Step-by-step guide for finding your perfect club match

1. 🛑 Filter out K.O. criteria

   For the clubs with restricted eligibility (mostly employer-based clubs) you are either in or not. Check out the eligibility column and filter out those for which you don’t qualify.

   Furthermore, some people join Toastmasters to practice speaking in a different language than English (there are Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and Spanish speaking clubs in SF) - if that’s you, you immediately know which one to choose as there are only handful of such clubs in SF. If you plan on speaking English, filter the other language clubs out.

2. 👨‍💻 vs 🤝 Choose format preference

   This is a very important point. Some people want to practice in person, others can only make time for virtual meetings. Or you’d like to have the flexibility to do either (hybrid) or change it up (some club vary their format in person/online).

   Don’t compromise on this point of you might find yourself stuck on a Zoom call when you wanted to meet people in person or you can realize that you cannot make it to the meeting location due to complicated logistics.

3. 🕙 Decide if you have strong preference on the time/ day of the week

   Next you should consider your prior commitments and personal preferences - do you prefer to do a meeting during your lunch break or are you Wednesdays & Thursdays nights already booked with another recurring activity? Toastmasters should fit into your existing schedule, not the other way round.

4. 🗓️ Consider meeting frequency

   In general, the more often the club meets, the better as you will have more opportunities to speak and you can improve faster. Nothing happens if you have to miss a session or two as you can rejoin the next week. On the other hand, meeting less frequently can feel more special as it’s not an every-week activity. This is becoming more of a personal preference choice.

5. 📨 Contact shortlisted clubs

   At this point you should have a handful of clubs shortlisted that check many of your boxes. Check out their websites and reach out to the contacts there that you would like to visit. Alternatively, you could crash their meeting as some clubs have their meeting details public… but it’s just always nicer to RSVP so that people know you are coming.

6. 📅 Schedule visits

   During the visit observe the energy and culture of the club, if you feel welcome and supported. Members demographics and level of experience is also something to pay attention to. And definitely take the opportunity to speak up even as a guest - introduce yourself or even do Table Topic if you are offered to.

7. 💖 Pick the best one for you

   At this point it’s like dating, you do the first visit, if you like it you keep going to more - up to the point when you feel ready to commit (and become a member). And if you don’t like a club, you simply move in to another one.

   There’s plenty - 47 to be exact - fish in the sea of San Francisco’s Toastmasters scene.