The body language we adopt not only affects the way our message is received, but also the way we transmit it. Remove this important element of communication and your whole mental approach to communication is disrupted.

Why does this happen? Think about the impact of thought on physical appearance. When you feel happy, you look happy. You can look at a friend and know they are feeling anxious before they say anything. We also know that a state of mind can lead to symptoms; we call this a psychosomatic effect.

What people often fail to realise is that this is a two-way process – your physical state can affect your mental state. This is referred to as a somatopsychic effect.