Tired of Studying? Try These 5 Speaking Rules Instead

Like many people, two years ago I set my New Year's resolutions and I only had one, to read at least one book. I bought this fantastic book and I even kept it right by my bedside table. This way, I thought, it'll be easy to reach it and start reading a few pages. But no matter how much I wanted it, I just couldn't seem to make it happen. So, a year later, I found myself making my resolutions once again. But this time, my friend, I applied 5 simple rules, the same rules I'm about to share with you. And the results? Not only did I manage to read this incredibly long book, but I also read a total of 5 books in 104 months, for a grand total of 1347 pages. Yes, I just followed the same rules I'm about to share with you. Developing speaking skills is the toughest part, isn't it? We cannot grow beyond the image we have of ourselves. Whatever you say about yourself will shape the life you lead. I'm serious. I began speaking fluent English the moment I said, I am fluent in English. And I began reading books the moment I said, I am a reader and enjoy books. When I first started learning this language, I was very unsure and full of worries, just like you probably. Whenever someone asked, can you speak English? I replied, I can't, I'm not good at it. And the more I repeated those negative affirmations, the more I felt afraid and weak. Also, because I always said I wasn't good at speaking English, people around me treated me somewhat differently. Speaking very slowly, overlooking my every mistake. Can you relate to that? In turn, I lost any motivation to improve. And I started to say, who cares about improving? They understand me anyway. Can you believe how powerful this is? Can you understand how impacting this can be for your life? So if you want to become fluent, if you want to impress your boss, or hold a conversation with English-speaking clients, you must first see yourself as an English speaker. Say out loud, right now, yes, right now, say out loud with me, I am good at English. Yes, I can speak English well. That's right, I can speak fluently. Say it, all right? Say it out loud, feel these words in your mouth, sense the way they make you feel. Sure, I said it out loud and it happens. You're right, these words alone don't make miracles. And that's why we have the rule number two, the rule of small. We often think that to achieve something seemingly impossible, we must do something big and equally impossible. But that's simply not true. My friend, you don't need to be another Shakespeare to be proficient in English. Just like you don't need to be Ed Sheeran to sing well. In fact, even Ed Sheeran didn't start already famous. No, my friend, he simply sang hundreds of songs over about six years, one by one, yes. Think about it, every big win you've had was always the result of countless small habits repeated consistently over time. Small beats big, hold hey, my friend, if you're not used to speaking English, don't go searching for an online speaking partner. I mean it. Instead, I challenge you to speak English for just two minutes each day. That's crazy. How can I improve in just two minutes? Here's the secret, my friend. Your goal is not speaking. Your goal is to establish a new routine. And to make that routine stick for the long term, it needs to be small and incredibly easy. So what can you do in two minutes? You only need one tool. It's free and it's called PAI. PAI is an incredibly effective AI conversational app and I've mentioned it in a lot of my other videos. Now, I'm not sponsored by PAI in any way. I just genuinely believe it's an incredibly helpful app. Once you download it, you can grab your phone, open PAI and simply say, hey, hello, how are you doing today? That's it. Every new routine starts small. It might leave you wanting more and wanting more leads you to continue that routine the next day. Can you see the catch? The rule of small gives you permission to start your new habit right now, straight away. But if you don't think in four dimensions, you will end up nowhere. So rule number three, the rule of the four dimensions. To make a habit start, you need to say out loud what you're doing, when you're doing it and where you're doing it. For example, I just simply said out loud, after I wake up, when I will start my regular gym routine, where and I will listen to an audio book of my choice. What? In a very simple sentence, I created a complete system to improve my physical shape, my mind and my English. One routine, three major benefits. Boom! We often tend to overcomplicate things and just like the rule of small suggests, you want to keep things simple and easy. But be specific, okay? For example, if you decide to start speaking with Pi whenever you come back from work, don't be generic. Instead of saying, I'll speak with Pi when I come back from work. Go granular with the details. To go granular means to go very deep into something. So deep, you can see the smallest details, even the smallest grain. By the way, I've just learned this expression myself and I learned it by practicing the routine I just told you about. Go granular with the details. After I park my car, when, I will walk for two minutes around the block, where, while speaking with Pi. What? This will prevent life getting in the way, a phone call, some other things to do and you may forget to even use Pi. Now, we mentioned four dimensions. What, where and when. But what's the fourth dimension? The fourth dimension, my friend, is inside your mind. Hold on, I have to change angle because the sun is going down. Before starting any routine, you want to visualize the moment leading up to the new habit and the satisfaction you'll feel from your progress. See yourself parking your car, pulling out your phone, opening Pi. Visualize how confident and relaxed you'll feel because of this routine. But why did I suggest to walk around the block? Introducing the rule number four, the rule of place. There's this belief that achieving great results requires a lot of motivation. But my friend, motivation has very little to do with success. Believe it or not, your environment has a much bigger influence in your decisions than you might think. Here is an example. My fiancée once used to smoke. Every day, she had a cigarette after lunch and another one after dinner. And she had her cigarettes always in the same spot out in the balcony. But when we were dining out, whether for lunch or dinner, she didn't smoke. In fact, she didn't even feel the urge to smoke a cigarette. It was all about the place she was in. So if she wasn't home, away from the balcony, she simply didn't crave her cigarette. Isn't it fascinating? That's just human nature, my friend. Our habits are heavily influenced by our surroundings. That's why I suggest chatting with Pi while walking around the block. As simple as it might seem, instead of sticking to your usual spot where you normally speak your native language, go somewhere new. Starting your new routine in a fresh environment will make it that much easier. All right, you've got your new routine started. But how do we make it stick for the long run? Rule number five, the rule of big. We've started with the rule of small and we are finishing with the rule of big. Yes, and the rule of big is really straightforward. To make anything work long term, you've got to think big picture. Over time, your two-minute routine should grow into a 3, 4, 5, 10, even 20-minute routine until you're having long, engaging conversations that you can use in real-life situations like at work or in your next big interview. Keep track of your progress and gradually increase the time. I mean, if your goal is to speak excellent English and after a year you're still chatting with Pi about the weather, of course it's going to feel boring. Should you quit? Should you give up? Should you think that's not working anymore? No way, mate. When it starts to feel boring, listen up. When it starts to feel boring, it's a sign you're ready for the next level. If it gets boring, it just means it's too easy and you need to level up. So don't be afraid of exploring different topics. Remember, Pi is an AI supercomputer. It can tap into just about any information on the web. So don't be afraid of exploring new topics or talking about your work and new ways to improve it. Alright, so now you know how to start a new habit and how to maintain it. Now it's time to put everything into action with a real routine. Choose the skill you want to work on and I'll catch you in that lesson. See you there. Cheers!