I was in Toastmasters for many years, and if there were a group in my city whose meeting times fit my schedule, I'd probably still go.
I particularly liked the peer review process (making you both a better speaker and listener, and making you, as a reviewer, pay attention to what makes other people more or less effective speakers), and the well organized manuals. As much as I thought in advance I knew about e.g., humorous speaking, having a topic broken down into individual aspects was a great way to learn.
On the down side, at times some events had the ring of a success cargo cult to it — people thinking that if they learned just the right inflection and hand gestures, they were bound for great things.
Still, I recommend it highly. In most urban areas in the US, there seems to be a large number of clubs to pick from. There is quite a bit of variety between clubs, so it can be a good idea to attend a few different ones before settling down — clubs tend to be welcoming toward guests, and generally don't resort to high pressure tactics to make you sign up.
I agree about the cargo cult part of it. Some of the speeches at the higher levels seem a bit theatrical and focus more on the presentation style than the content. Most beginners need a lot of work on their delivery, however, so it seems to work out great for the first few years at least.
I particularly liked the peer review process (making you both a better speaker and listener, and making you, as a reviewer, pay attention to what makes other people more or less effective speakers), and the well organized manuals. As much as I thought in advance I knew about e.g., humorous speaking, having a topic broken down into individual aspects was a great way to learn.
On the down side, at times some events had the ring of a success cargo cult to it — people thinking that if they learned just the right inflection and hand gestures, they were bound for great things.
Still, I recommend it highly. In most urban areas in the US, there seems to be a large number of clubs to pick from. There is quite a bit of variety between clubs, so it can be a good idea to attend a few different ones before settling down — clubs tend to be welcoming toward guests, and generally don't resort to high pressure tactics to make you sign up.