Clarity: 101 Short Stories, Essays, and Insights to Improve Communication Skills

By Armani Talks

Clarity is a collection of 101 short stories, essays, and insights to improve communications skills. Being clear leads to sharpened mental models. Sharpened mental models lead to refined behaver. In Clarity, you will be given insights that help you sharpen your mental models and improve your soft skills.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Armani Talks
• Release date: Nov 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868992438

Book preview

Author’s Preface

What does the word 'confidence' mean to you?

Think about this question.

We will come back to this.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?

Let’s say you had a long day.

You’ve been thinking a lot.

Now you just want to chill.

You want to avoid thinking.

What do you do during those times?

Some of do something:

Food related.

Friend related.

Rated-R related.

Or maybe you watch mind-numbing entertainment.

Lately, what I like to do during these downtime moments is to watch debates.

More specifically, philosophical debates.

I like it when 2 people are laying out their respective worldviews.

They are using logic, personal anecdotes, and occasional humor.

All in good fun.

Other times, I get annoyed by these debates.

These scholars seem a little too book-smart.

They keep quoting other philosophers of the past.

They keep reciting fancy definitions.

And using mumbo jumbo.

Language beyond ordinary usage.

That's when I begin thinking:

Are they studying philosophy or they living it?

Philosophy is a worldview.

It informs all other decisions.

Mental models are the new age term for philosophy.

Sounds cooler, no denying that.

Human beings need mental models to survive in the complex system we call life.

Anytime sensory data is coming in, we need to turn that data into information.

Then the information will influence behaviors.

I believe the best philosophy leads with street smarts.

The one that is learned during pain.

Have you ever met a hypocrite?

They only follow their philosophy when things are going well.

But when things are going bad, they are nowhere to be found.

That’s like a scientist who formulates a hypothesis and only seeks data to validate the hypothesis!

Any conclusion they reach will be compromised.

True philosophy is battle-tested in the good times and the bad times.

Pain is involved.

That's when you can determine whether this mental model has practical utility or whether it’s just a punch line.

I needed to follow my own advice.

If you’re new to the Armanitalks brand, I have 3 words that guide this business:

Confidence thru Communication.

These 3 words were presented to me.

I never sat down with a business plan and was like:

‘Gee willekerz, let me think of a cool mantra!’

The mantra was more so discovered rather than created.

I felt good.

I felt proud.

I found my mental model.

All for me to realize that I didn’t really have a solid grasp of this philosophy.

‘Why are you saying that, Armani?’

Because I was not certain what these words meant.

I’ve heard other people use confidence before.

I’ve heard other people use thru before.

I’ve heard other people use communication before.

But what exactly did these words mean?

I don’t really know.

So, I spent more time working on this philosophy.

Studying.

Doing mind maps.

Gathering experiences.

Putting the puzzle pieces together.

The more I worked on these 3 words, the more the words unfolded.

After a long time, the word play led to an understanding.

Here is my interpretation.

Confidence means clarity.

Thru means to link.

Communication can be further subdivided into 6 core soft skills:

Concentration, emotional resilience, creativity, storytelling, public speaking, and social skills.

Confidence is the emergent property of practicing communication skills.

The philosophy was no longer a slogan.

It was a filtration system that would influence all behaviors for the ArmaniTalks media company.

Confidence thru Communication.

That is the underlying message that has led to the creation of YouTube videos, podcasts, blogs, dozens of books and much more.

But back to that simple world:

Confidence.

Clarity.

Those who move with purpose know something.

They know something that others do not.

Empires are built from knowing something that someone else doesn’t know.

If your computer crashes, technically, you can fix it.

The only problem?

You don’t know how.

So, you hit up your neighbor, Leon, to fix it.

It’s because he knows how.

The right knowledge allows someone to be brave when others' knees are buckling.

The right knowledge allows someone to be okay when everyone is jumping ship.

What does confidence mean to you?

To me, it means clarity.

The clearer that you are, the more conviction you have behind your moves.

The more conviction you have behind your moves, the more you save time.

No one wins when you half-ass something.

You feel guilty for having one foot in, and one foot out.

While others view you as someone that cannot be relied upon.

