Ottawa StoryTellers Workshops

At Ottawa StoryTellers, we believe everyone has a story worth sharing. Our workshops are designed to help you discover the power of your own voice, build confidence in your storytelling, and connect deeply with your audience. Whether you’re a seasoned performer or a complete beginner, our workshops offer practical tools, supportive guidance, and a welcoming space to explore the art of storytelling.

From personal narratives to professional development, our sessions nurture creativity, improve communication skills, and celebrate the rich tradition of storytelling in all its forms.

OST Beginner Workshop:
Stories Start Here
OST Advanced Workshop:
Refining the Personal Story
Signature Series Workshops
OST Advanced Workshop:
Finding the Spine
Children’s Festival Workshops
A man with curly hair, wearing a striped blazer, speaking into a microphone on stage in a dimly lit room with an audience watching. The background has framed artwork on a brick wall and some string lights.

OST Storytelling Workshops

These workshops are the heart of our community programming.

Open to storytellers of all levels, they focus on foundational storytelling skills like crafting compelling narratives, engaging your listeners, and refining your delivery. Perfect for adults who want to develop their personal stories or take their storytelling to the next level in a friendly, inclusive environment.

Stories Start Here: A Beginner Storytelling Workshop Series

Stories Start Here is Ottawa StoryTellers’ three-part beginner storytelling workshop series for people who are new to storytelling and want a clear, supportive place to begin. This marks our first beginner workshop series of 2026, and spaces are limited.

Designed as a progressive series, each session builds on the last, giving participants time to explore, develop, and grow their storytelling skills over several months. Across three workshops, participants will be introduced to the foundations of oral storytelling, including the importance of storytelling traditions and the core skills behind compelling personal stories. Together, we will explore how stories are shaped, how narrative structure works, and how storytellers engage a room and bring a story to life.

  • This series is designed for beginners. No prior experience is required, and participants are never required to perform. You are encouraged to attend all three sessions to get the full benefit of the series, as concepts and exercises introduced early will continue to develop in later workshops.

    Participants may bring a story they would like to work on throughout the series or simply arrive ready to learn, listen, and experiment in a welcoming, low-pressure environment.

    This series is ideal for anyone curious about storytelling, interested in personal narrative, or looking for a creative outlet that emphasizes learning, exploration, and community. Previous beginner workshops have filled quickly, so early registration is strongly recommended.

  • Coming soon.

  • Saturday, March 14
    Saturday, April 11
    Saturday, May 16

    Time: Noon–3:00 PM

  • Free to attend.

    Use the button below to register or go to: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/stories-start-here-tickets-1981873100795?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp

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Four young men laughing and working together at a table in a library or study room, with bookshelves in the background.

Refining the Personal Story:
Structure, Choice, and Impact
An Advanced Workshop Series

You’ve told personal stories before and know they can be powerful, but finding the right story, structure, and level of detail to hold an audience’s attention remains a challenge.

This workshop focuses on refining personal narrative storytelling. Drawing on live storytelling, performance, and coaching practice, it explores what makes a personal story work: how stories are structured, where they lose momentum, what to keep, what to cut, and how deliberate narrative choices shape audience engagement.

  • Rather than developing full stories, the session breaks personal storytelling into its core components and examines them through the lens of audience attention. Topics include story structures that hold, sharpening without losing meaning, audience dynamics in live settings, voice and vulnerability, and how delivery choices, pacing, silence, and emphasis—affect impact.

    Designed for a 2-hour conference format, the workshop blends short teaching segments, examples, guided reflection, and discussion.Participants may bring a story they would like to work on throughout the series or simply arrive ready to learn, listen, and experiment in a welcoming, low-pressure environment.

    This series is ideal for anyone curious about storytelling, interested in personal narrative, or looking for a creative outlet that emphasizes learning, exploration, and community. Previous beginner workshops have filled quickly, so early registration is strongly recommended.

