Why did I join Toastmasters?
Like most people, I joined Toastmasters with a specific purpose. I wanted to improve my public speaking skills and my overall ability to communicate.

 

I wanted to practice and build my speaking confidence so that I could organize meetings, deliver presentations and communicate capably and effectively.

That was my purpose.

What I got back from Toastmasters was that and so much more.

I often tell people that story of my purpose for beginning my journey with Toastmasters.

When I attended my first few meetings I set some shorter term goals with the ultimate goal being the delivery of my tenth speech. I obtained that goal and I have continued to attend.

Why? 

Because Ottawa Toastmasters is a lot of fun. We often have visitors who remark what a fun, respectful and welcoming group of people we have in our club. It is the perfect environment for anyone who is nervous when they think of public speaking.

We are lucky to have a great mix of new and old members which allows lots of opportunity to hear and experience a wide range of speech topics and points of view. We also have some excellent evaluators who provide speakers with positive, valuable feedback. No matter what your speaking level, the evaluator will provide you with honest feedback to help you grow as a speaker as well as assist you with your next speech. 

I started with a purpose. I stay because of the people AND to further develop my skills.

We meet every Thursday at 6 pm at the Sandy Hill Community Center. If you have thought of improving your communication and leadership skills, drop by as a guest and see what you think. You might start with a purpose but and stay for the people.

All the best,

Forrest
Club President - “Ottawa Toastmasters- the oldest and the funniest.”

Building a Toastmasters Club is like building a railroad

Fifty-six years young!

How much has changed in the 56 years since Ottawa Toastmasters was formally constituted?  World superpowers have come and gone.  Global economic activity is now based on knowledge to an extent never seen before.  A constant remains however, the need for efficient communication and leadership in business and everyday life.

That is why April 27 is an important date in the calendar.  Some notable events on that day included:

-       The beginning in 2006 of the construction of the Freedom Tower where the World Trade Centre once stood.

-       Students’ protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

-       Prime Minister Lester Pearson lighting a flame to open Expo 67.

-       Toastmasters International granted Ottawa Toastmasters its charter.

Today, Ottawa Toastmasters is still serving its 30-some current members.  Just as Smedley Number One Club in Santa Ana, California founded in 1924 as Club No.1, Ottawa Toastmasters benefits from an unbroken chain of volunteers and members who preceded them and lived up to the ideals of Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters International.

Dr Smedley knew he had a winning idea when each of his attempts to create Toastmasters clubs at the YMCA locations he worked out attracted and retained young people eager to improve their communication skills.  Unfortunately, these early clubs later failed when he moved to a different town.  That is until Toastmasters International came into being in 1932.

None of the 2011 members were there in 1956 when our Club obtained its birth certificate, the charter we proudly put on display during meetings, but they all share a passion for self-improvement and a commitment to a vibrant Club life.  Just as Smedley learned that succession planning was of paramount importance to clubs’ continued existence, Ottawa Toastmasters members are encouraged to step forward and assume executive roles.  They help the Club ensure its perennity; they live and learn by the motto “Where Leaders Are Made”.

Toastmasters helps with public speaking, but it is about so much more; personal growth in communication and leadership.  That has remained true since 1955 at Ottawa’s first Toastmasters club.

 

Athena, Goddess of Wisdom

At the beginning of Homer’s Odyssey, Athena disguises herself as a king known as ‘Mentes’ and advises Telemachus to search for his father in Sparta. This sound advice provided by Mentes/Athena is the oldest recorded mentoring relationship and the reason why mentor is defined as a “wise and trusted guide and advisor”.

By joining Ottawa Toastmasters, you have the opportunity to be matched with your own mentor, who unfortunately will not be the goddess of wisdom in disguise. They are however, a more experienced member who can advise you on how to begin your own journey.  Here are some things that they can help you with:

  • Explain the Toastmasters educational program (Communication & Leadership Tracks) as well as the structure of the organization
  • Show you the Toastmasters International web site and the available educational materials
  • Help you to understand and participate in the various meeting roles
  • Assist you to complete your first speech and support you as you present it
  • Tell you how you can continue to grow through the club officer roles
  • Challenge you to set goals and motivate you

Your mentor can help you because they understand what you are going through.  They experienced the same challenges when they were a new member. They gain as well through learning leadership skills and seeing you succeed.

Come out to one of our meetings and take the first step on your own journey to becoming a better communicator and leader.

Happy New Year from your Ottawa Toastmasters Club.

January is a time for resolutions and new beginnings. Why not start off the new year with a bang and develop that skill you’ve been putting off… Public speaking!

