I’m Speaking: Every Woman’s Guide to Finding Your Voice and Using It Fearlessly

Vocal coach Doyle-Mekkes stresses in her peppy debut that “all women are capable, by making small, specific changes, to speak in a way that both reflects who she is and commands a room.” She begins with technical advice, breaking down the human vocal cord system and outlining such practices as standing up straight to optimize vocal strength, and deep “belly breathing” to facilitate calm. Among other tough-to-shake vocal habits, the author spotlights upspeaking and overapologizing, the latter of which can be mitigated by swapping out “sorry” for the less self-minimizing “unfortunately,” “excuse me,” or “thank you for your patience” where applicable. While Doyle-Mekkes acknowledges that authority stereotypically looks and sounds white, male, and deep-voiced, she highlights the importance of looking within to identify the self-limiting voices that confine women to “impost-Her syndrome,” and advises that readers can do so by starting a journal in which they challenge false beliefs (”What evidence do you have to support that statement?”). Contending that “being able to speak freely is a right denied to so many women in our world,” Doyle-Mekkes fluidly weaves together practical speaking tips and big-picture advice on how to shore up one’s self-esteem. The reticent will find much to mull over in this confidence-boosting manual. (Oct.)