In an issue devoted to women in leadership, “Newsweek” magazine interviewed women in media, academia, business, and public service to ask questions about what qualities, values, and skills contributed to their success in leadership. Rosabeth Moss Kanter was interviewed on how confidence affects women’s careers. She states that women are self-conscious about “speaking up.” We often feel that we need to prepare what we have to say before we say it. It’s called “self-censoring.” And she points out that self-censoring and lack of confidence are qualities bound together to hold us back. How many of us hold back from joining the discussion, from speaking spontaneously, from saying what we truly think and feel? How many of us are self-conscious about how we will be judged if we don’t express ourselves perfectly? Even about how we will judge ourselves.

This is the 21st century woman’s double bind. We are thrust into positions that require us to be visible, to participate and “speak up.” Yet, many of us lack the self-confidence and the skills to do so. Many of us received messages about our voices as young girls, such as “You talk too much.” Or “Your voice is too loud.” Or “Ladies speak in polite voices.” And, even, “Girls should be seen and not heard.” Carol Gilligan, in her groundbreaking research, told us that girls and boys are equally expressive until middle adolescence, when girls begin to self-censor. This act of censoring affects not just what we say, but our entire physical being. For when we silence ourselves in the act of speaking, it affects our physical voice and its connections to our thoughts. Because girls are born with a slightly greater verbal ability than boys, we are more likely to suffer a greater loss of connection to our ability to express ourselves when we stay silent or censor our words. It’s a difficult cycle to break.

It affects the sound of our Voice, the quality of our breath, and the tension in our jaw, neck, and shoulders as well as our ability to form our thoughts and feelings into words. When we find ourselves at a loss for words, when our voice breaks before we finish the sentence, when we speak so softly no one can hear us, when we run out of breath before we finish a sentence, how do we feel? We may feel embarrassed or upset. If it happens in the workplace, we may even cry—in the women’s restroom, of course.

Arthur Samuel Joseph, M.A., creator of Vocal Awareness, ™ has taught voice students all over the world for over 40 years. He points out that in sports or in performance arts, we are required to train rigorously and to pay attention to detail. Yet, in speaking, we are not trained to acquire the skills that allow us to develop mastery of our voice. For women, recognition that we need to develop these skills is even more important. Whether we work as a telemarketer or a receptionist answering phones, lecture in a university, lead a corporation, or run a political campaign, our voices convey who we are, from the pitch of our voice, to the eloquence of our words, to our ability to communicate connection.

The Woman’s Voice Institute offers a structured program designed to meet the specific needs of women who seek to develop more confidence and conscious awareness through voice. You will explore the connection between breath and voice, strengthening your vocal muscles, and maximizing your ability to express yourself fully, from your authenticity, your authority, and also with an awareness of the art and beauty of your voice.

The Woman’s Voice Institute is dedicated to offering us all the opportunity to hear the lore and rich history of woman’s voice and to develop mastery, through the discipline of Vocal Awareness,™ that will allow us to access the full range and potential of our own individual, creative, and authentic voices.