Your Voice Speaks Volumes

Why do we speak the way we do, and what do our voices tell others about us? What is the truth behind the myths that surround how we speak? Jane Setter explores these and other fascinating questions in an accessible and engaging account that will appeal to anyone interested in how we use our voices in daily life.

Why do we speak the way we do, and what do our voices tell others about us? What is the truth behind the myths that surround how we speak? Jane Setter explores these and other fascinating questions in this engaging introduction to the power and the science of the voice. The book first takes us on a tour of the sounds in our language and how we produce them, as well as how and why those sounds vary in different varieties of English. The origins of our vast range of accents are explained, along with the prejudices associated with them: why do we feel such loyalty to our own accent, and what's behind our attitudes to others? We learn that much of what we believe about how we speak may not be true: is it really the case, for instance, that only young people use 'uptalk', or that only women use vocal fry? Our voices can also be used as criminal evidence, and to help us wear different social and professional hats. Throughout the book, Professor Setter draws on examples from the media and from her own professional and personal experience, from her work on the provenance of the terrorist 'Jihadi John' to why the Rolling Stones sounded American.

One woman proves that painfully shy children can become successful, even when raised by an emotionally unstable mother. In The Silent Speak Volumes, a mother responds to her grown child's question: "Why don't we know more about your childhood, Mom?" This sweet yet painfully honest memoir examines one woman's formative years, in which her mother's words and actions were not always rooted in loving guidance. Despite her resulting low self-esteem and crippling shyness, the author is able to overcome the emotional manipulation of her past in order to find success and happiness. Her memoir was written for her children, but it's a story that will resonate with everyone.

A lush, disorienting novel, The Caretaker takes no prisoners as it explores the perils of devotion and the potentially lethal charisma of things Following the death of a renowned and eccentric collector—the author of Stuff, a seminal philosophical work on the art of accumulation—the fate of the privately endowed museum he cherished falls to a peripatetic stranger who had been his fervent admirer. In his new role as caretaker of The Society for the Preservation of the Legacy of Dr. Charles Morgan, this restive man, in service to an absent master, at last finds his calling. The peculiar institution over which he presides is dedicated to the annihilation of hierarchy: peerless antiquities commune happily with the ignored, the discarded, the undervalued and the valueless. What transpires as the caretaker assumes dominion over this reliquary of voiceless objects and over its visitors is told in a manner at once obsessive and matter-of-fact, and in language both cocooning and expansive. A wry and haunting tale, The Caretaker, like the interplanetary crystal that is one of the museum’s treasures, is rare, glistening, and of a compacted inwardness. Kafka or Shirley Jackson may come to mind, and The Caretaker may conjure up various genres—parables, ghost stories, locked-room mysteries—but Doon Arbus draws her phosphorescent water from no other writer’s well.

Would you like to have the ability to "peer" inside people's minds and "read" their thoughts based on the sound of their voice?Do you want audiences to “hang on” to your every word with interest and attention?You can!The voice is a powerful communication tool – if you know how to analyze it and use it effectively yourself.Secrets of the Voice is a compelling guide to five essential elements that, once mastered, will help you analyze the mindset of people around you, and use your own vocal skills to influence others.Written by a world-renowned mentalist Ehud Segev, the book provides “insider” tips to discover people's true personalities through their speech patterns, as well as develop a strong and persuasive voice that will grab, engage, and inspire your listeners every time you speak.

The Natural Speaker is a friendly step-by-step guide to public speaking that explores the fundamental skills necessary to present a natural and rewarding speech to any audience. By providing an overview of speech construction, practice, and delivery, this book is designed to enhance and improve upon students' natural strengths. Featuring a warm and humorous writing style, The Natural Speaker illustrates the concepts and skills required for enjoyable public speaking, and Randy Fujishin invites readers to view speaking as a life-long journey. This tenth edition features a new chapter on speaking in online contexts, including leading or participating in online meetings, using digital presentation tools, and guidelines for effective online PowerPoint presentations, as well as additional focus on intercultural considerations and new Internet student activities at the end of each chapter. This book serves as an accessible core textbook for Public Speaking and Introduction to Communication courses and also provides guidance for individual readers and public speaking workshops. Online resources include an instructor’s manual with sample test questions and exercises.

You have a voice. And you have God's permission to use it. In some communities, certain voices are amplified and elevated while others are erased and suppressed. It can be hard to speak up, especially in the ugliness of social media. Power dynamics keep us silent and marginalized, especially when race, ethnicity, and gender are factors. What can we do about it? Activist Kathy Khang roots our voice and identity in the image of God. Because God created us in our ethnicity and gender, our voice is uniquely expressed through the totality of who we are. We are created to speak, and we can both speak up for ourselves and speak out on behalf of others. Khang offers insights from faithful heroes who raised their voices for the sake of God's justice, and she shows how we can do the same today, in person, in social media, in organizations, and in the public square. Be silent no more. If you have wondered when and how to speak, hear God's invitation to you to find and steward your authentic voice, whether in word or deed, to communicate the good news in a messed-up world. As you discern God's voice calling you to speak, you will discover how your voice sounds as you express God's heart to others. And the world will hear you loud and clear.

When I first saw Louis Glanzman’s paintings of twelve women in the gospels whose names are so familiar, something happened inside me. After a lifetime of knowing all about these women I felt, at last, that I had actually met them. Indeed I had. They were people I already knew: homemakers, sex workers, child runaways, crones, teachers, mothers, senior citizens...all of them knew Jesus. All of them were achetypes who reflected the journeys, struggles, joys and dreams of women today.--Edwina Gateley
Includes 12 full-color paintings by Louis Glanzman, one of Americas most honored portraitists. He is famed for eightly marvelous Time magazine covers as well as his beloved drawings for the Pippi Longstocking series.