Hacker ApprovedDepartments

Toastmasters

Hacker Approved

Public speaking club in Learning

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

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

15 people gave an opinion

recommend it
15
criticize it
0
approval share
100%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 7 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: recommended
  3. January 2026: recommended
  4. February 2026: not recommended
  5. March 2026: not recommended
  6. April 2026: not recommended
  7. May 2026: recommended
  8. June 2026: recommended
  9. July 2026: recommended
  10. August 2026: not recommended
  11. September 2026: recommended
  12. October 2026: recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it carries the badge

  • 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
  • Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Practice and encouragement from peers

    “get's you lots of practice, encouragement and you can learn from some excellent speakers”

    Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

    “it is easy to find a place to practice if you join a local Toastmasters club”

    Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

    “Seen some speakers soar after attending this group for a year.”

    Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “So you want to speak at software conferences?”
  • Meeting people and making connections

    “it's a good way to make connections with people and get to know them better”

    Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux”

    “it is an excellent place to meet people”

    Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: How can we solve the loneliness epidemic?”
  • Varied speaking formats and structure

    “What I liked about it was it had a ten speech structure and you could move on w life afterwards.”

    Comment from 17 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: What's Something You Wished You Started Doing Earlier?”

    “They do a variety of speaking formats.”

    Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”
  • Stronger speaking and thinking on feet

    “Toastmasters will improve: your ability to think on your feet”

    Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

    “pleasantly surprised with the quality of speaking”

    Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

What people said

All 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“The only advice worth picking up in books like that is advice you'd also find if you joined Toastmasters”

RecommendsComment from 8 Oct 2026 on Hacker News

“It's incredibly fulfilling and also humbling because I'm probably the least accomplished person in the room”

RecommendsComment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Everybody’s home. No one’s coming over”

“Good Toastmasters clubs are a good example of this.”

RecommendsComment from 18 Jul 2026 in “If You Build It, They Will Come”

“I recommend going to your closest Toastmasters club.”

RecommendsComment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Turn native language audio into flashcards and shadowing practice”

“Many impressive speakers I've met actually cite Toastmasters! So their obsessive zeal actually does work.”

MixedComment from 12 Jun 2026 in “Why removing 'um' from a recording is harder than it sounds”

“there is a aah counter in toast master”

RecommendsComment from 12 Jun 2026 in “Why removing 'um' from a recording is harder than it sounds”

“If interviews is the hard part for people here, try Toastmasters.”

RecommendsComment from 10 May 2026 in “Found a guy who applied to over 5k+ job applications am I cooked?”

“it's a good way to make connections with people and get to know them better”

RecommendsComment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux”

“What I liked about it was it had a ten speech structure and you could move on w life afterwards.”

RecommendsComment from 17 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: What's Something You Wished You Started Doing Earlier?”

“Social skills, management skills, and learning to tell.”

RecommendsComment from 17 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: What's Something You Wished You Started Doing Earlier?”

“it is an excellent place to meet people”

RecommendsComment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: How can we solve the loneliness epidemic?”

“Toastmasters will improve: your ability to think on your feet”

RecommendsComment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

“I'd recommend joining Toastmasters.”

RecommendsComment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

“it is easy to find a place to practice if you join a local Toastmasters club”

RecommendsComment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

“They do a variety of speaking formats.”

RecommendsComment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

“get's you lots of practice, encouragement and you can learn from some excellent speakers”

RecommendsComment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

“pleasantly surprised with the quality of speaking”

RecommendsComment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Getting into public speaking”

“Seen some speakers soar after attending this group for a year.”

RecommendsComment from 9 Dec 2025 in “So you want to speak at software conferences?”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.