[TriLUG] OT: anyone a member of Toastmasters?

[Brian McCullough]

On Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 08:02:58AM -0800, Joseph Mack NA3T wrote:
> I'm thinking of joining Toastmasters.
> 
> I had expected only one club in any driving area. It turns out there
> are dozens of Toastmaster clubs in the area, many meeting at work
> places. I'd assumed that Toastmasters (like TriLUG) met at neutral,
> but sympathetic places (eg a library). Most of these work place
> clubs meet during work time, presumably for the convenience of those
> at the work place, but not for anyone else.
> 
> To my surprise many of these workplace clubs are for members only.
> Since you have to first attend a meeting before you become a member,
> Toastmasters has figured out how to enter a loop with the loop
> variable uninitialised.

Actually, I think that the requirement for "closed" clubs is more that you must be a member of the "other" organization before you can become a member of the Toastmasters club.  In other words, you must be an employee of Cisco before you can join the Cisco Toastmasters.

There are both "basic" and "advanced" clubs.  Advanced clubs are for people who have reached a certain "documented" level of experience and achievement and concentrate on certain specific items.


To some extent, it depends on your location and time availability, as you said a little later.  Monday morning at 07:30 for one hour ( Toastmasters are sticklers for exact time ) at the Cardinal Club, downtown on Fayetteville Street, is one of the better-regarded local clubs.


However, that is also the reason for the "visitation" rule or suggestion.  Visit one or more clubs and decide which one "feels" right for you.


Brian