200 Impromptu Speech Topics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where can we find oodles of impromptu speech topics to use as questions for Table Topics in a club meeting of Toastmasters International? I found three articles, each with 200 of them.

 

There is an article by David Kidwell at EduBirdie on March 14, 2024 titled Free 200 Impromptu Speech Topics About Everything. His ten categories are:

 

Persuasive

Humorous

Personal

Debate

Speech Examples for High School

Middle School Topics Ideas

Topics for College Students

Controversial Ideas for Impromptu Speech

Social Media Impromptu Speech Examples

Environmental Impromptu Topics

 

There is a second article at PaperWritten on May 5, 2020 titled 200 Hot Impromptu Speech Topics for A+ Grades. Their ten categories are:

 

Easy Impromptu Speech Topics

Funny Impromptu Speech Topics

Academic Decathlon Impromptu Speech Topics

Controversial Topics for Impromptu Speech

Impromptu Speech Topics for High School

Special Speech and Debate Impromptu Topics

Persuasive Impromptu Speech Example Topics

List of Impromptu Speech Topics on Social Media

Impromptu Speech Topics for College

Impromptu Speaking Topics for Conservation

 

And there is an undated third article by Susan Dugdale at write-out-loud titled 200 first-rate impromptu speech topics. They are organized as four lists, each with fifty topics.

 

At Bad Grammarian on February 22, 2024 there is a Table Topics Questions Guide. It suggests some themes like:

 

Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Holidays: New Year’s, Valentine’s, Mother’s, Father’s, Halloween, Christmas

Events: Birthday, Graduation, Wedding, Anniversary

Interests and Hobbies: Pets, Travel, Sports, Food, Movies, Television

 

We also can take different approaches, such as: Smallest or Biggest, Oldest or Newest, Worst or Best, etc.

 

The cartoon with 200 women speaking was adapted from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

 

A fake Alexander Hamilton quote, ironically about falling for anything

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post by Brent Regan at the Gem State Patriot News blog for May 10, 2024 titled Principle or Power begins by claiming that Alexander Hamilton either had said:

 

“Those who stand for nothing fall for everything”

                                        or

“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything”

 

Brent is chairman of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) and a blowhard. He couldn’t decide which version to use, and also didn’t bother to research that quotation before using it. All he did was to borrow an image from this YouTube video by Fakira titled Top 10 Alexander Hamilton Quotes “Those who stand for nothing fall for everything”.

 

A decade ago, on February 18, 2014 Garson O’Toole has an article at Quote Investigator titled If You Don’t Stand for Something, You’ll Fall for Anything. He says that Those who stand for nothing fall for anything really came from British writer and broadcaster Alex Hamilton, who was born in 1936. Alexander Hamilton lived from 1755 to 1804.  

 

My cartoon was adapted from this one at Openclipart.

 

How to present to an audience who know more than you do

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Harvard Business Review on May 8, 2024 there is an article by Deborah Grayson Riegel titled How to Present to an Audience That Knows More Than You. She says to:

 

Choose self-affirmation over self-doubt

Be intellectually humble without undermining your credibility

Acknowledge and invite their expertise and experience – without letting them take over

 

Another recent article by Minda Zetlin at Inc. on April 22, 2024 is titled With 1 Sentence, Wharton Psychologist Adam Grant Just Revealed a Quietly Powerful Truth About Communication.

 

For introducing himself to an audience of generals, Adam said:

 

“What could I possibly learn from a professor who’s 12 years old?”

 

In reply one of the generals piped up with:

 

“Ah, ridiculous. You gotta be at least 13.”

 

The stepladder image came from Openclipart.

 

What we can learn about speechwriting and PowerPoint from storyboards on a Disney ship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the cruise my wife and I took in late April on the Disney Wonder I noticed there were framed selections from storyboards hung on the walls to the landings for some stairways. One set of eight from the 1942 eight-minute Goofy animated film How to Swim is shown above. A storyboard is an old but important planning tool for preparing animation – but it also can be used both for speechwriting and PowerPoint.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another dozen frames from the 1940 animated film Tugboat Mickey (Mickey Mouse Installment 107) are shown above.

 

At LinkedIn Pulse on February 6, 2024 there is an article by Jaimie Abbott titled Using storyboarding to plan your presentation. And way back on March 17, 2011 I had blogged about Use a storyboard to organize your presentation.

 

A stunning glassblowing demonstration at the Glass Factory in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In late April my wife Elaine and I went for a cruise on the Disney Wonder. On April 25 th I went on a Coastal Highlights tour of Cabo San Lucas.

 

There was a stunning demonstration at the Glass Factory. A tag team of two artisans produced a hummingbird and flower, like the one shown above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sequence of their cooperation is shown above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also had other objects like sea turtles.  

 

A half-dozen lovely sculptures in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In late April my wife Elaine and I went for a cruise on the Disney Wonder. On April 24th we visited Puerto Vallarta. There were several lovely sculptures along a promenade by the shore known as the Malecón. A very impressive one is the three dolphins by James "Bud" Bottoms and Octavio González called the Friendship Fountain, as shown above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another by Rafael Zamarripa Castañeda is the Boy on the Seahorse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A third by Jovian just is known as Rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fourth of three rather peculiar figures by Sergio Bustamante is titled In Search of Reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Isla Cuale there is a sculpture of film director John Huston, who made the 1964 film Night of the Iguana in Puerto Vallarta. It won an Academy Award (Oscar) for best costume design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in Lázaro Cárdenas Park there is a donkey sculpture by Jim Demetro known as Ándale Bernardo.

 

A cruise on the Disney Wonder: from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Ensenada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On April 21st to 28th my wife Elaine and I went for a cruise on the Disney Wonder along with her half-sister’s son, his wife, and their two young daughters. Disney Wonder is 985 feet long and holds 2,400 passengers.

 

We flew to San Diego on April 19th and stayed at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside Hotel, which is just across Harbor Drive from where the Disney Wonder docks. Near that Wyndham hotel on one side there is the Maritime Museum and on the other the Carrier Midway Museum.

 

The Wonder departed on April 21st at 5:00 PM and spent the 22nd and 23rd at sea. On April 24th we visited Puerto Vallarta, and on April 25th we visited Cabo San Lucas. On April 26th we were at sea, and on April 27th we visited Ensenada. We arrived back in San Diego on the morning of April 28th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mickey Mouse was everywhere on the Wonder, beginning with the graphics on the bow, shown above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He also made scheduled appearances for photos, and at the Animator’s Palette dining room (dressed for his Fantasia role as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice).    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the breakfast buffet there were Mickey Waffles, like the pair shown above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The servers in the dining room even dropped three circles of ketchup in a Mickey silhouette pattern near the French fries on the children’s plates.

 

There is a five-minute YouTube video on Disney Wonder features and overview which describes places on the ship. And there is another 32-minute Disney Wonder master guide.