The Little Book of Speaking Up

The author is an expert in the domain. Jutta is a breath therapist who shares her techniques through this guide. An excellent gift for new graduates from business school.

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The excellent guide for everyone who works with their voice. The voice emission activities are helpful and fun at the same time

The Little Book of Speaking Up should be given to high school and college students. Fabulous and informative.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced read of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Learning to use your voice for presentations and public speaking seems easy when you follow the suggestions in this book. The author shares simple techniques to build lung capacity and self-awareness.
I bet a lot of teachers would love to use the exercises for brain breaks! Thanks so much!

I'll admit that when I first read the title and subtitle of this book, I thought that the subject matter was going to be somewhat esoteric. I thought that the book would explore finding your voice so that you can be comfortable speaking up. I saw it as a self-help book. But it is definitely much different than that. It actually does refer to your speaking voice. After reading the introduction, where the author explains that she is a breathing coach and has enjoyed singing, it becomes clear the direction that this book is going to take.

Divided into six chapters of exercises—most of these exercises not taking long at all if done singly—the book is organized simply. Surprisingly, the author first looks at the body as a whole, not concentrating on the voice just yet. I'll admit that I had a hard time seeing the connection of this chapter to the rest of the book, but the exercises were still interesting. The next chapter focuses on breath while the next chapter is the one that specifically focuses on speaking, song, and sound in a very physical way. The exercises here are meant to get you more in touch with the sounds of words and the sounds your vocal apparatus produces. I actually found myself jumping in; I couldn't help but do some of the exercises as I read along. After all this focus on the self—from the whole-body perspective down to the voice—the next chapter switches to listening to others and being aware of sounds. The second-to-last chapter is a way to help you be more mindful of voice and sound throughout your day. The final chapter talks about speaking and voice under pressure, when you have to speak publically, like for a work presentation or an oral examination.

This book was not what I expected, but I still found it quite fascinating. It is an unusual subject to go into in such depth. The exercises are simple, straightforward, and definitely get you in touch with your body, your breath, your voice, and the sounds created by others and the world. It certainly offers a unique perspective. I found it to be a fun, participatory read.

Helpful and succinct, this book helped me with my own assertiveness and I know it will help others to "speak up" and feel more empowered. Highly recommended for general self-help collections in a library or bookstore.