Perhaps the most important takeaway from this book, however, is that in order to excel one must speak up both literally and figuratively.

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Today, American diplomats, as part of their official mandate and as an explicit tenet of U.S. values, must speak up for the rights of individuals experiencing persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation, as when a couple were sentenced in Cameroon for "looking" gay.

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We must empower children to speak up and then be sure that their voices are heard.

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They must stand up and speak with one voice in condemning all forms of communal strife.

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Women must be willing to speak up in order to develop their financial knowledge, use their God-given skills to communicate, and recognize their accomplishments in the same way men do, unwilling to let themselves be defined by anything but the value they offer to their clients or customers.

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Donors must encourage direct (especially negative) feedback, and grantees must find the courage to speak up.

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And the direct reports need to know that the leader is giving them the leeway they need to speak up so they must tell the truth.

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Walloons who turn up at local councils unable to speak Dutch must bring translators.

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Presidential candidates, then, must be ready to snap them up at town hall meetings and barbecue joints where they attempt to speak with female voters on the issues they weigh the most important.

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