When There’s No Stage, There Should Be No Stage Fright How I Overcame My Fear of Radio Interviews
I was not born a public speaker and never dreamt that one
day I would ever have to talk in font of people or be interviewed on the radio.
As a child, I was shy and would rather keep my head down in school than raise
my hand in class. This fear only magnified during my high school years when fellow
classmates were less than enthusiastic about helping me overcome it. However, I
was
After my first novel was published, my publicist called with
excitement and enthusiastically informed me that he scheduled 5 radio
interviews. Unfortunately, my eagerness certainly did not parallel his in the
least. In fact, all I could do was perseverate on the fact that I would be
heard by thousands, if not tens of thousands of people all at once. This
prospect consumed my thoughts for days. Would I be too nervous to speak? Would
I sound intelligent? Would I simply make a fool of myself? These were the
questions I kept asking myself over and over. The notion of actually promoting
my novel was a distant afterthought.
However, because it was such a long journey just to be
published, I was certainly not going to let my fears ruin an excellent
opportunity. In order to combat these worries, I used a visualization technique
that had helped me for years. Before taking important exams or presenting
certain speeches, I would go to the room where I would have to perform, There,
I would visualize myself taking the test or talking in front of people. Because
this technique helped so well in the past, I hoped it would also allow me to
quell my fear of being on the radio.
My first task was to make a list of 20 questions that could
possibly be asked on the air and then type full answers to each of them. Most
of the questions were obvious. What is your book about? Tell us about yourself.
Who is the main character of your novel? I then created a few esoteric
questions just in case there were any curveballs thrown my way. If you could
travel anywhere, where would it be and why? What makes your book stand out
among the thousands already on the market? What does your book say about you?
With my pile of questions in hand, I practiced the answers
day after day until they were memorized. I then had my wife call me on phone
and ask me these questions at random. She also threw in a few doozies just to
keep me thinking. Despite all this practice, when the day of the first
interview finally came, my heart was pounding. I needed to do something extra
in order to reduce my lingering fears. But what? The inspiration came when
listening to a morning talk show on the radio.
With my cell phone in hand, I called up the radio station,
spoke to the screener, and was put on hold. My palms were sweaty, and I
actually felt a little lightheaded. Within a few minutes the host put me on the
air. At first my voice cracked but after a deep breath, I was able to hold an
intelligent conversation and answer his questions without passing out.
Success! I hung up the phone and felt much more at ease. By
the time the actual interview occurred later that day, I was mentally composed.
With a bunch of pre-rehearsed questions in mind and after doing dry-run phone
calls with my wife and the radio host earlier that morning, my interview went
much better than I had ever anticipated. By expanding my comfort zone, I grew
as person. Now, I actually look forward to doing radio interviews and seek them
out whenever possible.
About the Author
Stephen
Martino is neurologist practicing in New Jersey. Though not separating conjoined
twins like Dr. Ben Carson, he is part of an active medical practice and is
currently participating in concussion research and inventing new medical
products. When he is not working, he can be found with his five children doing
homework or cheering them on at a soccer field, basketball court, or dance
recital. Martino is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Cub Scout den leader
and is an active public speaker, helping to provide stroke education to the
local community, EMS
squads and healthcare professionals.
His latest
book is the science fiction/political thriller, The
Hidden Reality.
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