JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE QUIET, DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T
Support for shy dreamers & quiet rebels.
You want to drop the masks that mute you, the cloaks you hide behind, and the protective shields that weigh you down — so you can move through the world with more ease, more connection and have more fun.
Most advice for social confidence just piles on more pressure and more rules to follow.
Smile more. Speak louder. Stop fiddling. Ask questions. Make eye contact. Stand taller. Just ‘act’ confident.
Maybe you’ve tried all that — and it left you feeling like you were the problem.
You’re not. The problem is the approach.
Gutsy works from the inside out. We don’t layer over the fear — we work with it.
This isn’t Extroversion 101. You don’t need to become louder, slicker or more like anyone else.
Instead, I help you…
✨ Uncover what’s holding you back
✨ Rebuild your inner safety and self-trust
✨ Reconnect with your intuition and creativity
✨ Learn to hold yourself through nerves, wobbles and fear
✨ Step into connection, conversation and visibility — on your own terms
This is not a performance. It’s you, honest and true.
Gutsy is grounded on my belief that we should all have the tools…
To represent and express ourselves fully, joyfully and with ease
To ensure our work, ideas and creations are seen, recognised, respected and rewarded
To do justice to the vast creative and complex worlds that swirl inside us
To make ourselves heard, especially when asking for help
To connect with others, find our people and discover a sense of belonging
To defend and advocate for ourselves and others, and stand up for what matters
This belief sits at the heart of everything I do.
And it’s carried through in Gutsy’s values:
Bold hearts
Lean into the wobble. Courage doesn’t mean having no fear – it means moving gently through it. We stretch, one small step at a time, knowing confidence is built in motion.
Trickster energy
We hold things lightly, even when we take them very seriously. A wink, a chuckle, a little mischief – these soften fear, shift stuckness and open space for something new.
Warm inclusivity
We meet ourselves and each other with curiosity, kindness, care and open minds. Gutsy spaces are designed for quiet unfolding and courageous becoming – no hiding, masking or contorting yourself to fit the dominant norm.
Expansive creativity
We centre creative play, experimentation and imagination as powerful tools for transformation. This includes drama games, free writing and spontaneous self-expression – because how we express ourselves matters.
Connection & collaboration
We believe in the art of gathering. We build trust in our capacity to connect – with ourselves, each other and the world. Community and collaboration aren’t just nice extras – they’re powerful agents of change.
What happens
when you get Gutsy?
ease and peace with being a quieter person
the deep relief of sharing struggles with others who get it
connection, friendship and mutual support
feeling okay with being nervous, uncertain or uncomfortable sometimes
anxiousness replaced with playfulness, curiosity and enthusiasm
feeling more comfortable in your skin, more at ease in your body
more ease in social interactions or when speaking in a group, letting go of fear of judgement
more flow in interactions, and not worrying about what you’re going to say or hovering on the outside of conversations
the confidence, expansion and growth that comes through challenging yourself
connection with inner strength and your unique gifts
more self-trust and less doubt
more energy and the confidence to pursue new creative ideas — and to share them
knowing further change is possible and that you don’t have to change who you are to make it happen
Real Voices, Gutsy Stories
“My hesitation about performing was replaced by curiosity about what would be created by the group each week, and how I would relate to their stories. I ended the course feeling hopeful.”
Chloe
“The experience was both safe and stretching – with ‘lightbulb’ moments at every stage. The magic of the workshop has stayed with me many months later. I’m more present, more easily able to centre myself when I feel anxious, and more confident about the value I bring as a quieter, shyer person.”
Pip
“Susannah met me with warmth, kindness and lots of laughter. She guided me through challenges and helped me understand a lot about myself, and what I can change and how… it has been a wonderful journey and potential to be life changing.”
Sarah
Inside the Gutsy toolkit
Have a peek behind the curtain to discover the playful, powerful tools we use to unlock confidence through creativity.
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It’s validating and unshaming to open up with others who share your struggles. Plus, groups of new people are hard, right? So this is the perfect environment to expand and grow. It’s a social solution to a social problem. Being witnessed with compassion puts a stitch in old wounds. In combination with the deep, intimate connection of 1-to-1 support, this is a powerful path to change.
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The physical symptoms of anxiety can send us spiralling, and the fog and blank panic of the spotlight dulls our shine. Gain a sense of control and expand your capacity so you feel more comfortable taking bigger leaps and more able to support yourself through every challenge.
