Women's words
Our "Women's Voices" workshops offer a space for exchange and work around
oral expression as a woman in our society
Program
o Discussions on the gendered context and situations encountered by women when speaking in public
o Sharing our visions and concrete expectations regarding public speaking techniques
o Work on raising awareness and deconstructing gender stereotypes in communication
o Discussion on the role of emotions in public speaking as a woman in our society
o Exercises to recognize and channel one's emotions and their body language signals (work emphasizing non-verbal communication)
o Exchanges and exercises to define and set boundaries: when we are dealing with " manterruption " (a term describing the phenomenon of men systematically interrupting women), " mansplaining " (a term describing the phenomenon of men explaining something to a woman while assuming from the outset that she is ignorant, when in fact, she knows more than they do on the subject), sexist "little remarks" in everyday life, or verbal aggression in professional or associative life
o Technical exercises: Breathing, Voice, Posture, Non-verbal language
o Work on clarity and poise in public speaking, as well as on assertiveness as a speaker
Methodology
Based on techniques used in the performing arts, the workshop allows participants to approach the topic in a fun way, using effective and accessible tools, from a feminist perspective. The methodology alternates between group and subgroup exercises, exchanges/discussions, role-playing games and connection to the group, key theoretical elements on public speaking, and contextualization within gender and society.
This workshop is often offered within non-profit organizations/NGOs. It originated from a collaboration with the League for Education and Lifelong Learning , where we presented it in 2018 (with registration open to the public). It is organized upon request.