your speech?
- 109.What would you say at the grand opening of a store that sells only left socks?
- 110.Which button on the TV remote matters most, and how would life fall apart without it?
For quick laughs that take ten seconds, not two minutes, see our funny icebreaker questions.
20 seasonal and holiday questions
For the meeting nearest a holiday or a change of season. None of them assume which holidays anyone celebrates.
- 111.What's the first sign that your favorite season has arrived?
- 112.What would you like to be able to say about this year when it ends?
- 113.How would you spend the longest day of the year?
- 114.Which holiday tradition would you keep forever, and which would you happily retire?
- 115.What's your plan for the extra hour when the clocks go back?
- 116.What are you thankful for this year that you didn't see coming?
- 117.What's the best thing to do on the first cold evening of the year?
- 118.Which food tastes like one particular time of year to you?
- 119.What's the best thing about the first week of January?
- 120.Which month would you make twice as long, and what would you do with it?
- 121.Which spring cleaning job do you put off the longest, and why?
- 122.What makes a long weekend feel long?
- 123.What's the best summer you remember, and what made it?
- 124.Which back-to-school memory still makes you smile?
- 125.How do you like to mark the end of a year?
- 126.What gets you through the darkest weeks of winter?
- 127.What small, inexpensive gift would you be delighted to receive?
- 128.What's the first thing you do when the weather finally turns warm?
- 129.Which dish has to be on the table for it to feel like a holiday?
- 130.What belongs on a team bucket list for the next three months?
20 leadership questions
For manager meetings and leadership programs. They ask for a view and a reason, which is most of what leading out loud is.
- 131.Who's the best leader you've worked with, and what did they do that others didn't?
- 132.What's the difference between a manager and a leader?
- 133.When is it right to change your mind in public?
- 134.Which value won't you trade away, and when was it tested?
- 135.How do you earn trust on a new team?
- 136.What's the hardest feedback you've had to give, and how did you give it?
- 137.What does it mean to lead when you're not in charge?
- 138.When did you last ask for help, and what did it teach you?
- 139.Which habit has made you better at what you do?
- 140.How do you decide when you don't have enough information?
- 141.What does every team need to hear from its leader?
- 142.When should a leader step back and let the team struggle?
- 143.Which question changed the way you think about your work?
- 144.How do you keep going when motivation runs out?
- 145.What would you tell someone who is about to lead a team for the first time?
- 146.Which goal have you set that scared you a little?
- 147.Where do you see courage on an ordinary day at work?
- 148.Who do you learn from now, and what are they teaching you?
- 149.What's the kindest way to say no?
- 150.What do you want to be known for five years from now?
How to answer a Table Topics question
You get about two seconds to plan. A fixed shape does the planning for you: point, reason, example, point.
- Point. Answer the question in your first sentence. Pick a side, even if you could argue both.
- Reason. Say why, in one or two sentences.
- Example. Tell one short story or give one detail that proves it. This is the part people remember.
- Point again. Say your first sentence in new words, and stop talking.
A worked answer
“Which is harder: starting a project or finishing one?”
- Point:
- Finishing is harder, and it isn't close.
- Reason:
- Starting runs on excitement. Finishing runs on discipline, long after the excitement has left.
- Example:
- I painted my kitchen in one weekend. The trim around the window took me until August, and every morning it looked back at me over my coffee.
- Point:
- So give me a blank page any day. It's the last ten percent that tests you.
Said out loud, that is about half a minute. Stretch the example with one more detail and you are at the green light.
Three other shapes that work
- Past, present, future. For "how has this changed" questions: what you used to think, what you think now, what you expect next.
- Story, then lesson. For storytelling questions: set the scene in one sentence, say what happened, and end on what you took from it.
- Two sides, then yours. For opinion questions you feel torn on: give the best case for each side in a sentence, then choose.
Five habits of a good answer
- Take the pause. Two seconds of silence before you start feels long to you and looks calm to everyone else.
- Choose one idea. A minute and a half holds one point and one example. Three points turn into a list.