The purpose of this book is to share 101 short stories, essays, and insights to give you clarity.

It’s meant to help you move with conviction.

You will learn more about human nature, how to manage social anxiety, become an ambivert, overcome rejection like a winner, and so much more.

The wording in this book is simple.

A 6-year-old can read it.

Most people get someone’s else philosophy and just parrot it.

They never experience it.

Hopefully, the stories in this book lead to insights of your own.

Hopefully, you can sharpen your own mental models.

From there, you move with clarity.

How to do Visualization to Build Spatial Intelligence

Visualization is a powerful concept in many circles.

From the circles of athletics, self-improvement, artists, and much more.

This site deals with communication skills.

Can visualization help you become a better communicator?

Of course!

Visualization is the training of the mind.

And the beauty is that it’s a skillset.

Meaning that we can learn a few fundamentals & practice it to get better.

The problem is that everyone thinks they are a master at visualization.

But they aren’t.

‘Why do you say that?’

Because they don’t visualize.

They daydream.

BIG DIFFERENCE.

A difference we are going to cover in this article.

Visualization is a powerful skill set for the mind.

And it’s time we learn how to visualize for dummies.

All you need is 5-10 minutes of your time every day.

Can you do that?

‘Yessir.’

Perfect. Let’s cut to the core concepts of this subject.

What’s the Difference between Day Dreaming & Visualizing?

From afar, the 2 concepts seem the same.

Daydreaming involves images.

Visualizing involves images.

But when you look closer, you’ll notice the intent is different between the 2 acts.

And that makes all the difference.

For daydreaming, you are in a mindless state.

For visualizing, you are in a mindful state.

The mind naturally wants to daydream.

Hopping from thought to thought.

But for visualization, you are choosing a target.

You are NOT hopping from thought to thought.

Instead, you are focusing on one image.

The goal is to be able to hold that image.

And from holding that image, we can eventually make it move.

Seems simple.

But it’s an extremely difficult concept to execute.

Biggest ERROR When it Comes to Visualizing

‘What would you say holds people back when it comes to visualizing?’

Trying to do too much.

Rather than focusing on perfecting one image…

We try to perfect too many images.

The mind becomes overloaded.

Aka: The Monkey Mind.

In the world of the mind, less is WAY more.

We are on a lifelong journey to reduce the entropy of the mind.

Which means to still it & make it relax.

Thoughts are the waves.

And consciousness is the ocean.

When we can relax the waves, we are pure & can see reality better.

One of the best ways to calm the waves is to train the mind to focus on a TARGET.

‘Focus on a target? Hm…this seems a little like meditation.’

Yep. Visualization done correctly is a form of meditation.

It’s a form of mental training…

So start viewing your mind the same way you view your body.

You don’t go to the gym & try to do 10 workouts at once, right?

‘Fuck no!’

Then what do you do?

‘I focus on executing one workout perfectly, complete it, and then go to the next.’

Exactly.

Likewise, with visualization, we are training our minds to focus on LESS.

That’s the intent.

Visualization for Dummies

Now that we understand that visualization requires less, the question is, where do we start?

How do we choose an image?

Truth be told, any image will do.

I recommend starting off SIMPLE.

Start off with an apple.

An apple is an easy image for your mind to warm up too.

We want to warm up the mind so we don’t overwork it.

We don’t want to be that skinny kid who tries bench pressing 400 pounds during their first time in the gym lol.

No thanks.

WARMUP IS KEY.

Leave your ego out of this.

So you have an apple (or any simple image of your choice).

Now the goal is to be able to create the image in your mind’s eye.

Can you do it?

Be honest with yourself.

We are going for CONCRETE images.

If it’s fuzzy, then keep focusing on making the image more concrete.

This can take a few sessions.

Once you are able to produce a concrete image of the apple, give yourself a pat on the back!

‘Why? It’s just an apple.’

That’s not the point.

Focus on the concept of what you just did.

What you did was reproduce an image out of thin air with your mind.

It’s quite profound when you break it down.

‘Awesome bro! Am I done?’

No.

You were able to produce a concrete image of the apple, great.

Now the question is, can you hold onto the image?

That’s key.

Visualization isn’t just about seeing flashes of an image.

It’s about holding the image as well.

‘Why is holding onto the image important?’

Because then you have control.

‘And why is control important?’

Because now you have the power to turn 2D into 3D.

Strengthening the Visualization Muscle

Most think they visualize in 3D, but they don’t.

They can barely control their own concentration.

They have so many thoughts showing up while they are envisioning the apple, that they mistake a 2D image for 3D.

3D requires work.

Thus far, we have warmed up with the apple.

We focused on making the image go from fuzzy to CONCRETE.

As we made the image clear and concrete, we focused on holding onto it.

The more we hold onto the image, the more depth we are able to give it.

Seeing a 3D image in your mind is powerful.

This is a thought that you were in charge of creating.

For a lot of people, they are not in charge of their thoughts.

Gossip, mainstream media & marketers are in charge of their thoughts.

Each 3D image you are able to create gives you more power over your destiny.

And that’s why we want to keep gradually building our visualization muscle.

As you keep zoning in on that ONE image, you will soon be able to see 3D with ease.

The apple is now more in your control.

Envision you picking it up.

Envision you throwing it.

And envision you cutting it.

As you are envisioning yourself doing these acts, your body will get involved with visualization as well.

You’ll notice a few sensations from your palm will light up when you pick up the apple to throw it.

Embrace all the physical sensations.

Those sensations give you more connection with the image you just created.

As you get advanced in 3D images, you body will naturally play a bigger role.

To speed up your journey, actively try to get your body involved rather than waiting for it to step up.

Feel the sensations of the palms.

Create a sound as you bite into the apple.

Do your best to taste it.

Get creative.

Understanding the Practical Benefits of Visualization

You now have a clear understanding of how the game works.

But let’s clarify the major points one more time.

What separates visualization from daydreaming is the intent.

You are consciously choosing an image to focus your mind on.

Just like anything in life, we need to work our way up.

Instead of trying to envision 10 different images, we will just envision 1.

Once we choose our 1 image, our goal is to:

Produce a concrete image of it.

Be able to hold onto the image.

Turn the image from 2D to 3D.

Animate the 3D image.

Get our body senses gradually more engaged.

As you are able to do this, you can move onto bigger images.

If you want to visualize yourself, a pro tip is to find ONE picture of you & visualize that. Build a relationship with this image.

It trains your mind to see yourself from a 3rd perspective.

At this point, you have all the knowledge to begin visualization.

But will you begin?

Some will, some may not.

‘Why would anyone possibly not begin?’

Because they don’t understand the benefits on a deeper level or may not have the time.

A few benefits include:

-Your subconscious mind (the mind that dictates 95% of your life) cannot tell the difference between what is imagined & what is real.

-Visualization primes your body to be more ready for a task.

-Enhances Spatial Intelligence.

-Visualization helps you build concentration.

These are just 4 benefits I’ve noticed from my journey.

But take some time to browse the internet & evaluate your experiences to notice your personal benefits.

This is a mental workout that helps you think in the images of your choice.

See Clarity in the Mind’s Eyes

With all that being said, visualization is a cornerstone habit.

A cornerstone habit is something that has an impact on other parts of your life.

From visualization, you build creativity, concentration, mental toughness etc.

All signs of a great communicator.

In the world of telling stories, it’s all a game of how well you can create images.

As information technology grows, we are noticing a blurring of realities.

What was considered fake a couple of years ago is now considered real.

Is this blog real?

Well, if you made it this far, then the blog may have added practical value to your life.

So in the context of your reality, yes it is real.

Even though you cannot hold it, touch it, smell it, etc.

Your mind is not something you can hold.

Your mind is something that you can experience.

But why only experience?

Take control.

And you do that by leveling up your visualization game.

Go from the warmup stage to mastery in real-time.

Clear mind videos are on the horizon.

Acquaintance vs Friend: What’s the Difference?

The following post is from the ArmaniTalks Twitter Account

Social Law:

1. Keep your friend circle small.

-This allows for stronger bonds & fewer snakes.

2. Keep your acquaintance circle large.

-This allows for more versatility & networking opportunities.

