Show Notes
How do you bounce back from a major knock to your confidence? How do you maintain focus and poise even when you're exhausted or overwhelmed? In this fourth in our series of Happy High Status takeover episodes, Viv talks to Sophie Ellis-Bextor, singer/songwriter and the powerhouse behind one of the best things to come out of the pandemic: Kitchen Disco. Sophie first became known in the late 1990s as a teenager, as the singer of the indie rock band The Audience. The band was unceremoniously dropped by their label in 1999 and Sophie almost dropped out of music completely. But after bouncing back with a debut album that sold 1.5 million copies, she found her voice as an international dance/pop artist with another six albums, including her latest, Hana. All whilst casually having five children along the way. How do you find the energy to be confident when you're depleted? How do you handle criticism and rejection and stay positive? There's no better role model for fun happy high status than Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Viv's book Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident is out now. Sophie Ellis-Bextor's album Hana is out now.
More from How To Own The Room
How do you manage the pressure of being in the hot seat, day in day out? Viv speaks to Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of The Guardian since 2015, when she became the first woman to hold the position in the newspaper's 194-year history. Under her leadership, the paper has created a successful strategy of reader funding and become an increasingly international business, with Viner overseeing a staff of over 1500 globally. Katharine tells Viv how she encourages people to speak up in meetings; how she handles being in the spotlight; and what it was like to collaborate with the late Alan Rickman. The Guardian 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
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