How To Own The Room by Viv Groskop - Book Review

Do you wish you could speak in public confidently? Do you have to give presentations as part of your job and dread it? Do you dream of being a public speaker and delivering a speech to thousands? Or do you simply not want to have a panic attack next time someone asks you to say anything in front of a group of people? No matter what stage of ‘public speaking’ you are at, Viv Groskop’s How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking will help you to become a better public speaker and have more confidence around your speaking.

Viv opens How to Own the Room by discussing exactly what it means to ‘own the room’. She writes that “there is no point in knowing what you’re going to say in this fictitious brilliant speech if you’re too nervous to make it in the first place.” This sets the tone for the book because it focuses much more on delivery than on content. Viv wants to empower every woman to speak in public with confidence.

Through the book, she aims to help every woman be able to own the room, but she states that “Without your own belief that you can own the room – and your desire to own it – the room is already lost”. She explains that one of the reasons that public speaking can be so daunting is due to the standards you are trying to achieve. Viv wants to make it absolutely clear that this standard is often imagined. She states “the bar for speaking is often set far lower than we think… All you need to be is credible, honest version of yourself”

Once Viv has set the premises for the book in opening chapter WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OWN THE ROOM? She then has a chapter dedicated to eight women: Michelle Obama, Amy Cuddy, Virginia Woolf, Oprah Winfrey, Joan Rivers, JK Rowling, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Angela Merkel.

These women all have different speaking styles and each chapter explores exactly what their style is and then discusses why the style works.

MICHELLE OBAMA

Michelle Obama is highly regarded as a public speaker and Viv describes her style as Happy High Status. She writes “When you’re happy high status, anyone can ask you to do anything and you do it with grace and charm, without losing any of your power”. In the book, Viv compares two of Michelle’s speeches to illustrate that even though Michelle is a highly regarded public speaker she wasn’t always that way. It is through practice that she has become the speaker she is today.

AMY CUDDY

Amy Cuddy’s famous TED Talk is entitled ‘Your Body Language may Shape who you are’ and it is not surprising for a woman who has a book called Presence that her speech demonstrates presence. Viv describes presence as “the projection of how you are feeling right here, right now”. This speaking style focuses on you being in the moment on stage and whilst we may think of public speakers having a strong presence, Viv argues that having presence is more about being a “plausible, comfortable version of yourself”.

VIRGINIA WOOLF

Virginia Woolf was an interesting choice for the book since there is no video footage of her speaking. In fact, the analysis of her style revolves around one recording of her reading her essay ‘Craftmanship’. Viv chooses Virginia in order to discuss pace. Virginia talks purposefully slow in order to maximise the audience’s chances of understanding her complex ideas.

OPRAH WINFREY

Having been a TV host for many years it isn’t a surprise that Oprah has become an amazing speaker and someone who many people would love to speak like. For the purpose of the examination, Viv chooses the speech Oprah gave when she received the Cecil B. de Mille Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Golden Globe Awards. She describes that speech as a masterclass because “it combines happy high status, presence and stately pacing”. Oprah’s style is also described as “preacher”. The preacher style is categorized by the speaker’s “ability to capture and maintain attention, sometimes for long periods”.

JOAN RIVERS

As a comedian, Joan Rivers may be considered an unusual choice. However, Viv chooses her to show that you don’t have to be likeable to be a good speaker. Also, she looks at the standard speaking rules Joan breaks. As with any skill people have created rules, however, Viv uses Joan to say that whilst these rules are created with the best intentions it is more important for you to find a style that you are truly comfortable with and that works for you. If you are confident with your speaking style it will make speaking so much easier.

JK ROWLING

JK Rowling is mostly known for being a writer rather than a speaker. However, as she rose to fame with her inspiring rags-to-riches story it was inevitable that she would end up giving speeches, including commencement speeches.

Commencement speeches have risen in popularity in recent years. However Viv urges you to watch not just for their motivation and / or inspiration content, but because they are often delivered by people who aren’t public speakers on a day-to-day basis. This means there actually style won’t necessarily be as polished as regular speakers and therefore demonstrates a standard that is more achievable for the average woman.

The book talks about how JK uses story well (no surprise there) because “she maintains a clever balance between her own stories and ours”. Being able to move between the personal and the universal is a skill exemplified by many great speakers.

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

When it comes to speaking rules there is a large emphasis on becoming professional enough to deliver without notes. However, Chimamanda is an example of how you can have notes and still deliver a wonderful speech. When Chimamanda gave her first TED Talk she stood behind a lectern with notes. However, this choice feels purposeful. Chimamanda is passionate about what she wants to talk about and wants to tell the story in the right way so would rather read what she has written than attempt to recall everything from her memory.

ANGELA MERKEL

The final female speaker analysed is Angela Merkel. As a politican, it isn’t surprising that Angela follows some of the more traditional advice that one would receive when learning how to speak in public, such as holding her hands in the ‘temple’ position. Overall her style is traditional – it’s disciplined, calm and focused.

This section also discussed the idea of how to share a stage, which is a skill you need if you are being interviewed in public or appearing on a panel. Knowing how to deal with the time when you aren’t speaking is as important as learning how to perform when you are speaking.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I loved this book. I loved the variety of women Viv decided to analyse. By looking at writers, academics, comedians, politicians and public figures she was able to show a width breadth of styles, but how they all work for the respective women. Not only does the variety of styles discussed mean that everyone should find a speaker or two to relate to, but because of the tips and exercise at the end of each chapter you can actively try and develop that speaking style further.

WHO I WOULD RECOMMEND HOW TO OWN THE ROOM TO?

I would recommend How to Own the Room to any woman who wants to improve her speaking or her confidence around speaking in public. Whilst many public speaking books are focused on people who are giving presentations at work or want to be a public speaker, this book is designed in a way to help any woman gain confidence in speaking whether it be for a TED Talk or a speech at a party.