Forefronting Miami’s Strength in Communication: Two Book Launches at MIAMI Women’s Leadership Symposium
At the 2025 Miami Women’s Leadership Symposium, Howe Center Director Elizabeth Wardle and Miami alumna Ruth Milligan shared the story behind Writing Rediscovered and The Motivated Speaker, two books born from a chance connection at the same event two years earlier. Their collaboration highlights the power of mentoring, communication, and community in transforming both personal and professional journeys.
Forefronting Miami’s Strength in Communication: Two Book Launches at MIAMI Women’s Leadership Symposium
Last week, a full-circle moment unfolded at Miami University’s annual Women’s Leadership Symposium, as Howe Center Director Elizabeth Wardle joined Miami alum Ruth Milligan to unveil their new books about speaking and writing, The Motivated Speaker and Writing Rediscovered. These books were the result of a collaboration that was forged at this very event two years prior.
Hosted by MIAMI Women, the Leadership Symposium brings together the broader Miami community each spring to engage with inspiring thought leaders through panels, keynotes, and workshops focused on professional and personal growth.
Two years ago, Wardle was invited to give a talk at the symposium about writing. Milligan, founder of the speech coaching firm Articulation, was also presenting that day. Inspired by Wardle’s insights, Milligan reached out and asked Wardle to help the Articulation team name key transformative ideas or threshold concepts related to public speaking.
What followed was a ripple effect: Articulation refined its coaching methods and landed a publishing deal with Wiley for The Motivated Speaker, co-authored by Milligan, Acacia Duncan, and Blythe Coons.
In turn, Wiley invited Wardle to adapt her decades of research and teaching into a book for general readers. That invitation resulted in Writing Rediscovered: Nine Concepts to Transform Your Relationship With Writing, now available for pre-order.
Wardle and Milligan returned to the 2025 symposium not only to share their story but to celebrate the official kickoff of their respective books. “What better place to launch than the place where it all started,” said Wardle, acknowledging the pivotal role the symposium and its organizers—including Kim Tavares and Michelle Martin Rosecrans—played in sparking this collaboration.
These two books also illustrate the power of Miami’s foundational strengths in communication.
Two of the authors of The Motivated Speaker are Miami Grads. Milligan (‘90) has a BA in Speech Communication and Acacia Duncan (‘03) has degrees in Theatre Performance and Economics. The book provides a practical and accessible approach to helping speakers of all kinds establish powerful speaking habits. It draws heavily on the threshold concepts framework that Wardle uses to develop many of the faculty development programs offered through the Howe Center. Milligan and Duncan presented at the MIAMI Women webinar series on May 7, which you can view here.
Wardle’s book, Writing Rediscovered offers readers a new way to understand themselves as writers. Grounded in threshold concepts from the field of writing studies, the book invites individuals to question common myths about writing, reflect on past experiences, and build confidence through research-backed strategies and engaging activities. Designed for individuals, book groups, and writing retreats, the book also includes tools to develop a personalized Writer’s Manifesto.
The book invites readers to engage in short bursts, exploring one idea at a time, illustrated through stories and real-world examples. “This book only exists because so many authors shared their writing stories with me,” Wardle says.
Wardle emphasizes that this book is for people who don’t necessarily have a positive relationship with writing: “This book is especially written for people who feel they are not good writers or who feel that what they learned about writing in school has not served them very well.”
Together these two books illustrate the strength of Miami’s liberal arts education and its continued leadership in educating communicators of all kinds.
Writing Rediscovered is available for pre-order now, with delivery in September. Readers can also request a signed nameplate through the author.
The Motivated Speaker is available for delivery now.
Learn more about the MIAMI Women initiative and upcoming leadership events at miamialum.org/miamiwomen.
Learn more about Articulation here.
