I Froze During My Toastmasters Icebreaker -- Why Unmuted: Speak to Lead Exists

Most people think public speaking confidence comes naturally.

It doesn’t.

In this very first episode of Unmuted: Speak to Lead, I share the real moment that forced me to confront my fear of speaking — freezing during a six-minute Toastmasters icebreaker in front of more than 20 people.

I didn’t bomb the speech.

People actually liked it.

But I read the entire thing from my notes because my nerves took over.

And that moment made one thing clear:

👉 If I wanted to grow as a leader, a communicator, and a speaker — I had to stop hiding behind a microphone and start doing the real work.

This episode explains:

• Why Unmuted: Speak to Lead exists
• Who this podcast is really for
• What you’ll get from future episodes
• How public speaking fear actually shows up (even for podcasters and professionals)
• What to expect from this show moving forward
• When new episodes are released

If you’ve ever:

• Frozen while speaking
• Read directly from your notes
• Felt confident on camera but nervous in front of people
• Left a meeting thinking “I should have said that better”

This podcast is for you.

🎙️ New episodes drop every Monday at 6:00 AM Eastern

📩 Join the Rebel Intel newsletter for behind-the-scenes updates, speaker resources, and early access to guests (link in description).

This is Unmuted.

This is Speak to Lead.

And this is where we stop playing small.