Let’s Get Loud
Happy International Women’s Day!
I was sweating away in a dance class when I first heard the Gloria Estefan banger ‘Let’s Get Loud’. A perfect Zumba number, the song is a light-hearted call to action for us to live unapologetically at full volume. Culturally, women often get the message that staying agreeably quiet is what’s expected of us.
So, on International Women’s Day 2026, I’m asking how we can instead crank up our communication and get our voices heard?
1. Take the floor
How comfortable do you feel when the conversational spotlight turns to you?
Do you revel in your stories, or do you mumble, rush to the finish line, second guessing whether your listeners really want to hear what you have to say?
If you’re in the latter camp, welcome to the club.
Even in close friendship circles, I can sometimes find myself back in the shoes of my shy, awkward younger self wondering why anyone would bother to listen to a word I say. However, a brilliant podcast from Stephen Bartlett interviewing communication coach Ving Giang really made me understand that your communication style – your vocal presence – is a skill that you can hone.
Try it: next time you’re in a situation where you’d be tempted to shrink back or even not share your story, think about the mindset of ‘taking the floor’.
Take up space. Both physically and vocally, try to push yourself out of your usual comfort zone, just a little.
Would you usually sit cross-legged with your elbows tucked in unobtrusively? Get those feet firmly planted on the floor like solid oaks and claim your territory on that table.
Is your speech usually hurried along like someone’s pointing a gun at your head if you take too long to deliver your story and potentially bore your audience for thirty seconds?
This time, infuse some breathing space into your story. Take a breath here and there. Think about it as giving your listener a little room to digest what you said.
2. Inject melody and golden richness into your voice.
Let me give it to you straight: if you want people to listen to you, you usually need to say it in an interesting way.
In an early observation of my teaching, a charismatic colleague who could instantly command a roomful of teenagers informed me that my voice when reading aloud was, well, boring to listen to. Even earlier on in my life, my own Nanna had bluntly complained that my reading voice at story time was dull. Ouch😔.
So, if you were to draw a continuous line graph of your speech as you speak, how would it look? A straight line? All within one range? Like a song, your points sound best with some flavourful variety to keep your audience engaged.
As with the previous tip, try pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone by turning your volume up and down more than you usually would for dramatic effect. Inject passion and gravitas into the points you really want to emphasise (I love the way Lucy Worsley does this on her historical quests).
As I’m speaking, I sometimes feel my voice becoming scratchy and irritating. When that happens, I try visualising warm, molten gold soothing my vocal chords. Almost instantly, I can feel my voice become smoother and warmer (my listeners might disagree😂).
3. Become Less Tolerant
Let’s shed the cultural conditioning that encourages us women and girls to keep the peace at all costs. While it’s all well and good to work on honing our vocal confidence and skills, communication is a two-way thing. And let’s face it, sometimes people are just downright disrespectful.
Getting louder in our lives also means getting more vocal about the times when you’re interrupted, cut off, or rejected in favour of pinging notifications.
What to do?
Well, think of a confident woman you admire. What would she do? Mel Robbins gives some great practical advice in this video on how to give a mature, confident response when dealing with conversational disrespect.
I’m wishing you a loud, proud and confident week📢,
Carolyn xx
Mini Journalling Prompt:
Who are my loud, proud role female models and what can I learn from them about taking the floor? Where is my best opportunity this week to practise get louder?