# Toastmasters

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/toastmasters/

14 people recommended Toastmasters in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 11 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Toastmasters as a low-pressure place to practice public speaking, get feedback from peers, and meet people at local clubs.

Summary written by Claude from 18 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Practice and encouragement from peers (3 comments in the sample): "get's you lots of practice, encouragement and you can learn from some excellent speakers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46262743)) "it is easy to find a place to practice if you join a local Toastmasters club" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46265870)) "Seen some speakers soar after attending this group for a year." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46211559))
- Meeting people and making connections (2 comments in the sample): "it's a good way to make connections with people and get to know them better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46803480)) "it is an excellent place to meet people" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46642282))
- Varied speaking formats and structure (2 comments in the sample): "What I liked about it was it had a ten speech structure and you could move on w life afterwards." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46655622)) "They do a variety of speaking formats." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46263764))
- Stronger speaking and thinking on feet (2 comments in the sample): "Toastmasters will improve: your ability to think on your feet" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46288782)) "pleasantly surprised with the quality of speaking" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46262366))

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.toastmasters.org/)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Toastmasters", https://hackerapproved.com/p/toastmasters/ (14 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.