Games Toastmasters Can Play
Games Toastmasters Can Play is a session that has been presented at 3 District Conferences and the Toastmasters International Convention. This page summarises those games and includes links to handout scripts used for the various games together with other support material.
Games can be used to enhance training sessions and Club meetings. They should be designed to add both stimulation and involvement to the sessions whilst reinforcing learning, because "People learn best in moments of enjoyment".
Bingo
The objective is of this game is to review and reinforce knowledge of a subject. It is wise to go through the questions and answers prior to playing the game unless the material has just been covered in an educational presentation.
Game cards should be prepared beforehand with 16 or 20 squares. Software programs can be found on the internet to help create custom bingo cards. The one used for our demonstrations is Bingo Card Creator. To play the game, a caller reads the questions and the players cover the correct answers. As in traditional bingo, the first to cover a card calls bingo and wins a prize. Here are examples covering the International Speech Contest Rules and Meeting Procedure.
Noughts & Crosses
The objective is of this game is to review and reinforce knowledge of a subject, typically at the end of a training session. Number a conventional noughts and crosses grid on a board/flip chart. Two teams are then asked questions alternately. If answered correctly, a team can nominate which number square their 0 or X is to be placed in. If a team misses an answer, the other side is given the opportunity to answer the question.
Here are examples covering the T.I. Club Constitution and The Standard Bylaws and Meeting Procedure.
Script Reading
The objective is of this game is to give an opportunity for members to practise reading/acting while providing education in a subtle manner.
Prepared scripts are a fun way to teach areas such as the finer points of subjects such as meeting procedure or how to run effective committee meetings. The example script is called “Toastmasters on Trial”. This is designed to emphasise some of duties of the assignments of Topic Master and Toastmaster in a humorous way.
Meeting Procedure What Am I?
The objective is of this game is to review knowledge of meeting procedure terms in a competitive environment using this typical example.
Teams are organised and a "noise maker" supplied to each team. As each "What am I?" is read, pause after each clue to allow an opportunity for an answer. A team can only have one attempt at each question. Award 3 points if correct answer after Clue 1, 2 points if correct after Clue 2, 1 point if correct after Clue 3. The team with the highest points is the winner.
Meeting Procedure Relay
The objective is of this game is to help in understanding meeting procedure and the use of a reference book such as Renton’s “Guide for Meetings”, to review the knowledge of participants on conclusion of a Meeting Procedure workshop or, more generally, to involve everyone in an activity irrespective of knowledge level where a training session is based on the use of a reference book. Here is the Meeting Procedure example.
Members are divided into teams of from 3 to 5. Each team includes a runner, a researcher with a copy of the reference book and a recorder. The questions are on separate slips of paper on a table. The runner collects a question which the team researches. When their answer is recorded they return the question slip and collect another. Allow a point for each correct answer and an additional point for recording the appropriate page number in the reference book. The winner is the quickest team to finish with the highest score.
Trivia Quiz - Pick A Number
The objective is of this game is to provide a fun review of information that members feel they know or should know but frequently cannot recall.
Prepare a list of 25 questions similar to this Toastmasters example. Numbers from 1 - 25 are written on a board or cardboard squares. Teams of any convenient size take turns to choose a number and attempt to answer the question for that number. If an incorrect answer is given, the number remains for another team to attempt. The team which answers the most questions correctly is the winner.
Jeopardy
The objective is of this game is to provide a competitive environment for the reinforcement of material covered in earlier training sessions, based on the television game show "Jeopardy". Our example game was prepared for Club Officer Training.
Develop a set of test questions, organised into categories covering the material taught and with an increasing scale of difficulty. Some general knowledge categories can be added. Organise 3 teams of one or more people and provide "noise makers".
Allow a team to select a category and value. The first team to indicate must provide an answer to the question. If they are incorrect, the other teams get a chance. Points are added or deducted to team scores for right or wrong answers. The winner is the team with the highest score at the end of a set time period or the first team to reach a specified number of points. This PowerPoint version of the example game can be used as a template for your own version of the game.
Just A Minute
The objective is of this game is to provide better listening, thinking and speaking training in a fun environment. It is based on the BBC radio show of the same name. See example for typical rules and scoring.
Kangaroo Words
The objective is of this game is to provide a fun session playing with words. A Kangaroo word is one which carries within itself a smaller word which is a synonym of the word itself. The letters of the synonym are found in the same order as in the given word, but some letters are omitted. The game can be played with individuals or pairs, with people being given a list of words and asked to see how many kangaroo words they can find in a given time. See examples.
Gesture Topics
The objective is of this game is to provide participants with the opportunity to practise and develop natural gestures. Those answering the topics are asked to do so using gestures and the evaluators are asked to emphasise this aspect in their evaluations. The topics chosen should be ones that lend themselves to the use of gestures. See examples.
Other Table Topic Games
For further ideas for games and fun table topic sessions, see Table Topics Unlimited
Please if you wish any advice about the application of these games.