I’m going to, unfortunately the meetings now conflict with one of my classes so I’m going to have to wait until after I graduate. But it’s definitely in my plans.
Give it a shot. I was in Toastmasters for about 4 years, and left mainly because I reached my own goals.
It was a good social outlet, and a very nurturing atmosphere. There was a story I heard about a member before I joined, who gave his “icebreaker” speech (if I remember right, the icebreaker is 2-4 minutes in duration; it serves to introduce you to the club). This member got up in front of the audience and said, “Mr. Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters…thank you.” He then sat down because he was petrified.
His evaluator for the speech mentioned how difficult it is to speak in public, and the constructive criticism was to make his speech longer.
That’s one thing I found: the criticism, while deserved, was extremely constructive, and given the proper way. I was told things I did right, and not things I did wrong, but things I could improve.
Plus, you have the chance to be involved in leadership roles, such as organizing district and regional conventions. The international convention is also a lot of fun. I’d never met so many people from different countries around the world before I went to my first international convention.
I enjoyed Toastmasters. We had a club at my company for several years, until disinterest and belt-tightening killed it. It served me well as an outlet for my public-speaking bug, providing me with a ready and enthusiastic audience as well as constructive criticism. I never thought much of the leadership stuff; not my bag, really. I thought it would have been much better off as a simpler, less structured club more focused on the craft of public speaking.