Permission to Speak

Critics Review

• 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

• Infinitely practical and full of golden nuggets of insight you can take away and use immediately. It’s a gem of a book.

  Caroline Goyder, author of Gravitas

• A totally beguiling and richly informative primer for anyone who struggles to say what they think out loud.

  Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger

• I love this book – funny, surprising, stirring, and so important! What a beautiful accomplishment and gift to put into the world.

  Rachel McAdams

• 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 you permission to speak up – and command the room.

  Rachel Rodgers, author of We Should All Be Millionaires

• 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

• Samara’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 that are almost always serving someone else, and shows us what it means to use our narratives to be the heroes that change the way we are heard in the world.

  Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play

• Speech coach Bay helps women more effectively use their voices in this savvy debut… 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

• Bay makes her book debut with an encouraging, practical guide to public speaking for women… Audiences respond to strength and warmth, and the author consistently reveals her own warmth toward her readers… A generous companion for building confidence.

  Kirkus

• Bay-the speech coach who’s helped Ruth Negga, Gal Gadot, and other perfect their dialects on film-offers an empowering take on public speaking.

  Vanity Fair

• 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, Bay offers practical and doable exercises… Bay writes with humor and ease, sharing stories from her own experience and those of her clients.

  Mindful