How To Own The Room
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Inspirational women share advice on presenting and confidence, with comedian and writer Viv Groskop. Want to learn the secrets of brilliant public speaking? Each episode, Viv chats to a guest about what owning the room means to them. What is their...
Location:
United Kingdom
Genres:
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Description:
Inspirational women share advice on presenting and confidence, with comedian and writer Viv Groskop. Want to learn the secrets of brilliant public speaking? Each episode, Viv chats to a guest about what owning the room means to them. What is their approach to commanding attention and respect in the workplace, and beyond? This is the place to hear personal experiences of wonderful women at the top of their game, as they talk all things power, presence and performance. You'll find lots of practical advice for developing great presentation skills, finding your voice and turbo-charging confidence. Plus masterclasses with tips and tricks on overcoming nerves, curing imposter syndrome, and knowing how to prepare. Our agenda is to inspire every woman to shine in the spotlight and push outside her comfort zone. Guests have included Hillary Clinton with her thoughts on public speaking (and pant suits!); broadcaster Gabby Logan on building resilience and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson on cultivating self-belief. Not to mention the likes of Margaret Atwood, Professor Mary Beard and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. You'll find words of wisdom from entrepreneurs and CEOs; award-winning writers, actors and activists; politicians and therapists. Check out the back catalogue: it's an amazingly rich resource that's built up since the podcast started in 2018, with Nigella Lawson as our first guest! How to Own the Room is the brainchild of presenter Viv Groskop, an award-winning writer, comedian, broadcaster and performance coach. She switched from journalism to stand-up comedy in her late thirties and became fascinated by stereotypical ideas around women and performance. She passionately believes that being yourself in front of other people is a skill we can all master, to enrich our emotional and practical lives. She is one of the most sought-after speakers for stand-up, MCing, awards hosting and keynote speaking. Viv's best-selling 'How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking' formed the basis for this podcast. Her other titles include 'Lift As You Climb: Women and the Art of Ambition' and 'Happy High Status: How to be Effortlessly Confident'. www.vivgroskop.com
Twitter:
@vivgroskop
Language:
English
Contact:
07866853401
Episodes
23.1 Cariad Lloyd, actress and comedian
3/11/2026
How do you build the confidence to risk being more off-the-cuff in professional life? Viv talks to Cariad Lloyd - the actress and comedian - about making things up on the spot whilst being both in control and really, really funny.
Cariad has acted in Peep Show and Inside No 9 and is a regular on shows like QI and Have I Got News For You. One of the creative forces behind the hit Jane Austen improv show, Austentatious, she's also written several children's books as well as a brilliant book about grief, You Are Not Alone. She's known for Weirdos Bookclub - the podcast she presents with Sara Pascoe - and her own hit podcast Griefcast, a series of in-depth conversations about grief.
Cariad tells Viv about being a good listener; believing in positive feedback and learning to fail with joy!
The new edition of How To Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking is out now, featuring more in-depth analysis of everyone from Michelle Obama to Virginia Woolf — and extra-practical, actionable advice on honing your own speaker style.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:37:04
How to Own the Room - Series 23 Trailer
3/8/2026
Welcome back to How to Own the Room with Viv Groskop: the podcast where inspirational women reveal the secrets of brilliant speaking.
Yes! A new series of How to Own the Room is about to land. So make sure you're subscribed, clear your diary and get ready for a brand new set of tips and tricks from women who have been there, done that, and kept a spare T-shirt in the dressing room for spillages!
The first guest is actress, improviser and comedian Cariad Lloyd: she cut her teeth on The Alan Partridge Show before launching her own hit podcast Griefcast.
Viv will be sharing more ideas, revelations and insights in a series packed with excellent guests, who really know what they're talking about. This is the place to tune in for a confidence boost and some moral support.
And don't forget to order your copy of the new paperback edition of How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking, featuring more in-depth analysis of everyone from Michelle Obama to Virginia Woolf — and extra-practical, actionable advice on honing your own speaker style.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:01:19
22.6 Carrie Sun, author
2/8/2024
How do you swap a soul-crushing job for one that sustains you?
Viv talks to the writer, Carrie Sun, whose new memoir, Private Equity, is about to be released in US and UK. The story draws on Carrie’s own experience of being headhunted to be Executive Assistant to a billionaire. The competitive role was glamourous but 24/7, unrelenting and led to burnout in the face of a pitiless boss.
