Dread presenting at work? Read these tips before your next meeting

Dani Payne would have panic attacks at the thought of presenting - now she does it most days

Dani Payne was so anxious about public speaking, she had a doctor's note to excuse her from presenting at school and university.

"Most days I do some form of public speaking," she says. "I wouldn't have believed that at 15."

Speaking in Public: Why it feels so hard to do and how to do it anyway. Listen now.

Payne, from Exeter, says she stopped any form of public speaking after developing a severe anxiety disorder and experiencing panic attacks.

"The more you avoid what you're anxious about, the more you're anxious about it."

She presented research for her dissertation on sexual misconduct in academic fieldwork settings and that was the start of conquering her fear.

A virtual reality headset can help you present in front of a pretend audience

Daisy Schofield, a 32-year-old documentary producer and journalist, had her first panic attack at university during a presentation, she tells Woman's Hour.

To build her confidence, Schofield practises by using an app on her phone to create a fake audience in a virtual reality headset she bought online for £10.

Viv Groskop, a stand-up comedian, writer and public speaking coach advises picking a word that encapsulates what you want your speech to convey.

Groskop also advises putting a post-it note on your laptop camera and reminding yourself to look there and not at people on the screen "because it will mean you're looking down, not at people."