‘Seems like the law is backwards?’

Nope.

It’s in the correct way.

Mistaking it as being backwards will cause a lot of tension.

Are you aware of the difference between a friend and an acquaintance?

‘Sort of.’

Let’s turn ‘sort of’ into a ‘yes.’

Continue reading…

Talk to someone’s child side to build a friend.

Talk to someone’s adult side to build an acquaintance.

Both are required for a network.

It’s not about the quantity, yet.

It’s about being able to label, first.

What do you picture when I say, popular?

‘Someone who has a lot of friends.

Mistake.

Popular is someone who has loyal friends.

Loyalty is difficult to find.

And loyalty takes time to spot.

It can be spotted while going thru the ups AND downs with someone.

That’s a big part of what separates a friend from an acquaintance.

With a friend, you most likely went thru the ups AND downs with them.

With an acquaintance, that’s not always the case.

After the up AND down process, it was easier to decide if the person was loyal or not.

If not, then the friendship probably dissipated.

If yes, then the friendship solidified.

Let’s say you have 100$ right now…

If you try to split it among 20 people, then each will get 5$.

If you try to split it among 5 people, then each will get 20$.

That’s like your energy.

Trying to split your energy with everyone causes people to get a fake version of you.

And you to get a fake version of them.

People with a lot of ‘friends’ often get backstabbed the most.

Mainly because they:

-Trusted too soon.

-Have to scope thru too many people to find the snake.

Now let’s talk about acquaintances…

This label often gets a bad reputation.

If you go to someone and tell them you view them as an acquaintance, they may get offended.

I get excited.

‘Why?’

Because acquaintances keep a network versatile.

A solid acquaintance is born from a win-win relationship.

Both of you are providing value for each other in some way.

But unlike a friend, this group does not need as much energy.

A simple text once a month to see how everything is going is MORE than enough with an acquaintance.

The numbers may vary depending on the bond.

This is called a ‘touch point.’

The reason an acquaintance is powerful is because they can introduce you to a brand new network.

With your friends, you most likely know a lot of the same people.

Not always, but that’s often the case.

Let’s say Jim needs a job.

He doesn’t want to wait months for his resume to be read.

So he contacts a guy who knows a guy.

Jim knows that Johnny works in his dream company.

Johnny is not a higher-up in the company.

But Johnny knows Ricky, who happens to be a recruiter.

Jim is connected with Ricky thru Johnny.

This is called ‘node hopping.’

The core of a network are the friends.

View that as the nucleus.

The power of a network are the acquaintances.

Less is more for the nucleus.

More is more for power.

Before I wrap up, one reason you are lonely is because you are unable to distinguish an acquaintance from a friend.

You keep dwelling on who you don’t have, and ignore who you do have.

This dwelling causes you to wonder why you haven’t been thru the ups AND downs with acquaintances.

But remember what I said earlier.

Ups AND downs are for friends!

See if you have at least 2-3 friends.

And family counts too.

What Kind of Content Should I Create?

Should you create content?

If you are remotely curious about the question, then it’s best you keep reading.

If the idea sounds laughable to you, then chances are you should still keep reading.

What is content?

Content = Stories.

Ideas.

The ideas take up life in different forms.

Sometimes, pictures.

Other times, tweets.

Videos.

There is a whole ecosystem for different ways to create content.

But the fundamentals come down to ideas.

Who should create content & why add another thing to your life?

That’s what this post aims to cover.

Hobbies

Everyone should have a hobby.

A hobby is a task that is used to unwind.

‘What if I don’t want a hobby?’

Then a hobby finds you.

But when a hobby finds you, that’s not good news.

It normally comes in the shape of a bad habit.

On a day-by-day basis, the average person is getting a flurry of energy thrown at them.

Different information, opinions, dialogues are being absorbed by this person.

All that energy absorbed should be released in an outlet.

When no outlet is assigned, that’s when bad habits like:

excessive pornography, alcoholism, smoking cigarettes takes form.

Intentionally choosing a hobby signals to the subconscious mind that YOU are in charge.

Not the outside environment.

Why Content Creation is the Ultimate Hobby

A great hobby should leave you better off.

