At Succeed Socially on May 23, 2022 Mr. Chris MacLeod has a balanced and thoughtful 2500-word article titled Pros and Cons of Toastmasters. He covers each of the following 18 topics with a brief paragraph (or two or three):
BENEFITS OF TOASTMASTERS
It’s an extremely safe, supportive, encouraging environment.
It’s very affordable.
It’s not just about giving formal pre-written, rehearsed speeches.
You can get lots of constructive feedback on your speaking style.
You can choose what facets of public speaking you want to work on.
It provides the kind of general social opportunities joining any club does.
WAYS TOASTMASTERS MAY NOT BE A FIT FOR EVERYONE
Toastmasters isn’t an all-around social skills class.
Every club is different. Some may not be what you’re looking for. Members may not be that experienced or helpful, and try to push you in a direction you don’t want to go.
Toastmasters can over-emphasize how to deliver a speech, and ironing out little mistakes and tics, rather than having engaging ideas to share.
Toastmasters can encourage an expressive, theatrical style of speaking that doesn’t translate to everyday situations.
Members can be too supportive with their feedback, and afraid to give harsher critiques.
You may not get to do a ton of speaking each meeting, which might not be enough practice for what you’re trying to achieve.
It’s a fair amount of work to write and rehearse a series of speeches.
Table Topics can seem really daunting at first, but after a while it can seem like a glorified improv game that doesn’t carry over into real life as much as you first assumed.
A FEW MORE SUBJECTIVE REASONS TOASTMASTERS MAY NOT BE EVERYONE’S CUP OF TEA
Toastmasters meetings can feel rigid, overly structured, and full of fluff.
The supportive, upbeat atmosphere can feel fake, insincere, and cloying at times.
Lots of roles need to be filled each meeting, and in smaller clubs you’ll often have to take one. You can’t just hang back and watch.
Toastmasters meetings are a tad corny.
Chris’s site also has an update page listing his other recent web pages.
If you find that club members seem too supportive with feedback, then you might be able to find an Advanced club with more experienced members willing to share their ideas for improvement. On May 2, 2022 I blogged about the Advantages of receiving multiple speech evaluations in Advanced Toastmasters Clubs. And on January 15, 2021 I blogged about how Toastmasters also is for professional speakers, like NSA members.
The cartoon was adapted from this image at Wikimedia Commons.
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