Write to me with your confidence problem or dilemma at [email protected] or send me a voicenote: 07377 231 025 Please read my Terms and Conditions

This week’s letter is from a Chief Marketing Officer in the communications industry.

Dear Rosie,

I recently lost my job, and I suspect it may have been unfair. But everything happened so quickly and was so stressful that I didn’t have the wherewithal or the courage to fight it at the time.

I’m now looking for a new role but have lost a lot of confidence. I keep replaying what happened and feel disappointed in myself for not being more strategic or standing up for myself.

At the same time, I find myself thinking there must be some reason this happened, even though I can’t work out what it is. It’s starting to affect how senior the roles I apply for are.

I’ve always been a high achiever, and this has massively changed how I see myself. When I don’t hear back from applications, it makes the feeling worse.

Lately, I’ve started worrying that people in my industry must be talking about what happened. I know that may not be rational, but it’s hard to shake the feeling.

Do you have any advice on how I can start trusting myself again and rebuild my confidence?

I give my advice in the podcast episode above. Been through similar? Give this person your tips in the comments?

If this episode has inspired you to develop your confidence and communication techniques, join us for our Confidence Through Storytelling workshop on Wednesday 15 April in Soho.

I’ll be joined by:

• West End director Abbey Wright (National Theatre, Donmar, protégé of Alan Rickman and Danny Boyle)• Award-winning playwright Nina Segal (Royal Court Associate, writer on The Crown and Hanna)

Together we’ll show you how actors and performers:

• hold a room• tell powerful stories• stay calm and compelling under pressure

And I’ll help you translate these techniques into your world — so you can win pitches, bring your team on side, and be seen as a confident leader.

Tickets available here:

https://theboostglobal.com/workshops-and-downloads/p/the-boost-confidence-through-storytelling-workshop

Corporate: £550Individual: £300 with the code IND at check out

I’ve saved a couple of spots for anyone who can’t make the fee - get in touch - no questions asked. (See podcast ep RE learning)

Liking, following, re-stacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference to this podcast. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

To hear more from Viv, you can find her on instagram here and visit here website here.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

By the way, I help C-suite leaders and founders build confident, robust teams. If you want help with that, drop me a line here.

Enjoy the episode - and tell me in the comments what you think.

Rosie

What if the word “confidence” is actually making you worse under pressure?

Viv Groskop has spent years studying how people perform when the stakes are high: first as a stand-up comedian, and later as the author of the best-selling How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking.

Through her podcast Own The Room, she has interviewed some of the world’s most compelling communicators, including Hillary Clinton, Margaret Atwood and Julie Andrews.

In this episode, Viv shares how her career in comedy has taught her to view the word “confidence” with suspicion.

She says:

“The biggest lesson I’ve taken from comedy about confidence is that the word itself is really not very helpful.”

Instead of going after confidence, Viv argues, the most effective progress comes from simple, measurable behaviours you can actually control.

In our conversation we explore:

• Why the word confidence can actually make people perform worse• The improv technique of “happy high status” used by great performers and leaders• How to navigate awkward power dynamics at work without losing your authority

Viv also shares some of the most useful advice she has learned from interviewing some of the world’s greatest communicators.

This podcast is designed to be practical. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing practical tools inspired by each episode to actively help you boost your confidence. This is now for paid subscribers only. If you want to receive these posts, hit the button below.

If this episode has inspired you to develop your confidence and communication techniques, join us for our Confidence Through Storytelling workshop on Wednesday 15 April in Soho.

I’ll be joined by:

• West End director Abbey Wright (National Theatre, Donmar, protégé of Alan Rickman and Danny Boyle)• Award-winning playwright Nina Segal (Royal Court Associate, writer on The Crown and Hanna)

Together we’ll show you how actors and performers:

• hold a room• tell powerful stories• stay calm and compelling under pressure

And I’ll help you translate these techniques into your world — so you can win pitches, bring your team on side, and be seen as a confident leader.

Tickets are available here.Use code ROSIED for a discount until the end of the week.

If you need a non-corporate rate, just get in touch.

Liking, following, re-stacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference to this podcast. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

To hear more from Viv, you can find her on instagram here and visit here website here.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

By the way, I help C-suite leaders and founders build confident, robust teams. If you want help with that, drop me a line here.

Enjoy the episode - and tell me in the comments what you think.

Rosie

Write to me with your confidence problem or dilemma at [email protected] or send me a voicenote: 07377 231 025 Please read my Terms and Conditions

Ok, I’ll admit it!

I’ve always wanted to be an agony aunt.

My friend Sally had a stack of Sugar magazines in her bathroom. My mum did not approve! I, meanwhile, was obsessed with the problem page. Dear Sugar…

People wrote in about problems, many of which felt terribly, embarrassingly shameful… and many of which I was also dealing with myself. Like:

“My friends all go out without me and pretend it was last minute.”(Ouch.)

“Does he even know I like him?”(Yah. He did. Ouch again.)

“People act as though I’m weird. Am I?”(I was. I am.)

Cheryl Strayed was the agony aunt. I loved the letters: the relief of discovering I wasn’t uniquely deranged. But it was her replies that really shocked me. She treated these people and our freaky problems as if they were… normal!

Fast forward to now. My coaching room is full of senior leaders sharing problems. The issue they share is often the final thing keeping them stuck but it’s also frequently the thing they’re most ashamed of. After coaching hundreds of similar conversations with leaders across a broad range of industries, I can tell them with confidence: these problems too are just… normal.

What my clients share, without exception, is regret at not addressing it earlier. The moment you realise you’re not alone, and that there’s a solution - everything starts to move.

In Confidence: The Problem Page is your space to share the problems that have been keeping you stuck. The ones you assume everyone else has already worked out, and the ones you secretly believe belong only to you. They don’t.

If you have a confidence dilemma related to communication, relationships or leadership, get in touch.

You can email me: [email protected] or send me a voice note 07377 231 025. Terms and conditions are here. Problems can be anonymised.

I’ll pick a letter to respond to in next week’s podcast episode.

See you there!

If you want to help me get the word out, liking, following, restacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband, Rod Williams. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

Richard Holman can help you have better ideas.

As a creativity specialist he works with senior teams at brands including Lego, Tinder and Matel - encouraging them to think more bravely.

In this episode of In Confidence, the last in this season, Richard and I discuss how to build creative confidence. And why nurturing your creativity is the most powerful antidote to self-doubt.

We discuss why it’s the process of creating (not the outcome) that builds real creative confidence. Why self-doubt is a natural part of making something new. (He reminds us that even Michelangelo doubted himself while painting the Sistine Chapel). And why constraints can actually make you more creative, not less.Richard also reflects on how many adults lose access to creativity by learning to avoid looking foolish, wasting time, or getting things wrong — and why rebuilding creative confidence isn’t about chasing inspiration, but about creating enough safety to try.

He says:

Discomfort is often a good sign. It usually means you’re stretching beyond what you already know.

This episode explores how confidence grows through trying things out, rather than needing to be certain. And how small moments of play can unlock clearer thinking, better decisions, and more resilient leadership.

We explore:

* Why play is essential for clear thinking under pressure

* How success can actually narrow your imagination

* Why creative confidence comes from experimentation rather than expertise

By the way, I help C-suite leaders and founders build confident, robust teams. If you want help with that, drop me a line here.

This podcast is designed to be practical. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing practical tools inspired by each episode to actively help you boost your confidence. Subscribe to get it straight to your inbox.

If you want to help me get the word out, liking, following, restacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

To hear more from Richard, you can find him on instagram here and visit here website here.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband, Rod Williams. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

Enjoy the episode - and tell me in the comments what you think.

Rosie

Julie Owen Moylan had always wanted to be a writer.

But growing up on a council estate in Wales, it didn’t feel like a job meant for her.

So on careers day, when the girl in front said “hairdressing”, Julie said it too.

She went on to build a sensible, successful life.

But the dream she left behind never quite disappeared.

Just before she turned 60, Julie published her first novel with Penguin.

In this episode of In Confidence, Julie talks to me about confidence, creativity, and what it really takes to act on a long-held dream later in life.

We discuss rejection, false starts, and how to tame the voice in your head.

Julie doesn’t believe confidence comes from silencing fear or erasing doubt.Instead, she believes we carry every part of ourselves with us: the fearful parts, the younger parts, the rejected parts, and confidence comes from choosing who gets to lead.

“We keep every single part of ourselves.But you want the best version of you driving the car.”

This episode explores confidence as self-leadership: how to be persistent without exhausting yourself, how to change course without giving up, and how to follow your dreams - not by blowing up your life - but by taking one, intentional step.

We explore:

* Why so many capable people delay their dreams, and how to begin without certainty

* The difference between blind persistence and smart persistence

* Why nothing you try is ever wasted

This is a conversation for anyone who has ever thought “It’s probably too late”.

Spoiler: It isn’t.

By the way, I help C-suite leaders and founders build confident, robust teams. If you want help with that, drop me a line here.

This podcast is designed to be practical. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing practical tools inspired by each episode to actively help you boost your confidence. Subscribe to get it straight to your inbox.

If you want to help me get the word out, liking, following, restacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

To hear more from Julie, you can find her on instagram here and visit here website here.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband, Rod Williams. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

Enjoy the episode - and tell me in the comments what you think.

Rosie

Shahroo Izadi spent years working at the sharp end of behavioural change - in addiction treatment, prisons, and the NHS, helping people change habits when everything was stacked against them.

She helped those people society often labels as “resistant”, “undisciplined”, or “broken”.

What she discovered there challenged one of our most deeply held beliefs about confidence and change:

That people need to be harder on themselves to improve.

They don’t.

In this episode, Shahroo talks to me about confidence, habits, and why kindness is a strategic option (not a soft one).

She shares how working with addiction revealed the real drivers of long-term change: self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-belief. And how those same tools are just as relevant for high-functioning, successful people struggling with everyday habits: scrolling, overworking, numbing, self-sabotage - as they are for addiction recovery.

She says:

“The most powerful confidence comes from doing what you said you’d do when no one is watching.”

Shahroo also speaks about her own experience with binge eating, dieting, and shame, and how reframing her behaviour as a food problem rather than a weight problem changed everything.

This episode explores how confidence is earned through consistency, protected by compassion, and strengthened by doing hard things when no one is watching.

We explore:

* Why shame blocks change and compassion accelerates it

* How confidence is built from evidence, not willpower

* Why your “hardest habit” is often your greatest source of self-trust

A conversation that will change how you think about habits and yourself.

This podcast is designed to be practical. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing practical tools inspired by each episode to actively help you boost your confidence. Subscribe to get it straight to your inbox.

If you want to help me get the word out, liking, following, restacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

To hear more from Shahroo, you can find her on instagram here and visit here website here.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

By the way, I help C-suite leaders and founders build confident, robust teams. If you want help with that, drop me a line here.

Enjoy the episode - and tell me in the comments what you think.

Rosie

Rosie Nixon spent 16 years at the helm of HELLO! magazine, rising to Editor-in-Chief at the height of print media’s power. It was one of the most glamorous jobs in journalism: red carpets, royalty, exclusives. A role many would dream of and never leave.

Until one day - alone in a hotel room, after a glittering work event, Rosie’s body and mind staged a mutiny: she could no longer stomach the life she was living.

In this episode, Rosie talks to me about confidence, identity, and what happens when the life you’ve built no longer fits who you’ve become.

She speaks about burnout, status, and the fear of asking:

Who do I become if I’m no longer defined by my job?

Rosie describes a period of unravelling, reflection, and reinvention that led her to walk away from a career she once loved and build something entirely new.

She is now the founder of Rosie’s Reinvention Retreats, where she helps midlife women navigate change, identity shifts, and career reinvention; work born directly from her experience.

This episode explores how confidence evolves over time. And how letting go of who you were can be the most powerful step towards becoming who you really are.

In this episode, we explore:

* Why success can stop feeling fulfilling when it drifts away from your values

* The courage it takes to pause when your identity is wrapped up in achievement

* And how confidence deepens when you give yourself permission to change

This podcast is designed to be practical. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing practical tools inspired by each episode to actively help you boost your confidence. Subscribe to get it straight to your inbox.

If you want to help me get the word out, liking, following, restacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

To hear more from Rosie, you can find her on instagram here and visit here website here.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

If you’d like to learn more about my confidence program for senior leaders, The Boost, you can find us here.

Enjoy the episode - and tell me in the comments what you think.

Rosie

Adrianne Carter is a leading expert in non-verbal communication and facial expression, often described as “The Face Whisperer.”

She’s spent more than 25 years studying what confidence actually looks like.

She decodes the tiny, often unconscious signals our faces and bodies give away every day.

She explains:

People decide whether they trust you - and how confident you are - long before you say a word.

In this episode of In Confidence, I speak to Adrianne about the physical behaviours that shape how we’re perceived before our intellect ever gets a chance to speak: posture, pace, eye contact, facial expression, and what they’re communicating about how safe you feel in yourself.

Adrianne shares practical tools you can use immediately, whether you’re walking into a meeting, a room full of strangers, or simply trying to feel more grounded in your own skin.

In this episode, we explore:

* Why confidence is physical before it’s psychological

* The invisible signals that make people trust you — or doubt you

* How to project authority without becoming dominant

This podcast is designed to be practical. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing tools inspired by each episode to actively help you boost your confidence.

Subscribe to get it straight to your inbox.

If you think more people should know about this podcast, liking, following, re-stacking, sharing, rating, reviewing etc makes a huge difference. We’re on apple, spotify and youtube. You can also share this episode easily using the button below.

To hear more from Adrianne, you can read her substack here and see her website here.

This episode was produced by my amazing husband. He also composed the theme tune. It’s a job he never knew he wanted! If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

If you’d like to learn more about my confidence program for senior leaders, The Boost, you can find us here.

Enjoy the episode - and tell me in the comments what you think.

Rosie

Jane Green is an 18-time New York Times bestselling author with more than 10 million books in print. She also writes the hugely popular “Dear Jane” column as the Daily Mail’s agony aunt.

In this podcast, Jane talks to me about confidence, identity, and what happens when you become successful before you believe you deserve it

She speaks about the runaway success of her novel Jemima J, the ‘persona’ she adopted as her career took off, and how pretending to be someone she wasn’t nearly cost her everything.

She speaks openly about people-pleasing, shame and status. And the moment the life she'd built came crashing down.

This experience forced her to ask herself: Who would you be if you stopped caring what anyone else thought of you?

This episode explores how confidence, clarity and self-trust grow when you lean in to your true self.

In this episode, we explore:

* How loss and change can strip you back to what matters

* What it really means to know your value

* Why confidence is built through action: certainty is not a pre-requisite

And so much more…

In Confidence is designed to be a practical tool

If you want to hear more from Jane, you can read her substack here and get her books here.

If you enjoyed this episode, it was made possible by my amazing husband, who produces the podcast. If you’d like to support the making of future episodes, you can buy him a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/rosiedalling

If you’d like to learn more about my confidence program, The Boost, you can - here.

For many years, I believed confident people had access to some sort of secret roadmap the rest of us never received.

But through my work as a confidence coach, I’ve discovered something different.

Confidence begins the moment you believe something is possible.That single belief changes how you speak, how you show up, and what you dare to go after.

The problem is: most of us have been trained to see our limitations long before we ever see our potential.

This new podcast series is designed to change that.

I speak to people who’ve been on surprising, complex and often bumpy rides in their quest for personal and professional confidence and the experts who help you get there.

Sometimes all it takes is one story to help you see what’s been possible all along.

It’s my mission to uncover those hidden ingredients: so you are no longer waiting for confidence to magically arrive – you know exactly how to find it.

First episode drops Tuesday 13 January.

My line up for the first series includes best selling novelist Jane Green; body language expert (face whisperer) Adrianne Carter; former editor-in-chief of 'Hello' Magazine, Rosie Nixon; behavioural change specialist Shahroo Izadi; creativity guru Richard Holman; and novelist Julie Owen Moylan.

Subscribe to get each episode directly to your inbox via substack.

And if you already know someone who needs this, share with them now.

Thanks for your continued support. I can’t wait so share it with you.