It should hit any of the target points:

-makes you a better communicator.

-adds money to your bank account.

-gives emotional fulfillment.

-leads to mental clarity.

Any of those effects show the sign of a great hobby.

Guess what?

‘What?’

Content creation hits all of them.

Content creation is the art of storytelling.

So you leave off as a better communicator.

Strategically leveraging your content leads to money.

An example is this blog.

If anyone clicks on the ads on this blog, I get paid.

It’s the concept that matters.

Ideas are turning into cash.

Emotional fulfillment happens when you pick a topic that you are naturally curious about.

What should be avoided is picking a topic just because others are choosing it.

Find the topic which aligns with your inner world & emotional fulfillment happens.

The byproduct of emotional fulfillment is mental clarity.

The mind mainly gets fuzzy when emotions are chaotic.

Smooth emotions equal a calm ocean.

A calm ocean equals a calm mind.

What Kind of Content Should You Create?

‘Alright Armani, I am really considering becoming a content creator of some sort.’

Awesome!

‘The only problem is that I am stuck on the sort. No clue what to do next. What kind of content should I create?’

Before getting too detailed, it comes down to looking at your consumption.

‘Don’t you mean production?’

No, I mean your consumption.

What kind of content do you predominantly consume at the moment?

You may be wondering why this is an important question.

This is important because it shows 2 things:

-It shows where you are currently finding emotional fulfillment.

-It gives signs to your thinking patterns.

‘I predominantly listen to podcasts.’

That means you enjoy podcasts.

Also, you most likely consume podcasts from more than 1 creator.

So chances are your mind is thinking in a new way.

Your voice is being morphed to sound like a podcaster.

May not notice it yet…

But just know that you consuming podcasts will help you in your unique content creation journey.

Fear and Joy

The content you predominantly consume does not necessarily always have to decide your content creation fate.

I am a hybrid.

I like to read books, don’t listen to many podcasts & occasionally watch some YouTube videos.

But the ArmaniTalks brand covers most forms of media.

Emails, tweets, blogs, YouTube, podcasts & books.

You’ll truly know when you start creating content.

That’s when it comes down to zoning in on the passion.

‘How is the topic chosen?

The topic can be chosen in 2 different ways:

-Fear

-Joy

Let’s talk about this.

Finding The Topics to Talk About

Great content is born from fear and/or joy.

What is it that you are scared of?

Go on a journey to conquering the fear & creating stories on that.

This kills multiple birds with 1 stone.

A fear is conquered.

In-depth content is created for life.

Others who want to conquer the same fear, learn.

The joy route is doubling down on a passion.

This too kills multiple birds with 1 stone.

The passion turns into a codified skill.

In-depth content is created for life.

Others who want to level up this skill, learn.

Both fear & joy have the emotional component involved.

Which charges up the lifeless content.

Without the emotions from your end, it’s hard to make someone else feel from their end.

Create a Schedule and Start

Procrastination will never get you started

Perfectionism will never get you finished.

So it’s a game of beginning before you’re ready.

A recap:

Find out what you consume the most to look for signs of which platform to begin on.

Find topics that either scare you or make you feel alive.

Create content on number 2.

A rough schedule helps a ton.

Example: a blog every Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Or a new YouTube video every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

This is a game of repetition.

The content does not exist if it is not published.

Get comfortable with publishing & each rep gets more polished over time.

Leaving a Dent on the Internet

The internet is still in the infancy stages.

Despite how complex it seems at this stage.

The beauty of the internet is that it does not see age, race, gender, etc.

It just sees value or no value.

The other beauty is that anyone can carve out a niche for themselves.

No matter how bizarre it may seem at the moment.

Creating your own lane is always an option as well.

It never hurts to be a pioneer on the digital stage.

The best content is the one that is created with you leading the way.

Lead with personality first & sprinkle in your skillset along the way.

Thriving in Chaos

Chaos gets a bad rep.

It’s seen as something that should be avoided.

But is this true?

What about in an alternate reality where chaos is rewarded?

Well, I guess we are living in an alternate reality.

Because chaos is rewarded.

From muscles to businesses, to innovation…

All greatness is born by thriving in chaos.

