Theme + Research + Creativity = Table Topics

The name of the programming language Python was derived from the British comedy group "Monty Python."  If you were to create a new programming language, what would you name it and why?


That is one of the table topics I posed to my Tech Talkers (techtalkers.org) Toastmasters club this past week.  Our scheduled speaker was talking about Python (the programming language), so I thought it would be fun to come up with questions that were related to Python and yet that anyone in our group of technologists could answer.  The prompt of using "Python" in my questions was the first part of my table topics equation - leveraging a theme for the questions.

The next part was to do some research about Python to help me come up with my questions.  This was how I learned that Python was named for Monty Python as well as some of the uses and guiding principles behind Python, which became the inspiration for some of my other questions.

And finally, I combined the theme and my research to get creative and come up with my questions, such as the one that opened this post.  I try to come up with questions that are expressed creatively while also allowing the respondents to get creative in their answers.

I love being table topics master because it challenges me to combine a meeting theme with my research or knowledge of the topic to come up with creative questions that merit creative answers.  

Consider the questions you ask, whether in table topics or in life.  Do they have a purpose (or theme)?  Do they come from a place of knowledge or the desire to gain more knowledge?  Are they creative or interesting?  If you want practice asking interesting questions, consider signing up to be table topics master at a future Toastmasters meeting!  I look forward to answering your questions!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two Legs

At last weekend's District 24 Toastmasters Conference, one of the guest speakers, Dr. Dilip Abayasekara, talked about the importance of the "two legs" of excellent Toastmasters club meetings: 1. Emotional Experience 2. Educational Progress This was an "ah-ha" moment for me because it perfectly captured what I love about Toastmasters:  I get to form real connections with my fellow club members as we support one another ("emotional experience") while also learning new things and improving my speaking and leadership skills ("educational progress").  These two "legs" reflect that we have both emotional  and educational  needs that Toastmasters can help fulfill. For those who are Toastmasters members, Dr. Dilip gave us two questions to ask after each meeting to make sure we are fulfilling both of those needs: 1. Do I feel emotionally enriched? 2. Am I learning and improving? If you find you cannot answer "yes" to both question...
Read more

Thankful for Toastmasters

As the US holiday of Thanksgiving approaches, I reflect on what I am thankful for.  In addition to my faith, my family, my job, and of course my cats, Toastmasters is also on my list of things to be thankful for.  Here are my "top 5" reasons to be thankful for Toastmasters: 5.  A chance to share my passions (such as my family, job, and cats) through speeches 4.  Seeing the creativity of those who come up with fun meeting themes and table topics 3.  Learning new ideas from the presentations of others - members know so much about so many different things! 2.  Meeting people I would have never met had I not joined Toastmasters 1.  Endless opportunities to improve myself and help others improve! If you'd like to see all there is to be thankful for with Toastmasters, I'd be happy to invite you to join one of my clubs, or you can find one that's right for you at  https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club .
Read more

Partnership

Yesterday I attended a Toastmasters workshop on "corporate clubs," meaning Toastmasters clubs that are fully supported and managed by a corporation.  The workshop, led by Pat Johnson, DTM, PIP, emphasized the importance of the corporation  partnering with Toastmasters in this effort.  Rather than simply "allowing" the club to exist, the decision-makers in the corporation actively work with the Toastmasters leaders to ensure the educational program provided by Toastmasters is effective at their corporation. This got me thinking about the difference between "allowing" something and actively partnering with others to make it successful.  If I think something is a good idea but I'm not really invested in it or I have higher priorities, I might "allow" someone else to work on it - I won't get in their way and I might even offer advice - but I won't be active in making it happen.  There is no "partnership" and no "ownership...
Read more