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Play is the fastest way to learn. And for those of us who feel shut down, too serious, inhibited and scared to make mistakes, play is the way to move gently out of your shell. When you release your grip on control and stop squeezing yourself up inside, you discover huge reserves of creative energy start to flow.
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Much anxiety is a projection, a worst-case scenario. But if you can imagine the worst, you can imagine the best. We build your imagination muscles and redirect attention towards possible worlds. Just as your mind and body practice life in your night-time dreams, so we can create dress rehearsals for life within the safety of sessions and the imagination.
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Stories and characters from many times and places offer us wisdom and guidance for transformation, expansion, growth and meaningful lives. And by stepping into unfamiliar roles and scenarios, we give ourselves permission to think, speak and move in ways we’d never normally dare, and unearth long-buried aspects of ourselves in the process.
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Here, improvisation is not stand-up or comedy or theatre. With improv, you learn to take a chance, make a mess and know that everything will work out fine. It’s the vulnerability of collaboration and the safety of unconditional mutual support. You build trust that you can take a leap and know you’ve always got your own back.
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We build your toolkit for life through practices for solo reflection so you can process everything that comes up in sessions, increase your self-awareness and understanding, and coach yourself through anything. You’ll be building self-trust, confidence and learning to focus on your effort instead of external validation. We practice celebrating tiny wins every day because they rewire your mind and compound to create solid self-belief.
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We’re swapping judgement for curiosity: from “Urg, why the hell did I say that?” to “I wonder why I said that”. We’re flipping “I’ve got to get it right” to “I wonder what might happen if I try”. Loosening the grip of shame around your reactions and behaviours, and instead approaching with curiosity and self-compassion. Perhaps most profoundly of all, we’re reframing your understanding of social interactions from a sea of traps and pitfalls to an ocean of possibility and adventure.
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It’s rare to find spaces where you don’t have to perform, impress or explain yourself – where quieter people are met with curiosity, not confusion. Gutsy gatherings are made for that. No masks. No pressure. Just real connection with people who get it. These are spaces where you can breathe out, be witnessed, feel nourished and start to enjoy being yourself in the company of others. Where friendships grow gently, support flows both ways, and creative sparks are lit between new collaborators. You might come here feeling like the odd one out – but you won’t leave feeling alone.
As a lifelong student of shyness and social anxiety — and how they keep you locked up tight inside — I’m here as your gutsy guide to all things showing up and speaking up, so you can stop waiting for an invitation to your own life and make moves towards more belonging, connection & ease.
GUTSY FOUNDER & FACILITATOR
Hi, I’m Susannah, your Gutsy guide!
I was a whisper-voiced child, allergic to the spotlight and totally phobic of the phone. I struggled alone for years, feeling trapped and observing from the shadows, desperately hoping to be noticed, no idea how to ask for help.
I was sick of feeling invisible, like nobody knew the real me.
All my decisions were shaped by avoiding what scared me instead of going for what I wanted. I was supporting other people but giving myself nothing but vicious criticism. I’d been living for others’ expectations, by other people’s rules, ever the ‘good girl’, and getting nowhere.
I was fed up with not being able to represent myself effectively, do justice to who I was inside, or speak up for the people and causes that mattered to me.
There were new connections and new opportunities on the horizon that I wanted so much — but felt out of reach.
And I’d had enough of waiting for an invitation to my own life.
I always knew that drama was basically my worst nightmare! And, deep down, I also knew it was the exact thing I needed. “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek”, after all.
Attending a drama-for-confidence workshop in 2014 sparked something huge in just one day. That first leap opened many more doors in a decade of growth and adventures, including training to facilitate and share this work.
Along the way, I realised that confidence need not be loud (it can be powerfully quiet), that fearlessness is a myth (it’s about expanding your capacity to make bold moves regardless), and that my sensitivity and shyness did not mean I was weak, fragile or broken — I was gutsy, bold, courageous, creative, with inner strength and gifts worth sharing. Just like you.
I’m so grateful I found the tools to expand my life and I love passing them on. Change is possible. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. You can build quiet confidence, authentic expression, easy connection.
And you don’t have to go it alone. You can find your people, and do it your way.
I want support to build my quiet confidence!
Shyness, social anxiety and low self-esteem can leave us feeling isolated and lonely. But you don’t have to go it alone 🧡
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