Headliner Award Winner 

It's vitally important for women to speak in public with greater confidence. As women seek higher achievement in corporate business, as managers, leaders or political leaders, they will find that success depends on their ability to speak to groups and audiences and to face the press.

In the new book Women Seen and Heard: Lessons Learned from Successful Speakers, Lois Phillips and Anita Perez Ferguson provide a fresh new look and valuable experience-based insights into how the battle for the podium is won.

Women Seen and Heard is based on the experiences of dynamic, accomplished women speakers who are advocates in various roles in society -- business, politics, and education. The book contains carefully selected highlights from their best articles, speeches and books. It provides a comprehensive analysis designed to help women learn what they need to do to become an effective speaker. Real life conversations with famous women add depth, humor, substance, and take the mystery out of the challenges to be faced. Insights are offered from numerous celebrated women speakers including:

• Susan Lowell Butler says there is a double standard for men and women speakers. "Journalists are quick to describe women as being too shrill or too strident", she says. "Whenever women get very good at what we do, somebody says we're too loud.I take it as a compliment."
• Former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Director Ida Castro believes that "you end the speech when everyone is mesmerized. Failure is overplaying your cards. Leave them wanting more."
• Betsy Myers reflects that "95% of what you accomplish in life is because of your relationships," and that good speakers know how to relate to their audiences. Director of the Ms. Foundation has had people tell her "I've heard you speak and I've never been the same."

"This book will help you find your public voice, one of the most valuable treasures in life. Use it to promote good public policy and equality!" -- Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA)

"Women Seen and Heard is a highly readable and enjoyable book that provides 'lessons learned' by effective speakers and advocates – some inspiring, some practical – that can help all of us to be more influential." – Anita Roddick OBE, Founder of The Body Shop and author of Business as Unusual

Some of the valuable lessons learned from celebrities and famous women include:

• Early influences from family life can serve as role models and increase self-confidence. Loretta Sanchez was encouraged to join the debate team. Ann Stone's Mom promised her she‚d never have to do housework if she got good grades. Oprah Winfrey acknowledges those who came before her; "because of them I can now live the dream."
• Storytelling skills cultivated from personal experience are effective at the podium. Delaine Eastin grew up listening to relatives tell amusing stories at family reunions and will pepper her political addresses with poignant anecdotes about the meaning of education.
• Listening to contemporary speakers who have flawless delivery can help women to develop their own style. Alexis Herman, Marie Wilson (Executive Director of the MS Foundation), Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Jordan, and Hillary Clinton are modern models for women to study and learn from.