Why the poor narrative regarding it?

Because all things have a poor narrative depending on the angle that it’s being looked in from.

Thrive in chaos.

Invite it in willingly.

And evolve to a new state.

Destruction

People are creatures of habit.

The ability to do a certain task without any further conscious thought means it has become a habit.

Brushing your teeth, typing, driving, etc.

These are acts that are good to have automated.

Imagine if you had to think intently every time you had to brush your teeth.

No thank you.

Despite the automation of tasks being a good thing….

It can also be a deadly thing.

‘Why do you say that?’

Because too much automation leads to complacency.

The brain likes comfort.

But the same desire for comfort is the same reason why someone gets stuck in the comfort zone.

The zone where no growth takes place.

That’s when some destruction is needed.

Why Introduce Chaos?

Destruction sounds scary.

And you may be picturing one of those old-school cartoons where a cat blows up a building with a stick of dynamite.

It’s not quite that serious.

Destruction in the world of neural pathways & cognitive efficiency comes down to:

Doing something new.

Or adding in uncomfortable repetitions to something old.

Something new can be picking up a task that you have little to no experience in.

This automatically introduces a level of chaos.

Adding in uncomfortable repetitions to an old task will also introduce chaos.

Like how you normally plan a speech for a few days.

But now you’re setting the intention to have the whole speech created in a day.

Scratch that…in a couple of minutes.

That’s chaos.

This chaos leads to something great.

‘What does this chaos lead to?’

A new you.

Why Chaos leads to Evolution

There are many definitions for art & there are many definitions for artists.

One of the definitions for an artist on Google is:

A person skilled at a particular task or occupation.

This is a very different definition than many were probably expecting.

When I was young, my definition of an artist introduced the image of a guy painting.

Thought the only way to be an artist was to draw or paint.

However, that was a limited perception.

The true definition is a highly skilled individual.

Now the next question…what is art?

I see a lot of definitions on Google.

But I don’t like them.

What I do like is:

Art = Structured Chaos

What composes of that chaos?

That can depend.

It can be due to introducing the new uncomfortable reps.

The chaos can be born thru dark emotions.

Chaos can be introduced by starting a new field…etc.

But from my lens, chaos is interwoven into art.

With the definition of an artist being a highly-skilled individual, everyone should strive to be an artist.

At least in one or many fields.

And it can truly be any field.

Family, storytelling, business, basketball, etc.

When someone fails to introduce artistry into their life, that’s when sadness & anxiety starts creeping in.

The inner greatness wants more.

It wants to seek expression.

Therefore, go on…

Give it expression.

How to Start Thriving In Chaos For Dummies

Where do you go from here?

What’s the next step?

Well, this can be the beginning of you introducing chaos at THIS moment.

Rather than expecting a response from me on those 2 questions.

Answer them yourself.

Where do you go from here?

And what are your next steps?

Think about it.

It really comes down to changing something up.

Maybe it’s a daily routine.

Or maybe it’s introducing a new variable to your day.

The mind is much more inclined to participate in voluntary chaos when it knows the rewards.

And the rewards are enhanced skills in a given craft.

If you’re someone going thru a tough time right now…Let’s say a rock bottom.

Then surprisingly, this is good news.

The ability to work thru tough emotions is a form of chaos.

And the ability to rise above this chaos builds consistency into the future.

My Example with Chaos

So one example of myself introducing chaos came down to impromptu speaking.

I was doing public speaking in the Tampa area, doing some talks & emceeing different events.

This was an enjoyable process.

However, a part of me thought about approaching these talks with no notes.

By building the ability to think fast.

At first, the limiting thoughts of:

-No, you need notes all the time.

-Your memory isn’t strong like that.

-Don’t be lazy.

Started to come to me.

However, I decided to practice impromptu speaking.

Started a YouTube channel that was built on the back of impromptu speaking.

Topics that I cover are related to communication skills.

And I consistently put out videos, exercising my memory, logic, articulation & impromptu muscle.

Over time, this skillset started to feel more comfortable.

In the initial stages, it was a pain in the ass.

You’ll be surprised how much physical pain is felt building impromptu speaking skills.

