Speaking Out

Speaking Out is a valuable armoury of useful and hard-won advice for girls and women on how to make their presence felt and voices heard in public. – The Age.

An essential, accessible and practical handbook for women on speaking out safely and confidently.

Speaking Out is a valuable armoury of useful and hard-won advice for girls and women on how to make their presence felt and voices heard in public. - The Age.

An essential, accessible and practical handbook for women on speaking out safely and confidently.

Worldwide, less than one out of every four people we hear from or about is female; men outnumber women in parliament by more than three to one; and women are even more under-represented in leadership roles and peace negotiations.

If half of humanity's experiences, perspectives and possible solutions to world problems remain underrepresented or unheard, we all lose out.

Drawing on 20 years of wide experience in the public sphere, Tara Moss responds to the question: 'How can I speak out?' in the most practical way. In this handbook she gives advice on preparation, speaking out and negotiating public spaces - sometimes in the face of downright savage trolling. With a focus particularly on social media and online safety, she offers tips on how to research, form arguments, deliver confidently, find support and handle criticism.

This is a guide for women young and old that not only helps them find their voice, but argues passionately for why it matters.

TopĀ Feminist Reading Picks of 2016 - The Sydney Morning Herald.

12 reviews for Speaking Out

  1. Clare Bowditch

    [Speaking Out] is written specifically to help women combat the unacceptable challenges they face when telling their stories in public in the age of online trolling. It deconstructs abuse and belittling techniques in an enormously helpful way.

  2. Jenny Noyes, Daily Life

    In a year in which trolls stepped up their attacks on women who dare to speak out, Tara Moss’ handbook for women and girls was perfectly timed. Full of useful and practical tips for women to equip themselves with the confidence to have their voices heard, and to feel safe doing so.

  3. Prevention Magazine

    A groundbreaking book.

  4. Ramona Magazine

    We think this is a handbook for every woman in the world.

  5. Virginia Gay, ABC Book Club TV

    Can’t recommend it enough – every girl ought to have a copy!

  6. Jane Gilmore, The Guardian

    Moss has written a guide for women who want to speak out in a world that would prefer them quiet. One of the great strengths of Speaking Out is its accessibility. Moss provides clear, simple strategies to cope with the often disproportionately aggressive response women receive when they speak out, particularly online.

  7. Fiona Capp, The Age

    Speaking Out is a valuable armoury of useful and hard-won advice for girls and women on how to make their presence felt and voices heard in public.

  8. The Weekly Times

    To say this book is timely is to put it mildly. It should be mandatory reading for every teenage girl, let alone women in general.

  9. Hit105 Radio, Australia

    This book encourages women who may face casual sexism in the form of dismissal, silencing and sexual harassment to recognise what is happening to them and how to put a stop to it… this handbook is a necessary read for all women and girls in our society today.

  10. Krissy Kneen, Avid Reader

    This book by Tara Moss is so very important. It has been an eye-opening read for me and it has changed my life. If every young man and every young woman was given a copy of this book it would make so many small changes in individual behaviours that we might just be able to begin to tackle a problem that is often invisible to us.

  11. Caroline Baum, Booktopia

    Speaking Out is the sister book to The Fictional Woman, the next step in the evolution of Moss as one of our most intriguing and accomplished media personalities. Here she shares the wisdom…encouraging her female readers to find their voice and use it. Along the way are tips about presentation, research, how to face down critics, deal with social media hostility and vicarious trauma. Few people will gain access to the kind of exposure that Moss generates, but no matter where or when we want to defend a right, at a community meeting, a march, a rally or any other situation which requires eloquence, courage, indignation or a desire for change, there are valuable tools and skills to be learned here from one of the best in the business.

  12. Child magazine

    Tara Moss understands the “unconscious bias” that prevents women being heard above their male counterparts.