Say what? Proponents of public speaking talk it up

By Lethbridge Herald on April 26, 2025.

Joe Manio
Lethbridge Herald
coal Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fear of public speaking—also known as glossophobia—often ranks higher than death on surveys about people’s biggest fears. Some studies have shown people are more afraid of speaking in front of an audience than they are of things like spiders, heights, or even dying. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has been helping people overcome this fear.

“I believe the biggest benefit one gets from joining Toastmasters is the ability to achieve their goals in a safe, supportive environment,” says longtime Toastmaster Chuck Leblanc, who has been a continuous member since 2001. “Toastmaster members are eager to help each other learn and grow. We create connections not only with members of our own clubs but now with the use of technology, you can get to learn from club members from around the world which enhances your awareness of other cultures and ways of doing things.”

Toastmasters is a global organization that focuses on improving public speaking, communication, and leadership skills. It’s made; up of local clubs where members meet regularly to practice speaking in front of an audience, receive constructive feedback, and take on leadership roles. 

Lethbridge currently has five Toastmasters clubs, the Coulee Commentators, Downtown City Speakers, Dynamically Speaking, Naturally Speaking and the Connected Commentators. Coaldale has one club, the Sunny South Speakers. Professional speaker Richard Lee-Thai has been a member of the Connected Communicators Club for 4 years.

“Toastmasters has not only increased my confidence, but it’s also provided a supportive community that provides me with a place to continually improve my public speaking and leadership skills, “ says Lee-Thai. “Through Toastmasters, I grew from an amateur speaker to one that regularly delivers paid presentations and also now mentors other new speakers. I’ve also had the honour of being this year’s Conference Chair for District 42 (which encompasses Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan). I am the youngest ever Toastmaster appointed to the Conference Chair position, and I’m 26 years old.”

The organization has seen numerous changes over a century, the most recent being those  spurred-on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted Toastmasters’ online world. Although Toastmasters suffered with membership losses as part of the pandemic, the ability of its clubs to adapt quickly to moving completely online, allow the clubs to find new ways to expand and serve its members,” says Leblanc.

In early 2020, only five-six per cent of Toastmasters clubs held online meetings. By September 2020, this number surged to 83 per cent, as clubs swiftly adapted to virtual formats to maintain continuity during lockdowns.

Toastmasters supported this transition, providing resources such as virtual meeting tutorials, professionally designed meeting backdrops, and exclusive Toastmaster magazine stories to help clubs preserve their vitality .​

After restrictions eased, many clubs adopted hybrid models, combining in-person and online participation. For example, some clubs experimented with setups that allowed in-person speakers to see the online audience projected onto a screen, and vice versa, enhancing engagement across both formats.

“When the Covid shutdown happened, my Toastmasters Club only missed one meeting and we transitioned to online meetings right away,” says Coulee Commenter President Kimiko Epp. “When we were able to meet in person again, we pursued hosting hybrid meetings to accommodate people that were hesitant to meet in person again, and to allow out-of-town members to continue attending. We were lucky to find The Nest on the north side that had great technology available to let us run the hybrid meetings”

The Connected Communicators Club, formerly the Eyeopener Toastmasters Club, faced challenges after transitioning from an in-person club. Of the pre-pandemic members, only Chuck Leblanc and spouse Bev remain.

“When the pandemic hit and our club was forced online, we were about 12 to 13 members and many members decided they did not want to pursue online meetings, which dropped us to 4-5 members each week,” says Leblanc.

Since then, the club has rebounded and now has well-over 20 members from across Canada, in the United States, Mexico, England and Portugal; who Zoom-in every Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. Mountain time.