I went along as a visitor to a meeting of Western Suburbs Toastmasters International and was received most hospitably.
It was an excellent well run meeting. They are a large vibrant group. All ages seemed to be represented. There were retired people and people deeply involved in their careers. Smartly dressed.
It was their 946th meeting!
Meetings are held on the 1st 3rd and 5th (if there is one) Tuesday nights of each month. They are at The Grove Sports Club in Tramway St Ferny Grove.
The meeting included a business meeting which happens every couple of months.
Annual membership is $180.
Meetings are from 6:30pm to 9:00pm
It is a very structured program of formal prepared speeches impromptu speaking exercises listening and evaluation. It is designed to train people in the skills to speak in public and conduct meetings. Certainly even on the one evening I felt as if I was learning all the time.
It was also very fun and enjoyable with a lot of joking and laughter within the well-run structured exercises.
One speaker said it all: “What is on TV tonight? Garbage! Better to go and listen to brilliant speeches at Toastmasters.”
I certainly think he was right.
Some people ordered meals from the restaurant but most didn’t. Some people ordered coffees or drinks. Quite a few brought bottles of water with them.