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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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 black women in the world to raise over a million pounds in venture capital for her digital platform Beautystack, talks about how she stays prepared and focused.

Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.

@vivgroskop

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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 variety of high pressure situations.  She advises over-preparation, and that you should also be ready to talk about anything.

Viv's new book, Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident, is available for preorder.

@vivgroskop