I’d say I was, generally speaking, a very confident person. However, I hate any form of public speaking.

I think it’s because I know I talk very quickly – even for a Scotsman! I can feel my mind racing ahead to the next sentence before I’ve finished the one I’m on. I would do this in school readings too, my eyes glancing down to see what was coming next instead of continuing the flow.

It’s not a technique that works terribly well. 😉

I’ve tried doing some You Tube videos. Hashtag fail.
With others, I piloted a podcast. Hashtag fail.

So you can imagine how I felt when I was approached by the organizers of Bookweek Scotland, to close off the week’s events with a reading and personal signing of my first book – ‘Damp Dogs & Rabbit Wee.’

Of course, I wanted to promote my book; of course I was so happy that somebody had considered it worthy; of course I was going to do it!

I had about two weeks to prepare … but prepare for what? I was to select a few scenarios from the book to read, and then open the floor to questions about the book itself, and also my life as a Pet Professional … alright – a dog walker.

I decided that other than marking the sections I would read, I’d ‘wing’ the Q&A session.

Then I was sent a copy of the poster for the week’s events … there were some ‘proper’ authors appearing that week. I can’t recall the names now, but the evening before me was hosted by a writer whose book had been turned into a television programme.

What the heck was doing ‘closing’ the week?!

The venue was the town library of Balloch, which sits at the head of the beautiful Loch Lomond. I’ll be honest, it’s not exactly the biggest venue in Scotland … or even Balloch, for that matter.

However, all the available seats were filled and some of the audience were standing at the back.

EEK!

Ok – there was probably no more than forty people there, but as my appearance time approached, it may as well have been four thousand. In fact, in some ways that may have been easier, as I wouldn’t be staring directly into the eyes of individuals.

Anyway, long story short, after a very shaky start, and after I got the first laughs from my reading, I settled. (I was hoping it was the content they found amusing and not my presentation.) The Q&A session was prolonged which gave me the confidence the audience was genuinely interested.

I sold out all the physical books I had with me and left with a healthy order for others to be mailed – oh, and signed! I still can’t understand why readers wanted my signature in the books, but I was well chuffed and happy to oblige.

You know – the whole afternoon was fun. I was honored to have been asked, and given the opportunity again, I would be a lot more comfortable.

Public speaking? Easy!

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