A Conversation With 'Confidence Code' Author Claire Shipman

While Claire Shipman is known for her work as an esteemed television journalist — you’ve probably seen her on ABC’s “Good Morning America” or “World News Tonight” — she is also a best-selling author. Her latest book, “The Confidence Code for Girls,” helps motivate and inspire young women as they look to their futures.

Shipman has traveled extensively, interviewing presidents and foreign heads of state, covering breaking news and being on the front lines of conflict around the world. But she’s also traveled extensively for personal enjoyment, both alone and with her family. Read on as Shipman shares a few of her favorite experiences and imparts sage advice for living a more profound life.

Tell us about a recent project you are proud of.

I’m quite proud of “The Confidence Code for Girls.” The publisher wanted it quickly, and it was a real challenge to figure out how to talk to ’tween girls without boring them to death. [The book has] fabulous graphic-novel panels and illustrations, and a lot of moving and illuminating stories and advice from girls. Best of all, my teen daughter was a tough critic, which made the book much better.

What is your primary motivation for travel?

As a girl in Columbus, Ohio, I spent a lot of time imagining the world and reading about it. I studied in the Soviet Union in college, and then in my early 20s [I] had the chance to move to Moscow, where I lived for five years. I did an enormous amount of moving around the world from Moscow; I was a producer and reporter for CNN and was sent every place, from China to Romania. Being exposed to other cultures, meeting new people, seeing a landscape or a way of life that is even just a bit different — it’s something I crave. I found, once I moved back to the U.S., that the only type of holiday I find truly restful are those that allow me to plunge into another culture. Somehow, for me, despite the inherent effort and occasional chaos of international travel, it’s the best way for me to relax.

What’s your most fascinating recent travel discovery?

Elephants are actually very quiet.

What’s your idea of a travel nightmare?

A package holiday at a chain hotel, no matter how luxurious, where you literally can’t tell where you are because everything looks the same now.


One thing you can’t travel without?

Hmm. Well, now I’m addicted to travel with my kids and husband. I love our group adventures.

Place you’ve been to that is closest to paradise?

Magalela, Zambia. I felt such a connection to something greater there. I think Africa can do that to you generally. We went to help build a library and were welcomed into the community like family. There was such a sense of joy in the village, and that enormous amount of challenging manual labor (I learned to install windows!), and living in a tent was simply unforgettable and blissful in ways I never would have predicted. My body really likes a diet of nshima [a porridge of cornmeal]!


Who inspires you?

My mother. She died when I was young, but I think I got my yen to explore and see things from her. She was always so curious and interested, and ready for adventure.

Greatest challenge in juggling your professional and personal life?

Saying no. There’s just not enough time, typically, for all of the things I’d like to take on, and often do take on. It’s like my brain has too broad a view of all the things I’d like to do, people I’d love to see and places I’d like to visit.

Advice you would give your younger self?

Take more risks. Don’t worry so much about people liking you.

Interview that has most surprised you?

I would still say my most memorable interview was with Boris Yeltsin, the day he took power from Mikhail Gorbachev. Yeltsin was unlike almost any other politician I’ve interviewed — certainly unlike the typically verbose, careful and PC Soviet politicians. I remember him happily pointing out that he had the nuclear codes in the briefcase sitting right next to him, and grinning from ear to ear.

I also had an interview with Al Gore the day he decided to bow out of the post-election presidential contest against George W. Bush. I knew what he was going to announce, but it was shocking, after that long recount period, to hear him say it.

What advice would you give to a student graduating from journalism school in 2018?

It would be much the same as the advice I would give myself. Take more risks. But also, for young people today, don’t be afraid to experiment. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I thought I might be a doctor initially, and [I] studied a pre-med track. Then I thought I’d get a Ph.D. in Russian. Only later did I realize I liked telling stories. And much, much later, I realized I liked writing, and writing books. So stay open. Be an explorer, not just of the world but of your passions!