Barefoot the Beetroot

Hi Scott,
 
I’m the librarian at Mornington Primary School. A Grade 5 student named Liam nominated Barefoot Kids for our book of the week. His reason was “because this book changed my life and made me want to start a business”. Now I imagine you get lots of mail from our younger generation, but Liam is a very quiet, shy student. I know it’s a big ask, but even a reply from yourself that I could show him would be such a confidence-booster.

Anna
 
Hi Anna,
 
Thank you for getting in touch. I’ll address this one straight to Liam.
 
Liam, thank you so much for getting my book into your school!
 
And because you’ve read the book, you’ll know about the secret I never told anyone before:
 
I’m actually pretty shy myself.
 
When I was your age and had to talk to anyone, I’d stare nervously down at my feet, my mind would go blank, and my face would turn as red as a beetroot with embarrassment.
 
And that’s why I came up with a little saying to help me when I got nervous. It’s called S.E.A. (Smile, make Eye contact, and Ask questions like “How’s your day going?”).
 
It really works!

Even better, the more you practise it, the easier talking to people gets.
 
Now I don’t know what your Barefoot business is, Liam, but I’m hoping it gives you the chance to spend a lot of time swimming in the S.E.A. Doing that will really change your life! 

Scott.