Glad you asked!

Here is some info on Toastmasters.

“The mission of Toastmasters International is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.”

A typical Toastmasters meeting at my club goes something like this:
The Toastmaster opens the meeting with an invocation and is responsible for keeping the meeting running smoothly. He or she invites each participant to the podium. The participants are the Reader, Jokemaster, Table Topics Master and one or two speakers. Next, the evaluators take the floor and share their thoughts on each participant’s contribution, pointing out what went well and offering suggestions as to what could be better next time. The whole group votes on the best Table Topics speaker and the best Speaker of the day.

The Reader: offers a reading of 2-4 minutes in length. This can be anything; poetry, humor, contemplative. The “Chicken Soup for the Soul" books are a popular source for this section.

Jokemaster: Tells jokes for 2-4 minutes.

Table Topics Master: The TTM takes the podium and invites three members to practice their extemporaneous speaking skills by calling on them one at a time with a different question for each one. The questions usually are drawn from current events. The respondents speak on the table topic for 1 ½ - 2 ½ minutes.

The speakers: Members work their way through Toastmasters International manuals of speaking assignments. The first book of 10 speeches is formatted to emphasize the development of 10 different aspects of communications skills (research, speaking to inspire, speaking to inform, using visual aids, etc.). After completing Book 1, members can choose from a wide variety of offerings from the Toastmasters International publications. After my first ten, the next ten I worked on were Storytelling and Interpretive Reading. Most of the speeches are from 5-10 minutes; getting longer as you move through the assignments. I am now working my way through a Leadership Manual. Following the completion of every ten projects, members are awarded certificates of achievement.

I’m staying in it in order to disguise the fact that I am actually extremely introverted. Toastmasters gives me a chance to pretend that I’m not!

I hope this answers your questions.