Impromptu Speech Topics -
to Stretch the Imagination
Coming up with fresh exciting or interesting impromptu speech topics for either a public speaking class or Toastmaster's Club (table topics) can be chore especially if the task is dropped on you at short notice. Try these. The aim is fluency and confidence. Park truth or reality to one side and encourage speakers to allow their imagination to free wheel through the possibilities the topics present. In short, have fun and laugh while you learn! Book Fair Here's a set of impromptu speech topics themed around books with extremely odd titles.
(The titles are real. Google 'odd book titles' and all will be revealed!) I used them at my Toastmaster's Club recently. As a set-up I announced we were at a book fair. We were all writers of extraordinary works and as such it was our challenge to promote our book to would-be book sellers. Each speaker was given a title for which they had to provide a synopsis, say who their intended audience was and why they had written the work. The results were wonderful impromptu speeches full of fun. - Attractive and Affectionate Grave Design
- God's Chewable Vitamin C for the Spirit
- A Theory of Shopping
- Tractors and The Men who Love Them
- Beyond Leaf Raking
- Weeds in a Changing World
- Let's Get Primitive - The Urban Girl's Guide to Camping
- Life on the Refrigerator Door - a Novel in Notes
- Born Standing Up
- Unscrewed - The Consumer's Guide to Getting What You Paid For
- Across Europe on Kangaroos
- Lightweight Sandwich Construction
- The Making of a Moron
- The Haunted Tea Cosy
- Interpersonal Violence: The Practical Series
- From Coherent Tunnelling to Relaxation
Now here's some more themed impromptu speech topics that you can quickly flesh out for yourselves with the aid of the internet. Try: - Acronyms
Gather up a list of 20 that you can reasonably expect that most people will not know.
(Use Mr Google if you can't think of any off the top of your head.)
Ask speakers to explain what the letters stand for, why the abbreviation should be used, the history of it and what derivations there are. - Life as an Object
List how ever many commonplace objects you need to cater for your group.
Examples are wheelbarrows, door handles, mouse pad, stapler, coffee mug, window...You get the idea. Each speaker is to share what life brings them from the perspective of their object. What's good? What's a nightmare? The biggest thrill? - Sentence Starters
Compile a list of starters. The speaker must use that sentence beginning as the basis of their speech.
Examples:
- 'It was a dark and stormy night...'
- 'As soon as I saw it I knew...'
- 'Why didn't you tell me that...?'
- 'She said you're absolutely fabulous.'
- 'I want a large one please.'
- 'My Mother thinks that...'
- 'Small children should never...'
- Bumper Stickers
For this set of impromptu speech topics the speaker must incorporate the bumper sticker phrase into their speech in what ever way they wish.
Examples of bumper sticker sayings:
- 'Caution: I drive like you do!'
- 'Stupidity is not a crime so you’re free to go'
- 'Mothers with teenagers know why animals eat their young'
- 'A nuclear war can ruin your whole day. '
- 'Age is a high price to pay for maturity.'
- 'Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.'
- 'Coffee, Chocolate, Men. Some things are just better rich.'
- 'Do not play a leap frog with a unicorn.'
- 'Due to budget cuts, the light at end of tunnel will be out.'
For more consult Google. - Cliche Origns
The speaker is to tell the story of how the cliche came into being.
Examples:
- 'to scream blue murder'
- 'as good as gold'
- 'for the love of a good woman'
- 'having the time of his life'
- 'as black as the ace of spades'
- 'in the pink'
- 'in the thick of things'
- 'never look a gift horse in the mouth'
- 'getting down to brass tacks'
- 'get on your high horse'
- 'give them a run for their money'
- 'knock me down with a feather'
- 'to be the cat's pyjamas'
- 'foot loose and fancy free'
- Ads
The aim of the game in this impromptu speech topic collection here is to sell as hard as you can an object that you've just been given. Prepare a bag full of small items. Have each speaker put their hand in and without looking, pull one out. Now they sell it to the audience.
Objects could be: a pen, a child's pacifier, a toy car, a nail file, a stone ... Anything small enough to fit a medium sized bag. Tell them they needn't stick with the original purpose of the object! - Time Warp
Transport your group back or forward in time. From the nominated time perspective give speakers impromptu speech topics inviting comment on common events of today.
Example: The time period is 1920.
Topics examples: terroism, global warming, the internet, a computer, a mobile phone, air travel, supermarkets, fast food, highrises, birth control, women working outside the home... - Shoes
Gather up a collection of shoe pictures, as many differing varities of footwear that you can.
Examples: golf shoes, dress shoes, tramping boots, jandals, sandles, high heels, boots, mules ...
Each speaker gets a different picture. Who wears them? What they do? What's the occasion? How do they feel? Build a profile based on the type of shoe. - Colors
Take along a color swatch or color chart from a paint shop. Each speaker is given a color - pink, red, orange, yellow, brown, tan, black, purple... They must use that color as the foundation of their speech.
Example: yellow - summer, sun, sun flowers, jaundice. Each of those associations could spark a speech. - Award Acceptance Speeches
Prepare a list of awards (appropriate for your country) - one for each speaker.
Examples: International Peace Prize, Man/Woman of the Year, Miss Universe, An Academy Award, Pulitzer Prize for Music, Pulitzer Prize for Drama,Emmy Award, Most Valuable Player Award, Davis Cup, Pipe Smoker of the Year...
The task of the speaker is to give their award acceptance speech.
For more on impromptu speech topics and impromptu speaking check out these pages: If you have public speaking tips to share, we'd love to have them. It's always good to know what worked, what didn't and how you dealt with it. Share your experience on this Tips and Speeches page. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
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