Dana Rubin discovered that the history of public oratory has largely ignored & overlooked the contributions of women through the ages and decided to change it
I STAY MOTIVATED BY ...
… coaching individuals to speak stronger. The other ways I communicate my ideas — by writing and public speaking — are also deeply rewarding. But nothing beats one-on-one interaction to make me feel that I’m doing my part to make the world a better place. When I see someone’s body language shift, their voice strengthen, their gestures become more purposeful, eyes light up, then I know they’ll go away more confident in sharing their knowledge in the public square.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ME ARE…
…curious, tenacious, impassioned.
IF I COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ONE PERSON, IT WOULD BE…
… the classicist Mary Beard, at the University of Cambridge — because she’s bridged the worlds of academia and popular culture by synthesizing and distilling knowledge from thousands of years of history to help us understand why women’s voices matter.
The most exciting innovation to me is personal computing, which is why my hero is Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer.
I CAME UP WITH MY BUSINESS IDEA WHEN I ….
… when I began coaching clients to deliver their speeches, and I discovered that so many women are uncomfortable putting their ideas into the world. Of course, that’s not true of all women, and there are many men who also dislike it, or don’t do it well. But overall, it’s clear that more women need help in this area. They get discouraged for many different reasons: because they have no role models, because they have less experience, because the playing field is not level, and they get criticized or harshly scrutinized when they do. But I know I have the knowledge and skills to help them overcome these challenges. That’s become my mission.
Also, I came up with the idea for my speech archive, The Speaking While Female Speech Bank, when I discovered that the history of public oratory has largely ignored and overlooked the contributions of women through the ages. I want to set the record straight about who actually spoke in history (hint: not just men). My mission is to correct the historic record so that young women and girls will grow up with powerful role models of women who’ve used their voices to speak out for change.
BEFORE THIS I WAS ….
… a full-time speechwriter and thought leadership consultant. I wrote speeches, articles, op-eds, and other influential content for leaders in the corporate, non-profit worlds, and in the world of ideas and arts. I find it rewarding to help individuals clarify and sharpen their messages and align their ideas with the goals of the organizations they represent. And I enjoy helping organizations develop strategies for communicating their knowledge and goals to the marketplace.
MY DREAM IS TO CREATE …
… an organization or foundation that provides speaker training for girls and young women around the world. These are skills best learned when we are young — the skills of confidence, self-advocacy, strong speech and persuasion, and the ability to draw on inner strength to step up and deliver It comes from the deep conviction that your knowledge and experiences are unique and have value in the world. We face so many big problems in the world today, from governance, public policy and political systems to healthcare, the environment, and climate change. We need the best minds to tackle these challenges. We simply cannot afford to miss out on anyones’s creativity, insights, and expertise.
ONE SUPER-SUCCESSFUL PERSON I LOOK UP TO IS …
… Mae Jemison, the former NASA astronaut, and the first Black woman to travel to space. Jemison greg up in Alabama in a family of modest means. But she was, in her own words, “naive and stubborn,” fiercely ambitious, and always knew space travel was her destiny. She got her medical degree and served in the Peace Corps. She flew on her space mission in 1992. In the years after her NASA career, she has dedicated her life to technology innovation. She’s written books — including a series of children’s books — given many speeches, and is a powerful role model for “naive and stubborn” women everywhere.