antibrand · Notes

Notes on talking out loud.

Short reads on talking out loud, wherever you happen to be doing it.

  1. Note 01 · 3 min read Why your mind goes blank the second someone asks what you think You had a view. A good one, even. Then someone turned to you in the meeting and it left the building. Read the note
  2. Note 02 · 3 min read How to practice speaking a language when there’s nobody to talk to Your app says you’re on a 90 day streak. Then a real person asks you something and you point at the menu. Read the note
  3. Note 03 · 4 min read How to practice for a job interview when there’s nobody to practice with You’ve read the list of common questions. You know your answers. You have never once said them out loud. Read the note
  4. Note 04 · 3 min read Why you lose your train of thought mid-sentence and how to find it again You were making a point. You were making it well. And then you were standing there, holding the beginning of a sentence. Read the note
  5. Note 05 · 3 min read How to stop saying “like” and “basically” without sounding rehearsed Nobody minds one “like”. Fourteen in a two-minute answer is a different conversation. Read the note
  6. Note 06 · 4 min read You understand Hindi perfectly. Why can’t you speak it? Your nani talks to you in Hindi. You answer in English. Everyone has made peace with this except you. Read the note
  7. Note 07 · 3 min read What to say when someone says “so, tell me about yourself” It sounds like the easiest question in the world. It’s also the one that makes grown adults list their job title and then stop. Read the note
  8. Note 08 · 4 min read What to say about a painting when you don’t know anything about art You stand in front of the famous painting. Everyone around you looks moved. You think: it’s nice? Read the note
  9. Note 09 · 4 min read Questions to ask your friends that get past small talk You’ve known them for ten years. You talked for three hours last night. You can’t remember a single thing either of you said. Read the note
  10. Note 10 · 3 min read Why talking to yourself out loud helps you think You explain the problem to a friend and halfway through the second sentence you know the answer. They haven’t said a word. Read the note
  11. Note 11 · 3 min read Something calming to do for ten minutes that isn’t scrolling You picked up your phone to rest for five minutes. It’s been forty. You feel worse and you can’t name a single thing you saw. Read the note