Tell-Me Game

Speech Exercise: Speech Topics for the Tell-Me Game

This speech exercise is part of the Speak for Success Course. While you can use this exercise to work on your speech skills at any time, it’s designed to work on a particular speech skill that you can find out more about at Lesson 2.

You will need a partner for this exercise. As the listener, your partner’s role is to listen for the particular speech problem being worked on and record all instances of the speech problem.

As the speaker, your role is to speak impromptu on one of the following speech topics for two minutes like extempore.

Do NOT spend time thinking about the topic before you speak.

1. Your favourite hobby and why it’s your favourite.
2. What you would do if you won five million dollars on the lottery?
3. If you had unlimited resources, what would you do to improve your business?
4. What do you like best about what you do? Why?
5. Which of the five senses is most important? Why?
6. What skill or talent would you most like to have? Why?
7. Why is the current federal government doing such a bad job?
8. What should your town do to create a better climate for business?
9. What are the best places to eat in your town or city? Why?
10. What are the best things to do to relax? Why?
11. What’s the worst fault a person can have? Why?
12. If you could be young again, would you? Why?
13. What are the four things you least like to do? Why?
14. Who do you most admire? Why?
15. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go? Why?

1. What are your three best personality traits? Why?
2. What do you like most about living where you live? Why?
3. What was the worst job you ever had? Why?
4. What was the best workshop or conference you’ve ever attended? Why?
5. What is the most important quality of an entrepreneur? Why?
6. Who would you most like to have as a trainer? Why?

1. Is space exploration important or unimportant? Why?
2. Cats are better pets than dogs. (Or vice versa.)
3. What are the most important ways you can increase your productivity?
4. The most important invention of the twentieth century was ___________ because ______________.
5. What things should a person never do on social media and why?
6. The best vacation you ever had was ______________ because _________________.
7. What are the most important things that individuals can do to lessen the effects of climate change?
8. What could you live without in your life and why?
9. How do you know when you have a bad boss?
10. All high schools should require students to volunteer x hours a week. True or false?
11. If you were Santa, what three gifts would you give the world and why?
12. The one thing you would never give up is _______________ because _______________.

Expand Your Skills

Increase the difficulty of this speech exercise by speaking impromptu on one of the topics above for three minutes - or even five minutes, if you dare.