Last Week the University of the Fraser Valley co-sponsored our local undertaking of the 2018 Women’s March in Chilliwack. The march, started after the 2017 presidential inauguration in the United States, seemed to coalesce a call for more women to be involved in electoral politics by running as candidates at all levels of government. Canadian women also have taken up the call but are reminded by current women political figures like Christy Clark and Elizabeth May that they will have to be strong and determined.
On top of that women will need to study up on communication and the skills they will need in all arenas of politics – not to become like men, but to let their own style and message be heard loud and clear. Women have many years of research on gender, politics, and communication to get them started such as volumes like Gender in Applied Communication Contexts, edited by Patrice M. Buzzanell, Helen Sterk, Lynn H. Turner or Gender and political communication in America: rhetoric, representation, and display edited by Janis L. Edwards.
Probably a more engaging way to discover tips and tricks to practice is through the medium of podcasts. Podcast resources for women seeking to be inspired, and to learn about or to practice communication skills for leadership and personal relationships, are easy to access. I started my search by using some common search terms such as communication or intercultural competence and categories such as education, politics, or society & culture.
While there are many excellent podcasts about communication and marketing produced by men, such as Terry O’Reilly’s Under the Infloence or from The Communication Guys, Tim Downs and Tom Barrett, in this blog I want to bring your attention to podcasts by women and for women. Here are just a few that I found that you might want to check out.
From the Apple Podcast app with twitter profile links where possible:
- The Rebel Speaker from Michelle Mazur, Ph.D.
- Careers by Jenn (formerly Communication Diva) with Jenn Swanson
- Quick Communication Tips by Lorna McLaren
- Defeat the Drama at Work from Kirsten E. Ross
- Relatable Leader with Catherine Goggia
- The Public Speaker by Lisa B. Marshall
- Nonprofits are Messy with Joan Garry, and
- The TalentGrow Show from Halelly Azulay
From the PodcastOne site, I found these:
- Hiding in the Bathroom with Luvvie Ajayi
- Inspirational Women from Kate Daniels
- The Limit Does Not Exist by Christina Wallace and Cate Scott Campbell
Many times the mainstreams site don’t cater to your unique situation so please search around the internet until you find a podcast that speaks to your demographic such as this one from Essence Magazine: 13 Awesome Podcasts for Black Women or Her Confidence Her Way by Emiko Rasmussen for a Japanese women’s audience.
The above is not an exhaustive list of possible podcasts and it would be great to hear your suggestions in the comments section below.
Additional Online Resources:
- Gender Role and Communication. (2018). In Wikipedia.
- Merchant, Karima, “How Men And Women Differ: Gender Differences in Communication Styles, Influence Tactics, and LeadershipStyles” (2012). CMC Senior Theses. Paper 513
Dr. Marcella LaFever (University of New Mexico, 2005) is an Associate Professor in the Communications Department at the University of the Fraser Valley. She specializes in intercultural communication and brings that expertise to various subjects such as communication for workplace, instruction, social media, team and public speaking contexts.