Women Are Making Headlines More Than Ever

Women are speaking out and making an impact in an unprecedented way. Almost everything I've listened to in some recent news bulletins has been female focused. Angelina Jolie is a great role model as a United Nations special envoy. The comforting and caring attitude she projects is inspirational.

Women are speaking out and making an impact in an unprecedented way.

Almost everything I've listened to in some recent news bulletins has been female focused.

Angelina Jolie is a great role model as a United Nations special envoy. The comforting and caring attitude she projects is inspirational.

Ms Jolie's calm but forceful interventions over the appalling kidnapping of more than two-hundred school girls in Nigeria has helped popularize the social media hashtag '#Bring Back Our Girls'.

It's also prodded the Nigeria Government - and other governments including the British and American ones - to do more to resolve the crisis.

Celebrities like Anne Hathaway have stepped out to join the campaign too.

Michelle Obama is also speaking out in an unprecedented way on the kidnapping. As the mother of two girls the First Lady talks with profound empathy and credibility.

When Mrs Obama filled the weekly presidential address instead of her husband it was the first time this had ever happened. And she performed the role brilliantly.

Female's are being given - and are creating - more opportunities to step into the limelight to promote positive change.

It's fabulous to see.

Women have more platforms to speak than ever before - building on the 'Girl Power' which was all the rage when The Spice Girls who took us by storm in 1990's.

David Cameron is saying he wants a woman to run the BBC!

Female influence in the media has awoken a realization that women can make a difference.

There are women in business who are making a huge impact.

My advice is to 'speak up' - because if you don't you will never be heard.

Those in power are recognizing that further adjustments need to be made to capitalize on the abilities of women across many spheres.

There have even been orders from the Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond to review whether female soldiers should take on combat roles.

This step towards more equality is welcome.

However it's important that the expected move to allow women to fight on the front line is handled with care.

This is because men and women are different.

I agree that women who have all the physical, mental and emotional capabilities to do combat duty should be given the opportunity.

However it's only a small minority of women at present who would be up for this.

Having a background in the health and fitness industry, in my view, it's vital that care is taken to ensure that women selected for combat roles are in peak physical condition.

Apart from the obvious general physical differences, women tend to act more on feelings from their hearts whereas men tend to act on what they think with their heads.

Females can often touch on emotions more readily and are often better communicators than males.

The combination of both brains can make and implement brilliant decisions together with massive success.

One of the programmes I run in companies is Boosting Women's Confidence in The Workplace.

By the end I see a huge positive change in women's attitudes to what they can achieve.

Self-belief, confidence and positive communication opens all kinds of possibilities.

I coached a celebrity client who was absolutely brilliant on stage and camera.

However she refused to speak to anyone in the press because she was afraid she wouldn't come across well.

I worked with her on planning and preparation before interviews.

But the key to helping her feel more confident was also to work out in advance what were the likely questions she would be asked - and practice the likely answers.

If there was a question she didn't want to answer, she faced it but then linked to a message she wanted to get across.

When my client was asked to be interviewed she started saying yes, with great results.

The same can apply to all women who want to speak out but who feel insecure or afraid of how they'll come across.

Planning and preparing what you want to say - and practicing for important situations - will give you the confidence you need.

Believing in yourself and seeing the positive reactions other women are getting in the limelight is inspiring.

I was delighted to hear about Claudia Winkleman's replacement for Sir Bruce Forsyth's role as co-host with Tess Daly on Strictly Come Dancing.

In a recent Hello Magazine feature she revealed she was terrified of presenting. She didn't have to be because she had already presented on the programme with success.

It's important to remember what you have achieved and what you can do rather than focus on what you are terrified of.

Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Obama make great role models for women around the world. You too can make an impact in your own way.

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