  • Storytellers with any level of experience who want to refine their approach, and anyone interested in how story structure and audience attention intersect.

    Participants will leave with a clearer framework for shaping personal stories that hold attention and land with greater impact.

  • Johanne Pelletier (MA, ICD.D, PPCC) is an award-winning storyteller, writer, public speaker, and communications expert based in Montreal. She works in communications at Concordia University and brings a sharp, practical lens to how stories are shaped, pitched, and delivered. As a pitch and story coach, Johanne teaches storytellers and professionals how to find the core of their message and land it with impact. Her work bridges performance and strategy, drawing on deep experience in facilitation, coaching, and communications.

    Her storytelling accolades include wins at the National Storytelling Network “Hot” Story Slam, Storyluck’s 99-Second Story Slam, and GRIT’s 99-Second Story Grand Slam, with a finalist spot at the Quebec Writers’ Federation Spoken Word Awards. Outside the spotlight, she’s also a certified boxing judge with a keen interest in science and how we communicate complex ideas clearly.

  • Saturday, March 21

    Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm

  • Cost per session: $40.00

    Use the button below to register or go to: https://buytickets.at/ottawastorytellers/2046830/share/e816f994b43fc1083c10af7a36b8a0b0

Register Today
Black and white photo of people at a workshop, with a logo and text overlay reading 'Ottawa StoryTellers Advanced Workshop Series'.

Workshop Facilitator Johanne Pelletier (MA, ICD.D, PPCC) is an award-winning storyteller, writer, public speaker, and communications expert based in Montreal.

STORY: Finding the Spine
An Advanced Workshop Series

From award winning actor and storyteller Pierre Brault comes a three part series of workshops that you make take as one-offs or all three to enhance your skills as a storyteller!

Clarifying what your story is really about! This workshop focuses on shaping lived experience into a clear, compelling story.

  • Clarifying what your story is really about! This workshop focuses on shaping lived experience into a clear, compelling story. Participants work on identifying the emotional and thematic core of a true story, the spine that holds everything together.Clarifying what your story is really about! This workshop focuses on shaping lived experience into a clear, compelling story. Participants work on identifying the emotional and thematic core of a true story, the spine that holds everything together. You'll explore: 

    • What the story is actually about (beyond the events)

    • Finding a clear narrative arc

    • What to include, what to imply, and what to leave out

    • Creating meaning through clarity, not embellishment

  • This session stands on its own as a powerful story-development workshop and is ideal for anyone struggling with stories that feel unfocused or overcrowded. It also serves as the foundation for the BODY and SPACE workshops that follow.

  • Pierre Brault is an Ottawa based actor, playwright, stand-up comedian and teacher. He has appeared in numerous films and has also worked extensively as a comedian touring regularly across Canada. Pierre is the recipient of the inaugural Audrey Ashley Award for his body of work contribution to the Ottawa theatre scene.

  • This workshop is part of a 3 part series, you can take all three or just one and learn from a wonderful storyteller. Drawing on practical tools from theatre, this series focuses on strengthening oral storytelling by helping participants clarify what their story is really about, embody it with intention, and deliver it confidently in front of an audience. The emphasis is always on authenticity, simplicity, and connection, not performance tricks or embellishment.

    Each workshop can be taken as a stand-alone session, but together they form a clear progression:

    STORY sharpens the narrative.
    BODY grounds the storyteller.
    SPACE builds confidence on stage.

    This series is ideal for emerging and experienced storytellers looking to deepen their craft, improve stage presence, or prepare for live performance in a way that respects the tradition of storytelling while quietly strengthening performance skills.

  • Saturday, February 28

    Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm

  • Cost per session: $40.00

    Use the button to register or go to:
    https://buytickets.at/ottawastorytellers/2054782

Register Today

Workshop Facilitator Pierre Brault is an Ottawa based actor, playwright, stand-up comedian and teacher.