• Use funny or serious themes to develop a slew of idea for your Toastmasters groups.Lecturn image by TMLP from Fotolia.com
  
  To improve your public speaking skills, you may have decided to join a Toastmasters group to build on all the elements it takes to comfortably speak in front of a crowd. Toastmasters groups guide you not only on delivery but timing, fluidity and topic. If you've been tasked with developing a host of ideas for your team, give them a bunch of options--from serious to silly--to choose from.
  
  

Motivational

• Common theme ideas for talking points are those that are upbeat and inspiring. As many reasons people are asked to speak are motivationally or educationally driven, it only makes sense to incorporate these concepts to your group. You can focus on those ideas such as teamwork, goal setting and famous quotations as your overall theme for your speeches. "Leading by example," "My most treasured memory," and "The day I accomplished my goal," are all ideas that can be shifted to motivate and inspire your audience.
  
  

Off the Wall

• Use seemingly off the wall topics to build themes around for your talking points. Submit ideas like "A day at the park," "The great debate," and "If I were an animal," where your entire group can follow those overall concepts and challenge each other for the best and most creative delivery. Set your debate session where two members must pick out of a hat for topics that they are supporting. The topics could be rabbits versus businessmen or shopping sprees versus late night television. The purpose is not so much the content presented as much as it's the way it is delivered and debated. For your daily park ideas, ask toastmasters to describe a crazy day at the park. This allows them to focus on ways to detail seemingly unnecessary parts of the story like the color of the trees and the people in the park.
  
  

Business Related

• From marketing to office professionalism to eating the peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the refrigerator, dare your talking troops to focus on selecting topics that are solely related to day-to-day functions in a business environment. Ideas can range from "Taking your child to work day," "Advertising ideas that work," or "Business amenities that reward employees." Keeping your toast themes focused on business allow for a full range of ideas that can be used in a serious or casual format.