June 10, 2021

Last month, Women+Power reviewed a podcast with a supporting book to give busy women the opportunity to maximize moments to learn skills, even if reading a book before the summer is optimistic. This month we are continuing that trend. In her 2018 Tedx talk Women, Power and Revolutionary Speech, Eliza VanCort shares communication behaviours that empower women and offer ways for men to be allies. Eliza speaks on how every woman can claim her power by using four communication tools:

• Silence;
• Cadence (speak slowly);
• Pitch; and
• Emotional stamping.

Originally, she was going to use her presentation to talk about the constraints put on women when it comes to speech. It morphed into something more constructive by presenting tools women can use to be powerful communicators and claim their space. For too long, women have been told to confine themselves – physically, socially, and emotionally.

In Eliza’s TEDx talk, she shares her personal story interwoven with recommended actions for women and men to change their behaviours. She masterfully interweaves gruesome experiences with personal growth. As a child, Eliza was kidnapped by her mother, who was struggling with her own mental health issues, three times across state lines. Eliza uses her experiences as a transformational pivot in her life.

Spend 16 minutes of your life to learn how to move forward and communicate with power. If you have a weekend to devote to this topic, read Eliza’s book!