Carrie critiques capitalism and systems of misogyny, giving extraordinary insight into extreme hustle culture within a closed world.
Viv and Carrie unpick these complex threads and counsel keeping a sense of perspective and plotting a way out when you need to escape.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
Find out more about Private Equity.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:32:28
22.5 Kate Stephens, CEO
2/1/2024
How do you find the confidence to pursue the work you want and ace an interview?
Viv chats to Kate Stephens, the CEO of Smart Works, an amazing charity with celebrity backers whose mission is to help marginalised women break the cycle of rejection and deprivation that comes from long-term unemployment. Since 2013 they’ve helped over 30,000 women prepare for job interviews by giving them coaching, styling and an outfit to wear at their interview chosen from new clothes donated by fashion brands and retailers.
Kate tells Viv how respect and kindness can unlock confidence. Being welcomed and nurtured is key to enabling women to shine in an interview situation.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
Find out more about Smart Works.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:33:01
22.4 Joanna Jensen, entrepreneur
1/25/2024
How do you find the self-belief to pursue a brilliant idea, convince investors in your vision and pick yourself after setbacks?
Viv chats to Joanna Jensen, the founder, former CEO and now brand ambassador of Child’s Farm, a family skincare brand she developed from her kitchen table.
It’s an unabashed success story, built from the challenges of a recent divorce and two young children, and driven forward by Joanna’s conviction and hard work.
She tells Viv how necessity, belief in the product and utter determination was the rocket fuel that powered her along.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:37:11
22.3 Angela Saini, science journalist and author
1/18/2024
How do you connect with audiences on a deeper, truer level? Viv talks to award-winning journalist and author, Angela Saini, about combatting pseudo-science and reaching people by peeling back the layers of thinking. Her celebrated books include: Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong, Superior: The Return of Race Science and her latest The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule.
Angela tells Viv how her grounding in news journalism in her 20s helped hone her skills to write succinctly, to deadline and to time in a way that helps her in every aspect of her work now – from writing to public speaking.
There’s a meticulousness to Angela’s approach that combines keen organisation with keeping an open, ready to adapt and think differently. It’s a winning formula that Viv delves into and pulls out some nuggets to take away.
The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule by Angela Saini is out at the end of February 2024.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
Duration:00:39:33
22.2 Alexandra Antwi-Boasiako, presenter and moderator
1/11/2024
How do you create the best panel experience? Viv talks to professional moderator, Alexandra Antwi-Boasiako, about managing nerves, getting the best out of interviewees on stage and handling feedback.
Based in her home city of Hamburg, Germany, Alexandra hosts an array of sessions – from author interviews to tech start-up pitch events and festivals such as the African Book Festival in Berlin.
It’s about taking charge of a space in a way that makes everyone relax.
And while it all seems to come naturally, Alexandra hasn’t always been so confident in front of an audience. In fact at school she was known as the quiet kid. Find out what made the difference and set her on a different path, picking up some priceless tips along the way.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:28:27
22.1 Patsy Palmer, actress and DJ
1/4/2024
How do you learn to say no and do what makes you happy? Viv talks to the actress, Patsy Palmer, best-known for her role as Bianca Jackson in EastEnders, who now lives in Malibu, California.
Exuding chill vibes from the sofa, Patsy talks to Viv about how finding her happy places – including weekly DJ sets - came from following her own instincts for joy and not living up to anyone else’s expectations.
Patsy is unapologetically content in her sunny slice of heaven where she lives with her husband, children and dogs and which couldn’t be further from Albert Square.
She is owning her sun-filled room most radiantly. Listen in to catch some of her rays!
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:29:45
21.5 Evanna Lynch, actress and writer - Happy High Status
7/2/2023
How do you find your voice and your confidence when people expect you to be only one thing? How can you overcome thoughts that keep you small? Actress and writer Evanna Lynch joined the cast of the Harry Potter series as Luna Lovegood for the fifth film in 2006 at the age of 14. She went on to star in a number of independent films and in the TV crime series Silent Witness. In 2021 she published her debut memoir, The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting, a candid account about her life focusing on fragility, creativity and how she put herself back together after overcoming an eating disorder. In this conversation on happy high status, we get into the subject of self-sabotage, why boundaries matter, how to find your voice as you get older and how sometimes confidence comes from a quiet place, even a boring place. Is it OK to say no to a lot of things? How can you feel confident about doing that?
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
@vivgroskop
Evanna Lynch’s The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting is out now.
