When I'm coaching people to greater confidence when speaking in public or in groups, they always ask me how they can be 'fast-tracked'. "What's the secret?" they say. What they really mean is: "How do I get to achieve this immediately without any feeling of discomfort?" This scary, brain-frying headspace – known in psychological terms as 'conscious incompetence' – is there for a reason: so that you can be creative, learn your craft, practice a heap of strategies... and become satisfyingly resilient along the way.

Dancing and singing and group fun reduce stress hormone cortisol and release happy hormones: endorphins (painkiller) and dopamine (mood-booster) and oxytocin (‘love drug’). The more we create positive, habitual pathways and imprint a route to joy, the easier good habits become.

Four simple tips to get you out of your head and back in your body before you give any presentation.