-The head hurts.

–Breathing patterns need to be managed so the voice doesn’t break.

-And there are tons of muscle spasms doing a talk without interruption.

However, eventually, my mind & body adjusted to the chaos.

And nowadays, when I get invited to do a talk, I feel much more confident to take it.

Before, I would need a minimum of a 1-week heads up for a talk.

Nowadays, a same-day talk is not out of the ordinary.

Thriving in chaos in this situation is still an iterative process.

And that process of iteration is what keeps everything unpredictable & interesting.

Thriving in Chaos like a Winner

Overall, chaos is a part of the game.

By choosing to avoid chaos, you still invite chaos.

The dark narrative with this situation though is when chaos comes…

You’ll be rattled.

You’ll be like ‘damn, I wasn’t expecting that! What the fuck?’

Negative perception.

On the flipside, by intentionally introducing chaos to your life now, the game changes.

It’s more about building micro reps of destruction.

This conditions a positive perception towards unpredictability.

Then when unpredictability outside of your control is introduced…

There is this strange composure.

Others around you are looking at you puzzled.

‘How is this guy so composed?’

But you know.

You’ve been preparing for this.

Preparing like an artist who takes their craft seriously.

Straight poise…

Showtime.

Demystifying Public Speaking Nerves

When I first started public speaking, I hated the nerves.

The nerves of danger is what I considered it.

Still remember it like it was yesterday.

I had to give a 5-minute presentation about myself to give to a club that I wanted to join.

5 minutes.

That’s not too bad, right?

Wrong.

It was THAT bad.

When the club announced that potential new members had to give a 5-minute presentation on themselves… I was terrified.

It didn’t matter that I had to talk about ME.

It should be easy to speak about me!

But that was not remotely the case.

That day, I ended up feeling so many nerves, that I turned a 5-minute speech into a 35-second one.

Others thought I was arrogant for making my speech so short.

They thought I didn’t care about joining the club.

But that’ wasn’t the case.

Public speaking nerves got the best of me.

Everyone has a plan…until they are terrified.

It’s time that we understand these nerves on a deeper level.

If the public speaking nerves aren’t going to go away, then lets at least learn how to work with them.

Better yet….LEVERAGE them.

Why do we Feel Public Speaking Nerves?

That speech day, I learned how public speaking nerves can come out of the blue moon.

Why was this?

It’s because public speaking is an unnatural act.

We rarely are put in a situation where we have to talk in front of a large-scale group.

One on one conversation? Sure, we can do that.

Talking in a small group? Sure, we can do that.

‘How come I can talk to friends in a group, but not give a speech?’

Because typically, when you are talking to friends in a group, y’all are all having a bunch of conversations.

Tim is talking to Julie & Sam.

You are talking to Mikey.

Russell is talking to Jose.

Everything is DECENTRALIZED.

While with public speaking, the interaction is CENTRALIZED…

You are the central node.

The star of the show.

Us humans crave the spotlight, until we get it.

And that’s when we start to feel the fear.

So let me reiterate…

Public speaking nerves spike up because you’re doing a task that is outside your traditional comfort zone.

Is the Public Speaking Nerves Bad?

‘Alright, Armani.. You told me why I have these nerves. Now tell me how to get rid of it!’

Whoa… wait up there bud.

Why do you want to get rid of it?

‘Because I’m scared!’

Let’s take a pause for a second.

Aren’t you also scared while watching a scary movie?

More specifically, that one scene where the curious lady is going into the DARK room.

You know..

The room with the serial killer!!?

We feel scared during those moments.

That suspense causes similar sensations as the public speaking nerves.

Heart beats fast.

Tingle down our spine.

Skin feels chills.

Yet, we watch scary movies after scary movies.

Why?

It’s because humans LOVE to feel.

We consume most entertainment because it makes us feel a certain type of way.

Otherwise, we would not consume it.

The main difference between a horror movie & public speaking is a matter of choice in the feeling process.

We have the CHOICE to feel a certain way for a horror movie.

But we don’t have that same level of control in regards to public speaking.

However, what if I told you that those nerves were needed?

That those nerves were not your enemy, but