Duration:00:28:35
21.4 Sophie Ellis-Bextor, singer-songwriter - Happy High Status
6/29/2023
How do you bounce back from a major knock to your confidence? How do you maintain focus and poise even when you’re exhausted or overwhelmed? In this fourth in our series of Happy High Status takeover episodes, Viv talks to Sophie Ellis-Bextor, singer/songwriter and the powerhouse behind one of the best things to come out of the pandemic: Kitchen Disco. Sophie first became known in the late 1990s as a teenager, as the singer of the indie rock band The Audience. The band was unceremoniously dropped by their label in 1999 and Sophie almost dropped out of music completely. But after bouncing back with a debut album that sold 1.5 million copies, she found her voice as an international dance/pop artist with another six albums, including her latest, Hana. All whilst casually having five children along the way. How do you find the energy to be confident when you’re depleted? How do you handle criticism and rejection and stay positive? There’s no better role model for fun happy high status than Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Viv’s book Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident is out now.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s album Hana is out now.
Duration:00:30:39
21.3 James O’Brien, broadcaster - Happy High Status
6/28/2023
Can you be “too confident”? How entitled is too entitled? In this third of a series of Happy High Status takeover episodes, Viv talks to broadcaster and journalist James O’Brien, LBC presenter and author of How They Broke Britain (coming in Nov 2023), about challenging difficult and entitled people (especially certain privately-educated politicians), coming to terms with his own insecurities and finding a kind of humility after experiencing a major setback in his forties. Plus James reveals how he went from being someone who felt sick talking to people at parties to feeling comfortable in himself. Is it a good idea to put on your own “cloak of entitlement” when questioning someone who loves the sound of their own voice? What do you do when faced with people who are so confident that they’re tipping into arrogance? And how can we all listen to each other a bit better and make space for different points of view?
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
@vivgroskop
James O’Brien’s new book How They Broke Britain is out in Nov 2023.
Duration:00:32:52
21.2 Fatima Whitbread, Olympic athlete - Happy High Status
6/27/2023
What happens when you swivel the lens away from yourself? In this second of a series of Happy High Status takeover episodes, Viv talks to Olympic athlete and world champion javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread, star of I’m a Celebrity and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Win and fundraiser for Action for Children. Fatima examines how the extremes of a difficult childhood and of athletic excellence in adulthood affected her confidence. Fatima was abandoned as baby and grew up in a series of children’s homes where she experienced neglect and abuse before being adopted by her javelin tutor in her teens. She developed her confidence by identifying key people she could trust and by learning to “swivel the lens” away from herself and onto others, not only in order to feel less like a victim but as a way of building self-esteem. What if the key to self-assurance lies not in your relationship with yourself but in how much you can support and shine a light on others?
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
@vivgroskop
To support Fatima Whitbread’s latest fund-raising go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fatimawhitbread
Duration:00:37:53
21.1 Tom Allen, comedian - Happy High Status
6/26/2023
Can you be both insecure and confident at the same time? In this first of a series of Happy High Status takeover episodes, Viv talks to award-winning comedian Tom Allen, star of The Apprentice: You’re Fired and Bake-Off: Extra Slice, about his life on and off stage and what he has learned about managing nerves, coping with the reactions of audiences and critics and, most of all, living with self-criticism. Tom tells Viv that it’s a mistake to assume that comedians perform from a place of self-assurance: instead he has learned that his version of happy high status comes from being “confidently insecure." (Happy high status is a term from acting and comedy that is a sort of shorthand for “your best self.”) He shares tips on dressing for confidence (like Fred Astaire, please), how to avoid being apologetic around people when you really should be taking charge and how to feel entitled to speak. How do you “make space for yourself” in a hostile environment? How do you recover your confidence when it’s at a low ebb?
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is out now.
@vivgroskop
For more on Tom Allen, for tour dates and his new book Too Much, go to www.tomindeed.com
Duration:00:28:32
20.6 Angela Cretu, CEO
6/22/2023
How do you achieve and stay authentic? Viv talks to Angela Cretu, CEO of Avon, one of the biggest beauty brands in the world.
Growing up in Communist Romania she says she learnt about gender and social equality, while ideas of self-expression or personal ambition weren’t present.
After the revolution in 1989, Angela joined Avon at the age of 24 as the company moved into this emerging market and she flew - building new teams at home and internationally.
She tells Viv how important it was for her to share insecurities with a mentor about facing confident male colleagues from the established western markets.
