How To Own The Room Podcast By Viv Groskop cover art

How To Own The Room

How To Own The Room

By: Viv Groskop
Listen for free

Want to own the room? Comedian and radio and TV presenter Viv Groskop talks to inspirational women about the secrets of brilliant speaking. They share the tips and tricks that will get you the attention you deserve.Viv Groskop 2021 Biographies & Memoirs Economics Social Sciences
Episodes
  • 23:5 Amy Poon, restaurant owner and food entrepreneur

    23:5 Amy Poon, restaurant owner and food entrepreneur
    Apr 9 2026
    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 cooking. Amy's father Bill Poon was the first Chinese chef to be awarded a Michelin star in 1980 and Amy's first job was as the coat check girl in her parents' restaurant whose customers were people like Mick Jagger and Barbra Streisand. Amy tells Viv how growing up in the restaurant world gave her great communication skills; how she's never had a strategic career plan (and that's ok!); and why her 'magic soup' is always on the menu. Poon's London 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
    Show more Show less
    32 mins
  • 23.4 Maria Semple, novelist

    23.4 Maria Semple, novelist
    Apr 2 2026
    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 moment in her earlier career. In Maria Semple's own previous life before becoming a novelist, she held her own in TV writer rooms in the 1990s and early 2000s, on shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Saturday Night Live, Arrested Development, Ellen and Mad About You. Maria tells Viv about discovering her true vocation as a novelist; how being raised in a creative Hollywood family made her effortlessly confident around show-business people; and she gives an insider's view of working - often as the only woman on the team - in TV writers rooms in the 1990s. Maria Semple's new novel is Go Gentle @MariaSemple 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
    Show more Show less
    38 mins
  • 23.3 I.Stephanie Boyce, Solicitor and former president of the Law Society of England and Wales

    23.3 I.Stephanie Boyce, Solicitor and former president of the Law Society of England and Wales
    Mar 26 2026
    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 speaker, leadership consultant and strategic advisor, and is a campaigner for justice, inclusion and equal rights. She's a real champion of the underdog, a powerhouse in the field of law and a no-nonsense public speaker. Stephanie tells Viv about how to command authority in meetings; the importance of active listening; and what part a teenage job in a burger restaurant played in her growth as a public speaker. 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
    Show more Show less
    35 mins
All stars
Most relevant
Great advice for women looking to up their game. Covers self doubt fashion and more! Thanks Viv

Great advice for women looking to up their game.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.