East Ottawa Toastmasters

09/04/2026

𝟏. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬?⁣
Public speaking doesn't scare everyone in the same way. For some, it's forgetting what to say. For others, it's 50 pairs of eyes staring back at them.⁣

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴?⁣

𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.
No judgement—we're among friends. 👇⁣
And if you've ever had that “please don't call on me” feeling, give this post a ❤️.⁣
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09/03/2026

𝐌𝐘𝐓𝐇.
Even experienced speakers can feel nervous before giving a presentation, speaking at a meeting or addressing an audience.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺.
Being nervous doesn't automatically mean you're a bad speaker. It means you're doing something that matters to you.

Public speaking skills include preparing your message, practising your delivery, understanding your audience and learning techniques 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫. So your goal isn't necessarily to eliminate every nervous feeling. It's to become capable of speaking even when those feelings show up.

👉That's one reason why practice is so valuable. The more opportunities you have to speak, the more familiar the experience becomes. And if you are seeking opportunities, look no further than East Ottawa Toastmasters.
www.eastottawa.org

08/27/2026

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𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭? 𝐌𝐘𝐓𝐇.⁣
While some people may naturally feel comfortable speaking in front of others, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. ⁣
Effective speakers learn how to organize their ideas, connect with an audience, use their voice and body language, and manage the nerves that come with speaking publicly.⁣
Confidence often comes 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 practice—𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵.⁣
That's good news if you're someone who thinks, “I'm just not a confident speaker.” You don't need to wait until you feel fearless to start developing your communication skills.⁣
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At East Ottawa Toastmasters, you can practise public speaking in a 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 and gradually build your confidence..⁣
That means you don't have to wait until you feel confident before you start speaking. ⁣
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👉𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧.⁣
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Follow East Ottawa Toastmasters to get more public speaking tips and inspiration and check us out at eastottawa.org⁣
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08/24/2026

Think you need to stop feeling nervous before you can become a confident public speaker? Think again.

Feeling nervous before speaking is completely normal. The goal isn't to eliminate those butterflies—it’s to learn how to work with them.

Start small. Speak once. Try again. Get better.

With practice, you can build public speaking confidence, strengthen your communication skills, and become more comfortable speaking in meetings, presentations, interviews, and everyday conversations.

Confidence doesn't mean never feeling nervous. It means knowing what to do when you are.

Nervous? No worries. You don't have to feel ready. You just have to start.

👉 Save this post for the next time you have to speak in front of a group—and share it with someone who gets nervous about public speaking.

08/21/2026

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝—𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦?⁣
𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭: 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬?⁣
Hello, my name is Jocelyn, and I'm a member of East Ottawa Toastmasters.⁣
I have no problem with using speaking notes. If you're delivering an important presentation with lots of details, notes can help ensure you don't miss an important point. Politicians using teleprompters are a good example.⁣
However, if you're giving a theatrical speech where building drama and connecting with the audience are important, constantly looking at your notes can become a distraction for both the speaker and audience.⁣
If you use notes, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭—𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. If you need to look down, strategically use vocal emphasis so your delivery still sounds natural and engaging.⁣
👉 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤? Myth or fact? Tell us in the comments.⁣
Save this public speaking tip for your next presentation! www.EastOttawa.org⁣

08/19/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫?⁣
For one East Ottawa Toastmasters member, the answer went far beyond becoming a more confident public speaker.⁣
Through practising public speaking, presentation skills, and leadership, he became more organized, more confident sharing his ideas, and more comfortable taking on leadership responsibilities.⁣
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.⁣
He was trusted with more responsibilities, while colleagues began commenting on the clarity, confidence, and professionalism of his presentations.⁣
The transformation wasn't simply about becoming a better speaker. Developing stronger communication and leadership skills helped him become a more confident and capable professional.⁣
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.⁣
👉 What could stronger communication skills help you achieve in your career?⁣

08/17/2026

Waiting to feel confident before you speak?

Here’s the catch: confidence usually comes after you practise, not before.

Start small.
Speak once.
Try again.
Get better.

Confidence follows practice.

You don't need to walk onto a stage feeling fearless. You just need a place where you can practise, learn, get feedback, and try again.

At East Ottawa Toastmasters, that's what we do—help you build communication skills one step at a time.

So, if your confidence is still waiting backstage... 🎭

Don't wait for confidence. Practise it.

👉 Scan the QR code and find your place to start.

07/23/2026