Voice · rank 2 of 5 · speaking up

The order, slowly

Order a drink 30% slower and 20% louder than feels natural. Pause once mid-order and don't fill the silence.

Free. Nothing to download. Always take no for an answer.

Why it works

Comfortable people are unhurried. Practice unhurried and the comfort follows.

Slower than feels normal, a little louder, and one pause in the middle that you let sit. The bartender waits. The world doesn't end.

You rush the end. Order the next drink, or ask for water, and try the pause again.

1
Before
Rate your nerves from 1 (panicking) to 10 (at ease), and guess how it will go.
2
Do it
Play the card. A no counts. A bail counts. Walking up to the moment is most of the rep.
3
After
Rate your nerves again and say what actually happened. The gap between the two numbers is the workout.

The Voice suit · speaking up

Too big for tonight? Start at rank 1, Down-shift. Cleared it? Rank 3 is Song request, broadcast.

1

Down-shift

For 10 minutes, end every sentence on a downward inflection. No uptalk.
2

The order, slowly

Order a drink 30% slower and 20% louder than feels natural. Pause once mid-order and don't fill the silence.
3

Song request, broadcast

Get the band's attention between songs and make a request loud enough that people nearby turn around.
4

The toast

Stand and give a 20-second toast to people you just met. Full commitment, no half-standing.
5

Stage time

Get on stage. Sing a line, join karaoke, or get the mic for one sentence.

The worst case is a stranger saying no, and you'll live.