It's difficult to be heard because your words and actions must be sifted through the preconceived notions and biases of your audience?and sometimes even your own. It's common for women, people of colour, immigrants, and queer people to speak differently from how we all believe powerful people should speak?namely, the affluent white men who have traditionally held positions of authority. Thankfully, though, the sound of strength is evolving. Your toolkit for implementing that transformation includes Permission to Speak. Samara Bay, a renowned speech coach, gives a new concept of what power sounds like in this ground-breaking look at how to use your voice to get what you want. She focuses on you. combining personal stories with illuminating science in leadership, linguistics, and social science, Permission to Speak shows you how to strike the right balance of strength and warmth to land your message; exactly what to do before a high-stakes scenario so that your voice, your mind, and your spirit are ready; and how to turn habits like vocal fry and upspeak into tools. Most important, you?ll discover your voice story: why you talk the way you do, what?s wonderful about it, and what you?ve outgrown. Fiery, fun, and truly profound, Permission to Speak is a personal and cultural reckoning with what speaking in public is and what it can be. This book meets the moment and offers this provocation: When we change what power sounds like, we change who has it.