Okay, ladies, spread out rather than be in a circle, just kind of creatively space yourself and face this direction.

Recently, in a side room of a theater in Oklahoma City, Rina Cook held a workshop for eight women running for office.

What I want to start us with is feeling grounded and centered.

We know that before we face a crowd or face the press, we want to be in our

most grounded and authentic place.

Cook is the voice coach for Sally's list. It's a nonprofit that supports progressive female

candidates in Oklahoma and her job is to help women up their public speaking game.

And soften your knees, bring your base in just a scosh, yeah, that's it. And think long back of neck, soft front of neck,

your chin is parallel. When we lift our chin, it makes our voice strident, and we don't want to get that

adjective, strident, bossy, aggressive, all of those.

Those adjectives. They are probably familiar to any woman who has stepped

into a leadership role. And to be clear, they're just sexist slurs meant to

undermine a woman's authority. But Farina Cook, that's beside the point.

Because these prejudices are getting in the way of political power. So she is trying to help women

subvert them.

Good.

Now we're going to add one more thing.

I'm Kywright.

This is the United States of Anxiety, Gender, Power, and the midterm elections.

And in this episode, reporter Jim O'Grady listens to our voices.

And he meets some women who are trying to break through our prejudice

about how power should sound. Here's the problem. When a man speaks loudly and emphatically, he's a take-charged guy.

...