Experiencing anxiety and fear about speaking in public is very real for a lot of people. In How to Own the Room, Viv Groskop explores the art of brilliant speaking with empowering tips to help you speak up.
Experiencing anxiety and fear about speaking in public is very real for a lot of people. In How to Own the Room, Viv Groskop explores the art of brilliant speaking with empowering tips to help you speak up.
Happy high status is the art of embracing your status as a speaker, stepping up to the challenge and taking on the task in a calm and relaxed way. Viv looks to Michelle Obama as someone who has happy high status for her ability to ‘occupy the highest and most prestigious spot in the room while talking to charity workers, the homeless, hip hop stars and the Queen all in exactly the same way.’
Put it into practice
According to Viv, ‘while status confers the external message that you are ready to lead and other people should pay attention to you, presence is the projection of how you are feeling right here, right now.’ Body language is a huge giveaway to how we’re feeling on the inside, but adopting the right posture can ‘trick your brain into feeling confident, so that you can relax and be present.’
Put it into practice
What kind of a speaker are you? How should you deliver your words in a way that feels true to yourself? Viv advises ‘There is a huge lesson in finding your own path, working it out for yourself, ignoring what everyone else is doing, and not bothering about being likeable.’ Be authentic and seek out the speaking opportunities that feel aligned with you.
Put it into practice
From Oprah Winfrey to Joan Rivers, throughout the book Viv celebrates a range of inspirational female speakers and their many unique ways of owning the room.
Put it into practice
Exercises can help us prepare, but the best way to get better at owning the room is to do it. Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking spent a year pursuing speaking opportunities in the run up to her book launch, despite being an introvert. And if you’re worried about having something to talk about? Remember this advice from Susan: ‘there is zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.’
Put it into practice