Right. Not all Toastmasters clubs have ‘open membership.’ For example, corporations can have their own clubs and only admit people who work for the corporation. In this case, the requirements for getting into this club were that you take a Scientology class or two and not say nasty things about L. Ron Hubbard or Scientology.
That’s interesting, what sets them apart?
Strict, dependable schedule.
Everybody has a role, and invests planning and effort into it.
Stage, lights, music, camera.
Excellent speeches, excellent feedback.
The members take improvement very seriously, but have a lot of fun.
A wealth of mature, active, long-term members with deep knowledge and experience.
Constant participation in all the regional and sometimes higher-level Toastmasters competitions.
But you have to take a Scientologist class to join? You couldn’t just join a Toastmasters somewhere else and then show up, for instance?
Right. Not all Toastmasters clubs have ‘open membership.’ For example, corporations can have their own clubs and only admit people who work for the corporation. In this case, the requirements for getting into this club were that you take a Scientology class or two and not say nasty things about L. Ron Hubbard or Scientology.
Was the prohibition on saying nasty things only inside the Toastmasters meetings? It seems like a dangerous precommitment.