Angela learnt that her voice mattered, her perspective mattered and finding strength in her own self while enabling others have proved to be key to her success.
Before going on stage she recommends immersing yourself in the energy of the room. And Angela will always make sure her eyes look amazing.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:38:43
20.5 Lucinda Chambers, fashion director
6/15/2023
How do you follow a dream? Viv talks to the fashion legend, Lucinda Chambers, who worked at Vogue from the age of 21, eventually working her way up to become fashion director at the iconic magazine.
Chatting in Lucinda’s beautiful west London home, she tells Viv about how she learned graft in her childhood and about working hard to follow creative sparks.
Despite being in the glamorous world of fashion, Lucinda reveals that she never took it for granted and made sure her feet stayed on the ground while the sparkles danced among the style and the glossy pages of the magazine.
She’s now co-founder of Collagerie, a curated online shopping platform for fashion and interiors, which she runs with former Vogue colleague Serena Hood.
And her advice is simple… it’s all in the baby steps.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:37:20
20.4 Curtis Sittenfeld, novelist
6/8/2023
How do you simply get things done? Viv talks to the American writer, Curtis Sittenfeld, whose new novel, Romantic Comedy, is already a bestseller and has been selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. They chat about feminist breakthroughs, navigating the room – literally and metaphorically, and what to do with your hands in a photoshoot with an A-list movie star.
She tells Viv that it’s a feminist act to assume knowledge by the women in your audience. And on the business of pushing projects forward she shares tips on separating your to do list and your emotions, and in the face of being overwhelmed, taking a moment to calmly ask the question - what do I need to do to get this done?
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:33:42
20.3 Isabel Wilkerson, author
6/2/2023
How do you nurture self-belief? Viv talks to the bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson, about cultivating gentle trust in ourselves.
The Pulitzer prize-winning writer of narrative nonfiction, whose latest book, Caste, explores the inner workings of an American hierarchy, talks to Viv about bringing your absolute all to the stage and creating an experience of communion with the audience.
Such deep and generous sharing in this space is balanced, though, with a word of caution about keeping precious projects close in early stages, protecting them from those who might discourage you when they’re most delicate.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:44:12
20.2 Claire Fuller, author
5/25/2023
How do you keep going when your mouth turns ‘sticky’? Viv talks to the award-winning writer, Claire Fuller about lessons from life, digging back into tales from when Claire worked in marketing and a pitch ran aground.
Offering tips and tricks for persevering through awkward moments, Viv celebrates Claire’s honesty for admitting when things haven’t gone well and also for celebrating the moments that most definitely have.
They talk about carving out a writing career later in life, while working and bringing up children – ‘do it now, don’t wait for perfection’ - and the importance of helping others in the spirit of Viv’s Lift as you Climb.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:34:14
20.1 Marielle Wyse, fashion entrepreneur
5/18/2023
Launching series 20 with a splash of colour and pizazz, Viv talks to fashion label guru, Marielle Wyse, about finding that thing you love and doing with all your heart. Having worked in TV documentaries, Marielle took time out to look after her small children and then found a spark, pursuing her own childhood passion for clothes and making, setting her on a new, exciting path, founding Wyse London.
Marielle advises remembering the thing you used to run to as a child and reveals how the Covid lockdowns transformed her fashion business into an Instagram-first platform where she got to talk directly to her customers. Her lessons are the about the winning combination of joy, passion and focus. And not forgetting from her TV days the power of the edit and when to stop. And move onto the next thing.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:36:33
19.6: Masterclass on How to Be Confident
4/20/2023
What is the secret of fearlessness?
How do you focus if you’re feeling nervous?
In this final episode of the How to Own the Room masterclass series, we dive back into the back catalogue for key tips and tricks on How to Be Confident.
Actress Petra Massey (Sandstrom, Miranda) is best known for clowning and physical theatre - she carries herself with a profound inner confidence, and talks to Viv about channelling fear through her body in a productive way. Another counter-intuitive trick for confidence, is using advocacy to empower others. Vanessa Sanyauke, CEO of Girls Talk Global, explains that when you act as an advocate for other people, it gives you a chance to use your voice and remind yourself of that true unshakeable confidence. As a performance poet, storyteller, best-selling author and co-writer on Beyoncé’s visual album Black is King, Yrsa Daley-Ward performs a lot of her own words on stage and for film. She compares her performance to a jazz improvisation, that is more honest and authentically her.
Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.
@vivgroskop
Duration:00:18:43