Does the thought of speaking at the front of a room make your knees wobble? Are you frustrated you can’t communicate with audiences like you can with individuals? Do you like to challenge yourself and push your boundaries?

If you answered YES to any of these questions (or you just want to check us out), then come to the Sandy Hill Community Centre on any Thursday night at 6:00pm to be a guest at our club.

When you visit us, you will find a warm and friendly atmosphere with speakers of all different abilities. Our goal is to create opportunities for people to practice public speaking in a safe environment where they can develop the skills to become a dynamic communicator.

Come out to one of our meetings where you can see what we do, and what we can offer you.

-Your Ottawa Toastmasters Club

Executives 2011-2012

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From left to right:

VP Public Relations: Joseph Yedid

Treasurer: Scott Minnes

Sergeant at Arms: Patrick Yang

VP Education: Lillan Crawford

Secretary: Duncan Rens

President: Forest Spencer

Sunset

Ottawa Toastmasters will be meeting on a reduced schedule for the summer. Instead of meeting weekly, our club will be holding biweekly meetings for the months of July and August.

Meeting dates are:

  • July 14
  • July 28
  • August 11
  • August 25

All meetings will be held in the downstairs board room of the Sandy Hill Community Center starting at 6:00pm. Weekly meetings will resume on September 1st.

 

After four ferocious rounds of far-fetched fantasy and determined displays of detailed delusions, Ottawa Toastmasters was proud to crown Scott Minnes our Tall Tales champion of 2010. As part of his prize, Scott will be travelling to the distant reaches of the Amazon jungle to visit with the legendary lost tribes of “doyareelybeeleevethis” and to share tales that even the most skeptical among you can be made to believe. Bringing much of the ferociousness and more than a little determination were our other fine contestants Duncan Rens, Lillian Crawford, and Catherine Hariton.

Tall Tales Contestants

From left to right: Duncan Rens, Lillian Crawford, Catherine Hariton, and Scott Minnes.

Greg MiskieOn behalf of Ottawa Toastmasters Club, the oldest and funnest (and quite frankly the most humble) toastmasters club in all of Ottawa, I am honoured to welcome you as this year’s President. Our club has a long tradition of sustained leadership, so I am grateful to have the support of numerous past-presidents such as outgoing president Duncan Rens who remain active members of the club and provide invaluable support. We are a diverse group with all ages, shapes, and sizes and together our membership is committed to helping each other; from first time speakers to wily veterans, we all work towards becoming more confident and competent speakers.

As you look around this website, much like when you first walk through the doors for one of our Thursday night meetings, I hope you will begin to get a sense of how our club operates and the ways that we work towards developing our individual communication skills. At our club, it starts with a commitment to each other. What I mean by this is that while every person at our meeting is encouraged and given an opportunity to speak or evaluate, we operate around the comfort level of each individual. You determine the steps that you want to take while as a group we work to make these moments both available and comfortable. As you become more involved in the club you will discover that we build each other’s speaking skills up through positive reinforcement and carefully considered and delivered suggestions of ways that you as a speaker might build upon your current strengths.

One of the hallmarks of our club and which I am committed to maintaining throughout this year is that our meetings continue to be supportive, fun and energetic while at the same time maintaining the level of organization and discipline that respects the time that we are all committing. Furthermore, developing the skill of evaluating will remain a focus point and it is often the transferable skill that is most quickly appreciated in your regular daily life.

In closing, I grew up with a stutter so I know the fear of trying to speak, but having the wrong words come out. To whatever degree we all have these same fears. Our goal at Ottawa Toastmasters is to help you manage these fears by becoming a more confident speaker. This is a mutual process as along the way you will also undoubtedly help us.

Thanks again for your visit. Please take a moment to look around the website; even better I would invite you to drop by as a guest to one of our meetings on Thursday nights starting at 6pm at the Sandy Hill Community Centre.

Best of luck and we all look forward to meeting you soon,

Greg Miskie

President, Ottawa Toastmasters

Club Executive

From left to right: Tim Janssen – Vice President, Public Relations; Duncan Rens – Treasurer; Lillian Crawford – Sergeant at Arms; Greg Miskie – President; Catherine Harriton – Vice President, Membership; Scott Minnes – Vice President, Education.

Absent: Russell Smith – Secretary.

  • December 2: Meeting theme: Mathematics.
  • December 9: Tall Tales Speech Contest.
  • December 16: Meeting theme: Great Comebacks.
  • December 23: NO MEETING. Happy holidays everyone!
  • December 30: NO MEETING.