The best way to top depends on the plant; how easily it branches, what size buds each stalk can support, etc. We root clones and plant in 3-liter bottles with the tops cut off and covered in foil, full of our vegging soil mix. Once established in their new containers, the clones get topped, leaving two nodes on each. Shoots pop up on either side of each node, with the top pair growing the fastest. Once these top two shoots each have a node on them, they are both topped. After this second topping, the lower two shoots reach canopy level, just as the two most recently topped stalks each sprout two new shoots from the nodes we left on them. A few days to a week after this second topping, they go into flowering. Each of the now six growing shoots will create a 1/2oz trimmed and dry cola by the end of flowering.
Good airflow is a must to thicken the stems enough to support the large buds, both in weight and nutrition.