How do you manage the pressure of being in the hot seat, day in day out? Viv speaks to Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of The Guardian since 2015, when she became the first woman to hold the position in the newspaper's 194-year history. Under her leadership, the paper has created a successful strategy of reader funding and become an increasingly international business, with Viner overseeing a staff of over 1500 globally. Katharine tells Viv how she encourages people to speak up in meetings; how...
Apr 16, 2026•32 min•Season 23Ep. 6
How do you find the courage to keep changing the course of your career and try something new? Viv speaks to Amy Poon, who grew up in her family's famous Poon's restaurant business, and pursued various careers including art dealing and PR, before settling on her current career as a food entrepreneur. Her Chinese food heritage brand, Poon's London, produces award-winning sauces, while her beautiful central London restaurant, Poon's at Somerset House, has won accolades for its elevated Chinese home...
Apr 09, 2026•32 min•Season 23Ep. 5
How can you use disappointment to fuel your future success? Viv talks to Maria Semple, who wrote the bestselling novel, Where D'You Go, Bernadette, after bouncing back from the disappointment of her first novel not making it big. Her new book, Go Gentle is the darkly funny story of Adora Hazzard, a woman who thinks she's got it all figured out in later life — she lives in a "coven" with other cool, older women — only to have the past come back to haunt her in the shape of an unresolved MeToo mom...
Apr 02, 2026•38 min•Season 23Ep. 4
How do you cultivate self-belief when barriers get in the way of your goals? Viv talks to I.Stephanie Boyce, a solicitor who went on to become president of the Law Society - the first person of colour to hold that title. Yet, in her early years, she had been told that law would not be an attainable career for her. This year, she was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list, in recognition of her service to the legal profession, to diversity and to access to justice. She now works as a speake...
Mar 26, 2026•35 min•Season 23Ep. 3
How can you develop a leadership style that is calm and non-forceful? Viv talks to Sanna Marin, the former Prime Minister of Finland, who was the youngest ever elected female leader of a country, when she took that position at the age of 34. One of her major achievements when in power was overseeing Finland joining NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and she lead Finland's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her premiership was also marked by a lot of media attention on her p...
Mar 19, 2026•33 min•Season 23Ep. 2
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 ...
Mar 12, 2026•37 min•Season 23Ep. 1
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 Partr...
Mar 09, 2026•1 min
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 wi...
Feb 09, 2024•32 min•Season 22Ep. 6
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 a...
Feb 02, 2024•33 min•Season 22Ep. 5
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 u...
Jan 26, 2024•37 min•Season 22Ep. 4
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 ...
Jan 19, 2024•40 min•Season 22Ep. 3
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 na...
Jan 12, 2024•28 min•Season 22Ep. 2
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, ...
Jan 05, 2024•30 min•Season 22Ep. 1
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 fragi...
Jul 03, 2023•29 min•Season 21Ep. 5
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 droppe...
Jun 30, 2023•31 min•Season 21Ep. 4
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 ...
Jun 29, 2023•33 min•Season 21Ep. 3
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 ...
Jun 28, 2023•38 min•Season 21Ep. 2
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-as...
Jun 27, 2023•29 min•Season 21Ep. 1
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 ...
Jun 23, 2023•39 min•Season 20Ep. 6
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 groun...
Jun 16, 2023•37 min•Season 20Ep. 5
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 ...
Jun 09, 2023•34 min•Season 20Ep. 4
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 c...
Jun 02, 2023•44 min•Season 20Ep. 3
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 an...
May 26, 2023•34 min•Season 20Ep. 2
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 loc...
May 19, 2023•37 min•Season 20Ep. 1
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 conf...
Apr 21, 2023•19 min•Season 19Ep. 6
In this week's round-up of all the best tips and tricks for confidence and performance, we continue with the theme of preparation. Talking to actress Nicole Ansari ( Deadwood) and her husband Brian Cox ( Succession) , Viv discusses their definitions of owning the room while involving other people. Former TV presenter turned best-selling author Dawn O'Porter talks very movingly about how easily we can get distracted by what is not working, while entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid, one of the first blac...
Apr 17, 2023•22 min•Season 19Ep. 5
Everyone loves to feel prepared, but what would happen if you didn't really prepare at all? How do you prepare for the moments of pressure? In this masterclass, Viv is interested in our different relationships with preparation. Writer and commentator Bryony Gordon says if you're passionate about your subject, then you don't need a script, while Labour MP Jess Phillips thinks it's important to celebrate the imperfections in spoken delivery. Entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow is great at talking in a var...
Apr 07, 2023•22 min•Season 19Ep. 4
Have you ever felt like you can't do certain things? What do you do to tackle your own self-doubt? In this 3rd episode, Viv turns traditional thinking about imposter syndrome on its head, and considers alternative outlooks from her guests. Professor Mary Beard talks about the misogynistic origins of public speaking, dating back to the Roman Empire, and actress Katy Brand says that in her experience, confidence can ebb and flow. If you find yourself feeling like an imposter, Paula Hines says that...
Mar 31, 2023•30 min•Season 19Ep. 3
Where does confidence come from? What can you do if you're very self-conscious and you feel really uncomfortable in front of others? In this second episode of weekly masterclasses, Viv talks about nerves and confidence, and how they really do go hand in hand. From archive interviews, Viv's previous guests share their words of wisdom. In the very first episode Nigella Lawson stresses that you don't need to be perfect. Since then we have had many other guests including Margaret Heffernan, business...
Mar 24, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 19Ep. 2
How do you work out what you want to say and what you think people are expecting? If you want to speak up, how do you know where to start? In this new batch of episodes coming up over the next few weeks we're going to dig into our archive of over 150 interviews. In these weekly masterclasses, each episode will tackle the things that really matter: confidence, overcoming nerves, imposter syndrome. This week, Viv looks into what makes a great speech - or knowing what to say. Hillary Clinton advise...
Mar 17, 2023•24 min•Season 19Ep. 1
