Permission to Speak: How to Change What Power Sounds Like, Starting with You Spiral-Bound | February 7, 2023

Samara Bay

★★★★☆+ from 31 to 100 ratings

$28.68 - Free Shipping
Use your voice to lead us to a better future with this game-changing guide to redefining what power and authority sound like—from a speech expert who’s worked with Hollywood’s biggest stars, political powerhouses, and businesspeople shaking up the status quo.

Getting heard is a tricky business: It’s what you say and how you show up, filtered through your audience’s assumptions and biases—and maybe even your own. For women, people of color, immigrants, and queer folks, there’s often a dissonance between how you speak and how we collectively think powerful people should speak: like the wealthy white men who’ve historically been in charge. But fortunately, the sound of power is changing.

Permission to Speak is your toolkit for making that change. In this revolutionary take on how to use your voice to get what you want, sought-after speech coach Samara Bay offers a fresh perspective on public speaking and a new definition of what power sounds like: namely, you. Blending anecdotes with eye-opening research in leadership, linguistics, and social science, Permission to Speak will help you discover:

  • How to strike the right balance of strength and warmth to land your message
  • Exactly what to do before a high-stakes scenario so your voice, your mind, and your spirit are ready
  • How to turn habits like vocal fry and upspeak into tools
  • How to find your voice story: why you talk the way you do, what’s wonderful about it, and what you’ve outgrown

Fiery, fun, and truly profound, Permission to Speak is a personal and cultural reckoning with what speaking in public is and what it can be. This book meets the moment and offers this provocation: When we change what power sounds like, we change who has it.
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Original Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 288 pages
ISBN-10: 0593238680
Item Weight: 0.9 lbs
Dimensions: 5.7 x 1.0 x 8.5 inches
Customer Reviews: 4 out of 5 stars 31 to 100 ratings
“Samara Bay—the speech coach who’s helped Ruth Negga, Gal Gadot, and others perfect dialects on film—offers an empowering take on public speaking.”Vanity Fair

“A totally beguiling and richly informative primer for anyone who struggles to say out loud what they think.”—Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her

Permission to Speak goes beyond the easy ‘use your voice’ platitudes that power hashtag-girlboss memes. . . .The book never shies away from frank talk about the ways systems of oppression have squelched and silenced some voices, and at every turn, [Samara] Bay offers practical and doable exercises. . . . Bay writes with humor and ease, sharing stories from her own experience and those of her clients.”Mindful

“No one knows more about voice than Samara Bay. This is a brilliant, user-friendly guide to speaking up. I love it.”—Viv Groskop, author of How to Own the Room

“Women, people of color, and other historically excluded folks are taught not to be too big, too loud, too demanding, or too ambitious. This book gives them permission to speak up—and command the room.”—Rachel Rodgers, author of We Should All Be Millionaires

“Samara Bay’s brilliant expertise helps us understand that when we find our permission to speak, we are able to step into our full power as women. She encourages us to abandon our formed habits, which are almost always serving someone else, and shows us what it means to use our narratives to be heroes who change the way we are heard in the world.”—Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play

Permission to Speak is bursting with charm and originality, clear-eyed critiques, and gentle nudges, like the greatest business bestie in your ear, whispering the courage you need to speak up and take over.”—Carolyn Childers, co-founder and CEO of Chief, and Lindsay Kaplan, co-founder and chief brand officer of Chief

“An encouraging, practical guide to public speaking . . . A generous companion for building confidence.”Kirkus Reviews

“Bay’s tone is spirited and encouraging, and there’s no shortage of takeaways for curious readers. Anyone looking to sharpen their speaking skills will want to give this a go.”Publishers Weekly
Samara Bay is a communication expert whose clients range from candidates for U.S. Congress to C-suite executives, international diplomats, and Hollywood celebrities. She is also the host of the podcast Permission to Speak. She lives in Los Angeles, California.


Author Residence: Los Angeles, CA