Barbara Berckhan – författare

Many women are afraid of speaking in public or professional situations. This book examines the reasons for this fear and the various forms it can take, and gives an account of the factors, often social, which dissuade so many women from speaking, such as the fear of being the centre of attention and of saying the wrong things. There is analysis and discussion of women's fear of public speaking, and the book suggests practical methods for combatting such fears. It gives advice as to how arguments and everyday communication can be handled more confidently and effectively, and suggests more effective means of everyday conversation and communication.

This is a handbook for verbal self-defence. It describes the techniques for protecting and defending oneself effectively in challenging communication situations, and how to shorten hostile interchanges, and to stop provocations. It gives constructive alternatives to being tongue-tied and feeling powerles in the face of aggression, teaches how to shorten angry interchanges and how to gracefully exit an argument, how to give a verbal riposte without getting emotionally too involved, and how to build an invisible mental "shield" that serves to protect our integrity.