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Taking the Stage: How Women Can Speak Up, Stand out, and Succeed by Judith Humphrey
Women who want to move forward in their careers must speak up and make clear they are confident, credible leaders, and Taking the Stage offers womenno matter their age, rank, or professiona complete guide for communicating with courage and confidence. Based on a program that has been delivered with rave reviews to over 100,000 women worldwide, Judith Humphrey provides a step-by-step guide to show female leaders how to take the stage with a powerful mindset, script, voice, and physical presence. Readers will discover how to communicate as strong, confident leaders in a range of situations, from formal speeches to brief hallway conversations, while overcoming the common tendency to minimize their accomplishments. Humphrey provides insight into the challenges women confront in a corporate environment, and proven strategies for addressing them. Taking the Stage is the practical, comprehensive solution that will allow women to become dynamic leaders and extraordinary communicators, achieve career success, and secure their place at the boardroom table.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 3, 2021
Outdated, second wave type notions that are completely blind to colour, class, disability, gender, privilege and misogyny. Overall, not a great book for young women today, unless they want to play by the boy’s club rules. The parts I valued were about how to write a great leadership speech and what to do with your hands. That is the beginning and the end of the book.
January 19, 2017
A few excellent and easy to understand tips for women wanting to embody leadership in their careers. That said, much of Humphrey's advice is based on the idea that women (specifically young women) can't be taken seriously for acting like young women.
In one example (and I’m paraphrasing) she runs into a woman on her way to meeting with her hair down (it is usually tied back professionally, which Humphrey recommends) and she fights the urge to tell her she looks like a little girl. At the meeting the woman is kissed on the cheek by a male exec, confirming in Humphrey’s eyes that this poor woman should have had her hair back – because women cannot possibly be taken seriously if their curly hair is down! No comment from Humphrey on the skeezy male exec thinking it’s okay to kiss people who don’t want to be kissed.
I really really really wished Humphrey could have taken on a more pro-female stance. Not to mention she conveniently leaves out the intersectionality of women of colour (or from different cultural backgrounds) in the workplace.
I have absolutely no doubt that her workshops and even the first half of this book can help women become more confident leaders and better communicators, but the last few chapters on dresscodes made me cringe.
In one example (and I’m paraphrasing) she runs into a woman on her way to meeting with her hair down (it is usually tied back professionally, which Humphrey recommends) and she fights the urge to tell her she looks like a little girl. At the meeting the woman is kissed on the cheek by a male exec, confirming in Humphrey’s eyes that this poor woman should have had her hair back – because women cannot possibly be taken seriously if their curly hair is down! No comment from Humphrey on the skeezy male exec thinking it’s okay to kiss people who don’t want to be kissed.
I really really really wished Humphrey could have taken on a more pro-female stance. Not to mention she conveniently leaves out the intersectionality of women of colour (or from different cultural backgrounds) in the workplace.
I have absolutely no doubt that her workshops and even the first half of this book can help women become more confident leaders and better communicators, but the last few chapters on dresscodes made me cringe.
April 14, 2015
This book made me realize what I've been doing wrong for the past 9 years regarding my career. Great tips for women on how to promote themselves and be more confident speakers.
November 26, 2022
I agree with the other reviewers. The book started off inspirational then got to a point where I felt it to be whiney and complaining about the world being unfair and you have to grapple to get attention. Maybe I haven’t experienced the discrimination to the extent of the mentioned situations but I had hoped for a more inclusive and constructive conversation.
April 17, 2024
LIFE-CHANGER♥️
January 27, 2015
Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Judith Humphrey, the author of Taking The Stage, at a launch for the book at my University. There was a Q&A session and a book signing afterwards, and I had a great time hearing her speak. Now that I've finished the book, I can definitely say that reading it was an equal pleasure. Judith Humphrey's words have a clear, confident quality to them that I enjoyed reading. There's nothing complicated about it, and she gets her point across quite well. In addition, she seems to have an uncanny understanding of women.
At my University, I'm part of a group that tries to teach leadership and business skills to high school students, and I've done quite a few speeches and presentations, so I had thought myself relatively knowledgable on leadership and a decent public speaker. However, as I was reading, I found myself agreeing with many of the things she said in the book, and I found that I do many of the things she talks about (which I am now working to change). So many things, like women trying to make themselves look smaller when sitting, were quite familiar to me, and a bit of a shock to realize that I was doing them. I think that many women who read this book will be surprised at how many of the things mentioned in it are things they actually do, even without realizing it.
In addition to recognizing what women tend to do, this book gives many tips on how women can overcome their fears and become successful leaders and public speakers. I found many of the tips helpful, and will be trying some of them in the future.
I also liked how non-confrontational this book was. There was no hatred or bias towards men to be found, just a simple statement of the facts. The "advice for leaders of women" sections after each chapter I thought were a nice addition, and I honestly believe that men can read this book and find many helpful tips for themselves as well. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and will definitely be picking up Humphrey's other book in the future.
At my University, I'm part of a group that tries to teach leadership and business skills to high school students, and I've done quite a few speeches and presentations, so I had thought myself relatively knowledgable on leadership and a decent public speaker. However, as I was reading, I found myself agreeing with many of the things she said in the book, and I found that I do many of the things she talks about (which I am now working to change). So many things, like women trying to make themselves look smaller when sitting, were quite familiar to me, and a bit of a shock to realize that I was doing them. I think that many women who read this book will be surprised at how many of the things mentioned in it are things they actually do, even without realizing it.
In addition to recognizing what women tend to do, this book gives many tips on how women can overcome their fears and become successful leaders and public speakers. I found many of the tips helpful, and will be trying some of them in the future.
I also liked how non-confrontational this book was. There was no hatred or bias towards men to be found, just a simple statement of the facts. The "advice for leaders of women" sections after each chapter I thought were a nice addition, and I honestly believe that men can read this book and find many helpful tips for themselves as well. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and will definitely be picking up Humphrey's other book in the future.
July 17, 2015
I read this book after seeing Judith Humphrey speak at my office. She is a great example of confidence and leadership, and there are some fundamental lessons to be learned in this book. My favourite was how to make the most of 30 second elevator rides.
January 1, 2019
Good practical tips on increasing your presence
She provides practical tips on increasing your presence. There are also tips for leaders of women which is very helpful for managers.
She provides practical tips on increasing your presence. There are also tips for leaders of women which is very helpful for managers.
December 14, 2017
Good but not a mind-shifting book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews