Most books about public speaking don’t tell you what to do when you open your mouth and nothing comes out. And they don’t tell you how to get over the anxiety about performance that most people naturally have. They don’t tell you what to do in the moments when you are made, as a woman, to feel small. They don’t tell you how to own the room. This book does. 

From the way Michelle Obama projects ‘happy high status’, and the power of J.K.Rowling’s understated speaking style, to Virginia Woolf’s leisurely pacing and Oprah Winfrey’s mastery of inner conviction, what is it that our heroines do to make us sit up and listen – really listen – to their every word? And how can you achieve that impact in your own life? Here’s how. 

Viv Groskop is a writer, stand-up comedian and TV and radio presenter. A late-in-life starter in stand-up comedy and broadcasting, she has transitioned from journalism to live work by studying successful women speakers and performers with the beady eye of a life-long professional critic. She is the veteran of three sold-out five star Edinburgh Fringe shows. As an executive performance coach, she works with women across business, media and advertising, helping them to hone their authority, presence and leadership.