“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

― Frank Herbert, Dune

The best English in the world means nothing if fear stops you from using it.

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” — maybe, maybe not. I’ll leave that for the philosophers to decide. But what I do know is that a good idea left unsaid because you’re too afraid to make a sound (i.e. to speak up in your next meeting) helps nobody. Least of all you.

The topic of fear comes up a lot in member coaching calls.

Recently, one of my EES members asked, “How can I stop feeling afraid before I have an English meeting?”.

Here’s an extract:

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook