Northern Beaches group helps locals conquer their fear of public speaking

Terrible at public speaking? There’s a local group for that. Incredible at public speaking? There’s a group for that, too. And curiously, it’s the same one.

While many of us will do our best to avoid public speaking, quite often our jobs or relationships can depend on it. Whether it’s a wedding speech, a client presentation or an impromptu request to say a few words, sometimes the only way out is through.

And for many, once the nerves are overcome perfecting the art of the speech can become surprisingly fun.

These are the main motivations for the group – a mix of young and old and a variety of skillsets – who meet every fortnight as part of public speaking group in Freshwater: the Harbord Diggers Daytime Toastmasters.

Toastmasters is not new; it’s been around more than 100 years facilitating spaces around the world where anyone can ease their anxiety or improve their established skills in speech presenting.

Though it’s new to some of the folks in the room we’ve been invited to today, and it’s eyeopening to discover how different everyone is not just in their lived experience but in their motivations for being there.

Newly-elected Harbord Diggers Daytime Toastmasters President Remona Moodley is one such curiosity. We are surprised when Remona, a former Miss South Africa World ‘first princess’ who flies out this week to compete as one of only 28 finalists in the Toastmasters 2025 International Speech Contest Semifinals in Philadelphia, describes herself as an introvert.

Out of 35,000 members, the Manly resident made it through several elimination rounds where contestants are given seven minutes to deliver an inspirational speech.

“Public speaking has always been a part of my story. I entered my first speaking competition when I was five years old because my mum forced me to… I participated in pageants for years. They go hand in hand with public speaking, except you do pageants in a bikini on a stage in front of hundreds of people staring at you, so the pressure is really on,” Remona told us.

“But it’s still hard, and I still get nervous, and this is why I wanted to join Toastmasters, to keep improving and sharpening this skill.”

Remona joined the club one year ago with the goal of belonging to a community following her move from the States.

Remona thinks the gift of the gab isn’t something you are born with, but rather a skillset in constant need of polishing.

“I’ve always been trying to craft and hone in on this public speaking skill, because I can see the power and influence you have when you get the skill right, but it’s also incredibly difficult to do,” she said.

“The thing that kept me coming back [to Toastmasters] is the quality of feedback that I get from the members of the club watching my speeches. They tell me exactly what I’m doing really well and the things that I need to work on. But the second thing I get is watching other amazing speakers, and I say like ‘stealing with my eyes’, because you learn so much from just looking at other people doing things well that it becomes a part of my speaking too.”

What is Toastmasters?

Toastmasters is an international organisation with 16,000 clubs worldwide, around 600 of these are located in Australia. On the Northern Beaches, there are clubs scattered throughout the region including two at Harbord Diggers in Freshwater – a nighttime crowd and a daytime group, called Harbord Diggers Toastmaster Club and Harbord Diggers Daytime Toastmasters respectively. We are invited to the latter, which meets mid-morning every second Thursday (first and third of the month) at the club.

A map showing all the different Toastmasters clubs on the Northern Beaches.

Manly Observer was invited to come along (and participate) in one of their sessions. Perhaps knowing she’d be thrust onto the ‘stage’, the editor instead sent me (journalist Jack Kelly). I’m not a shy guy, but jumping up to speak to a group of strangers still throws me – most people – off kilter. But it seems that’s one of the reasons many of those in the group are there, not because they are inherently great speakers, but they want to improve their skill and comfort level with it. And knowing that helps when it’s my turn, too. The group has facilitated an environment where impromptu speech giving feels safe, constructive and even enjoyable.

What happens at the meetings?

The session kicks off by throwing to the room for some warm-up interactive activities. This involved each member sharing a short speech on a topic, this time was their interpretation of dreams or nightmares – a true allegory for one’s public speaking perspectives.

After came a lesson in correct presenting using a handy acronym for easy remembering: Gestures, Language, Organisation, Vocal variety, Eye contact (GLOVE). These techniques aim to expand an individual’s vocabulary, sharpen vocal projection and enhance engagement during presentations.

Once this was down pat, each member was given a unique question addressing Artificial Intelligence and was expected to present a one minute impromptu speech on the topic while implementing GLOVE techniques. This was then followed by constructive feedback by fellow members. Selected participants are also given the opportunity to conduct a presentation with a topic of their choosing each week.

The aim is to make presenting at work feel like just another day in the office, speaking with clients as a business owner feel like just another conversation with a mate, and being forced to speak at those mandatory celebrations, such as a wedding, feel like just another event.

In Toastmasters, it’s believed anyone can be a toastmaster, given the right amount of practice to the craft.

Some Quick Tips For Your Speech Fix

Remona says the fastest way to improve your speaking is to place yourself in situations where it’s necessary.

“Put yourself in situations to speak up. We’re all nervous. You look less nervous than you feel, and it gets better and easier with the time,” she said.

“Put yourself in situations to speak up. We’re all nervous. You look less nervous than you feel, and it gets better and easier with the time.”

“The biggest thing that I’ve learned over the past year of Toastmasters is that ultimately, it’s all about connection. It’s all about anchoring, on sharing your message. It’s not a performance. It’s not about what people are thinking about you… it’s about the gift of your message, and when you release everything else and just give the gift of your message, speaking becomes easy, and people feel it, and they see you, and they hear you and they remember you.”

If you’d like to learn more on how your speech can be appreciated and received, contact the Daytime group at Freshwater and come along to try it out.  You can also find other clubs near you here.

Sessions: The 1st & 3rd Thursday, 9:45am – 12:30pm, Harbord Diggers