The usual advice we hear from most people is that you can’t really prepare for a Tabletopics contest, but after attending one, I beg to differ a bit. Here’s what I saw and learned.
- Dress up a bit. I was surprised by two contestants wearing blue jeans. See point number two – they like to see people dressed up.
- The judges I saw are older – think my age plus ten years. If you can work in topics that relate to them, it might help. One winner brought in Tina Turner.
- Repeat the question slowly to give yourself a bit of time to come up with a good answer.
- The meek shall inherit the earth, but won’t be Tabletopics winners. Be strong and loud – our winner Jerry Hoeflein has those traits. Barb also has a very positive approach to answering questions.
- Have 30 seconds of material you can work into your answer that is humorous – even if it doesn’t fit the topic. That’s what the 2nd place winner did.
southcountytoastmasters.org 