by Edith Poor

     "Women's voices are different from men's," Edith Poor writes in Voicework, "and sound different from men's. Beyond the differences in physiology, there's another factor at work: ancient, elusive attitudes about women's voices and men's voices; attitudes that we need to explore before we can understand voicework."

     Edith Poor's brief, profound Voicework examines the traditional perceptions of women's and men's voices and—even more importantly—shows how those perceptions have shaped the history of public speaking and continue to shape every speaker to the present day. Among other things, Voicework reveals how classical rhetoricians posited a "manly" style of speaking that remains the ideal in most speakers' minds, whether perceived as such or not. Even women who perceive and resent the pressure to adopt this "manly" style are usually subject to its influence.

     Where does this quandary leave public speakers, male and female alike? Edith Poor argues in Voicework that only by expanding our perceptions of what the human voice can accomplish—and by learning to listen to the voice in new, more open-minded ways—will we reach a higher level of communication.

     Edith Poor's commentary offers insights that will be invaluable to all public speakers.

ISBN 0-9674477-1-2. Paperback, $6.00

Read an excerpt from Voicework


     
    Edith Poor specializes in coaching small groups and individual executives in written and oral communications. She has over fifteen years’ experience helping professionals manage the printed and spoken word.

     Her clients include executives in banking and finance, consulting, insurance, computer technology, telecommunications, transportation, manufacturing, and health care. As a former communications specialist for Booz Allen & Hamilton — a leading international management consulting firm — she spent five years traveling throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Far East, helping corporate leaders communicate better.

     Edith Poor began her career in the publishing industry, where she developed, edited, marketed, and promoted best-selling books on everything from economics to ethnomusicology. She was an editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons Publishers for five years.

     She earned a B.A. with honors from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. She has done research in speech and language at Leeds University in England, and is a former member of the adjunct faculty at New York University’s Stern School of Business Administration.

     She is the author of The Executive Writer: A Guide to Managing Words, Ideas, and People (Grove Weidenfeld, 1992), a book on the links between good writing and good management.

 

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