Alternatives to Toastmaster


     Toastmasters is the most famous, but not the best speech/club group. There are better alternatives. College and university classes are a much better alternative. Pima college has noncredit workshops too. Are you working on impromptu speaking/ conversation? Register for an improv class. Some facilities have improv  classes aimed at business conversation. Join a debate club. You can also join a smaller speech club with no logistic or ethics issues. 
     In an effort to provide a little competition for Toastmasters in Tucson, I removed TV Toastmasters Live from the organization. I applied to have the club suspended from Toastmasters International and renamed it TV Speechmasters Live. Upon research I discovered that the term 'toastmaster' is a rather outdated term for an emcee. The only professional organization for emcees that I found is in the UK. Also the term 'toastmaster'  does not encapsilate the entire scope of Toastmasters International: better commun-ication, which includes the emcee role
     Listed below are alternatives to Toastmasters. A common argument against other communication clubs is: 'Toastmasters is less of a monetary investment.' That is not true. Toastmasters is less money in the beginning, but if a person stays in Toastmasters they will rack up hundreds of dollars. 
    A three credit college class at Pima Community College costs $254. Most Toastmaster clubs charge a membership fee of $40-90 every 6 months. Rounding this figure off to $50 to make the calculation easier, paying $50 every 6 months for 2 ½ years comes to $250. That is only $4.00 less than a class at Pima. 

Alternatives To Toastmasters List

TV SpeechMasters Live
Tucson Improv Movement 
Pima College Oral Communication Classes


RECOMMENDATION: Do not EVER pay to go to a motivational seminar! You will pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for next to nothing. You can get more education with the same amount of money by getting a university degree. If you can afford these seminars, you will most likely be able to afford most universities. For those wanting to  learn advanced communication skills, please see the this link at U of A Communications Degree or research any other university for a advanced communications degree 


Recommended Books
Stand Up, Speak-The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking

5 comments:

  1. I heartily disagree with pretty much everything in the above post. First of all, let's be clear - Toastmasters is not a motivational seminar. So you don't need to be concerned about forking over thousands of dollars. I think the dues I pay are about $40 every 6 months. If a Community College course costs $254 for a 3-hour, one semester class, then for that money I can go to Toastmasters for 3 years. Money is not an issue. Having 3 college degrees myself, I don't doubt that value can be had in a college course, though I think at Toastmasters a member will have more opportunities to deliver speeches than in a college class. In addition to helping with speaking skills, Toastmasters also helps develop a person's leadership skills as well. Top each their own. Your attempt to steer people away from Toastmasters, however, is a bit over the top.

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    1. I meant going to a motivational siminar as an alternative to Toastmasters. I apologize if I was unclear.

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  2. The link to Pima College Oral Communication Classes results in a 404 error.

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  3. It may depend on what you're trying to get out of the club. Toastmasters is a great place to go if you want to continually work on, and sharpen your speaking and communication abilities. You're not going to get that from a one time college course, even if they provide more teaching material in that short time you will never get the amount of experience and feedback that TMI provides.

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