Samara Bay Wants to Change What Power Sounds Like

KQED's Forum

Have you ever been told that if you lower your voice or avoid vocal fry or stop saying “like” so much you’ll sound more authoritative? It’s that kind of advice, no matter how well-intentioned, that speech coach Samara Bay wants us to stop heeding. Generations of Americans have associated power with the slow, booming speech of male politicians and news anchors, writes Bay in her new book “Permission to Speak.” But in fact, if we stopped trying to approximate the traditional voice standards of powerful men we’d sound “richer, more relaxed, more expansive, expressive, unlimited by social norms and alive with possibility.” We’ll talk to Bay about why we should change our assumptions about what power and authority sound like.

Guests:

Samara Bay, speech coach and author, "Permission to Speak:" How to Change What Power Sounds Like, Starting with You"