How I Eased my Fear of Speaking in Public

Email To a Friend 15 June 2009 I have always have been apprehensive about speaking in public and dreaded being called on in school to read or give a report in front of my peers. I didn’t realize when I wrote my first novel, that it would be so successful. My fiction novel became a very popular around the world and as a result, I would have to go on a global, 6 month book tour, reading excerpts from my book to tons of people. Imagine my reaction when I got a call from my publisher, telling me he had good news for me. He asked to meet me for dinner so that he could introduce me to their public relations representative.

When we met, they handed me a 10 page itinerary for every major book and record store in the world that I would be visiting. As the demand for my novel has grown, it has been reprinted twice in every market and has been translated into 10 different languages.
Although I was grateful for all of the success that I was given, I didn’t know how I was going to tell my agent that I couldn’t possibly get in front of a bunch of people to read.

After a couple of drinks, I mustered up the strength to tell them that I couldn’t go through with this. As disappointed as they were, the public relations specialist told me that they would reschedule my dates to my benefit, however, the engagements would be necessary to keep the momentum of the book sales going. They also mentioned that with a book of this magnitude that I would have to make public appearances and eventually get over my fears of public speaking.

They asked me if I wanted to take a holiday to the U.S. to relax, and if I did, they would connect me with the best psychologists and hypnotherapists in the business, assuring me that I would be impressed with the results. One thing I couldn’t pass up was a free trip to Miami Beach, Florida; and if I could be healed from my fear, I was all for it! The holiday was divine and the therapy wasn’t so bad either. I’m glad I did it because I never would have been able to do this book tour without it. I’m half way through my itinerary and I can’t believe that I was ready to pass up on an opportunity to see the world while promoting my book. I also met up with some movie producers to turn my book into a movie!

George Lamb, Portsmouth.

Bookmark this: