Table Topics and impromptu speaking practice

Last updated 28 October 2026

Table Topics is the part of a Toastmasters meeting where someone hands you a question you have never seen and you answer it on the spot, usually for one to two minutes. It is the purest test of impromptu speaking, and like any skill it improves with repetition. The problem is that a club meets once a week or so, and you might get one turn.

How to practise on your own

You need three things: a question you have not seen, a short time to think, and a way to hear what you said. A jar of questions and a voice recorder will do. Answer, listen back once, and notice one thing: did you open with your point, did you trail off at the end, how many times did you say "um"? Then answer a new question with that one thing fixed.

It helps to have a few structures ready, so your brain picks one instead of searching for one:

Table Topics practice with RankedSpeak

RankedSpeak is an iPhone app built around exactly this loop. We make it, so here is plainly what it does.

A daily prompt

Every day there is one prompt, the same for everyone. You see the topic first; the question itself stays hidden until you tap Reveal. From then the prep clock runs, like a real Table Topic, and closing the app does not reset it. One daily prompt a day is free, with its score.

Short answers, scored

Depending on the prompt, you have 30, 45, 60 or 90 seconds. That is shorter than a club Table Topic, on purpose: short enough to do every day. A few seconds after you finish, you read a score out of 10 for clarity, flow, structure, substance and delivery, with your pace, pauses and filler words measured from a word by word transcript. The report leads with one fix, and you can try the same prompt again with it.

Ranked duels against real people

Ranked duels add the pressure a club gives you. You answer a ranked prompt and are matched with another player who answered the same one. Opponents are real players, never bots or stored recordings passed off as people. The AI judges both answers and your ELO rating moves with the result, with ranks from Bronze to Master. Duels are not live, so a match can take a while when nobody else is waiting on that prompt. Your first ranked duel is free.

Friends, and a few other ways in

You can send a friend a link to your answer; they answer the same prompt, free, and you see who scored higher. There are hundreds of prompts across 17 topics, plus Roast Me for blunt feedback (your first round is free), custom prompts for a question you choose, and Open Mic for talking about anything. Unlimited practice and those modes are part of Pro; the pricing page has the details.

What an app cannot replace

A room. Speaking to people who are looking at you is a different experience from speaking to a phone, and a club's evaluators and timing lights give you things no app does. If you are in a club, use the app between meetings so that when your turn comes, you have already answered dozens of questions you had never seen. If you are not in one, the app is a good way to start, and a club is a good next step.

Frequently asked questions

Answer today's prompt

One question you have not seen, a minute or so to answer, and a score a few seconds later. The daily prompt is free.

iPhone app. No Android or web version. What is free and what Pro costs