- Stuck? Answer the question next door. Say how you're taking it and go: "I can't think of a trip that went wrong, but I can tell you about a dinner that did."
- Skip the apology. Don't open with "I'm not sure" or "this is hard". Open with your answer.
- Know your last line. When the light turns green, start heading for it. Ending on purpose beats trailing off with "so, yeah".
How to run Table Topics at work
You need a list of questions, a timer and ten minutes. Three roles cover it.
- One person asks. Toastmasters calls this role the Topicsmaster. They pick the questions ahead of time, or draw them with the timer above, and call on the speakers.
- One person times. Share the timer on screen or hold up green, yellow and red cards. The speaker should be able to see the light without turning around.
- Everyone else listens. Phones down, cameras on. Being listened to closely for 90 seconds is rare at work, and it is half of why this is worth doing.
The session, step by step
- Set the frame. Say it out loud: this is practice, not a test. Each answer runs 1 to 2 minutes, and anyone can pass or ask for a different question.
- Ask the question, then say the name. In that order. For two seconds everybody in the room is working out an answer, not only the person who gets called.
- Start the clock on the first word. Green at 1:00 means you've reached the minimum. Yellow at 1:30 means wrap up. Red at 2:00 means finish the sentence you're in.
- Applaud every answer. On a call, use reactions. The clap is for standing up and speaking, not for how polished it was.
- Give one line of feedback, if the group wants it. Name one thing that worked: a clear first sentence, a good example, a strong ending. Save critiques for people who ask.
- Close with thanks. Many Toastmasters clubs vote for a best Table Topics speaker. At work, thanking everyone who spoke is usually enough.
How long it takes
- Allow about 3 minutes a speaker: the question, the answer and the applause.
- 10 minutes at the start of a team meeting fits 3 speakers.
- 15 minutes fits 5 speakers, which is a comfortable session.
- With more than 8 people, don't try to reach everyone in one go. Rotate speakers week to week.
8 Table Topics ideas beyond questions
For the week when a plain question starts to feel predictable. The timing stays the same.
- Finish the sentence. Give the first half and let the speaker take it: "The best thing about Mondays is..."
- Object from a bag. The speaker pulls out an everyday object and sells it to the room, or tells the story of where it has been.
- Picture prompt. Show a photo. The speaker tells the room what happened one minute before it was taken.
- Defend the other side. The speaker gives an opinion, then has to argue against it for a minute.
- One word. Hand over a single word, such as "bridges" or "Tuesday", and nothing else.
- Chain story. The first speaker starts a story and stops at the green light. The next speaker picks it up from there.
- News desk. The speaker reports an ordinary office event, like the printer running out of paper, as breaking news.
- Head to head. Two speakers get the same opinion question and opposite sides, one minute each.
For more ways to get people speaking without notes, see our improv games. If a minute or two feels like a lot for a first try, warm up with ten-second rapid fire questions, or let one willing person take a run of hot seat questions.
Table topics for the dinner table
The same idea works at home, at a team dinner or at a holiday table: one good question, and everybody answers.
- One question for the whole table. The person who draws it answers first, then it goes around.
- No timer, or one minute for anyone who likes the challenge.
- Nobody interrupts an answer. Follow-up questions come after it, and they are the best part.
- Anyone can pass, and the youngest person at the table picks the next question.
The Stories, What if and Funny themes suit a table best. Tap one of those chips on the timer at the top and pass the phone around.
Want a live workshop for your team?
Table Topics builds the habit of speaking up. A workshop adds the technique. In Speak Up!, a live facilitator shows your team how to structure a message, deliver it with confidence and handle nerves, in one hour on Zoom (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request). It is one of our team workshops. Book about 2 weeks ahead, or get a free quote.
Two hosted sessions on speaking and presenting, with today’s prices.
Table Topics is a term used by Toastmasters International, and TableTopics is a brand of conversation cards. KraftyLab is not affiliated with either one. This page is an independent guide.
