TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking
Chris Anderson has worked with a ton of Ted speakers. In this book, he distills the concepts of what makes a fantastic speech & how to get your ideas out to the public.
RESOURCES
Book Recommendations:
Books are a great way to supercharge your knowledge & gain some practical insights. I include a few of my favorites when it comes to building communication skills & confidence.
Public Speaking
No Fear Speaking
Joe Yazbeck is an international speaker who distills the core concepts of public speaking into this book. You learn how to build a speech, practice a speech & deliver it to a live audience.
Body Language
What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People
Joe Navarro is a former FBI agent who had to become fluent in body language. He shares his experience & tips on reading the bodies of others, how to use the body to showcase confidence & how to spot ulterior motives.
Negotiation
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
As a former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss created a home run. Never Split the Difference distills concepts of negotiation to real life examples. He shares his knowledge & explains how anyone can develop the skill of negotiation.
Networking
Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
Keith Ferrazzi explains how to create a thriving professional and personal network. The book covers concepts of human nature, social intelligence &how to build one relationship at a time.
How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+100 Rule for Turning Your Business Network into Profits
At the core of it all, business comes down to people skills. Judy gives insights into how to build the power-grid, a networking strategy to skyrocket your influence.
Storytelling
Storyteller's Secret
The Storytellers Secret uncovers the secrets of a lot of the top storytellers around the world. The book covers entrepreneurs, pastors & writers. Highly practical & gives you more perspective.
How to Win Friends & Influence People
In this classic, Dale Carnegie does a great job of covering the fundamentals of charisma. You learn the basics of how to listen, use names & make someone feel important.
Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships
Social Intelligence breaks down social skills into a science. Daniel Goleman delves into charisma, the dark sides of social intelligence, emotional intelligence & much more.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
Emotional intelligence is a great book to learn more about the inner workings of your emotions, perceptions & empathy. Great book to become more responsive rather than reactive.
Personal Branding Tools:
The following tools are all the tools that I currently use in order to run the ArmaniTalks brand.
I include tools for building a website, starting a YouTube channel, starting an email list & creating a podcast.
Build a Website
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a free keyword research tool developed by Neil Patel. In this tool, you get to generate ideas on the latest topics for the content of your website.
WordPress
WordPress is a great platform to build a blog, business site, e-commerce store and many more.
Woocommerce
Once you are ready to launch products, Woocommerce allows you to set up your own shop. There are analytics, customizable store setup & the ability to run promos.
Namecheap
Having your domain name set up is important. Namecheap has affordable prices & an easy to use interface.
Cloudways
Cloudways offers affordable hosting. Plus, they have a 24/7 support team if there are any issues. I’ve found them realiable thus far.
Starting a YouTube Channel
TubeBuddy
TubeBuddy is a free extension that allows you to do keyword research, optimize your videos for SEO & stay updated with analytics.
ShotCut
Shotcut is a free video editing tool that allows you to clean up & modify your YouTube videos before uploading.
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera Bundle
The Canon bundle comes with several of other tools which include a memory cacrd, wide angle lens, camera stand & much more.
PoP voice Lavalier Microphone
The audio quality is important for your YouTube channel. The lavalier mic picks up the audio and has a 26 foot range wire to give you distance.
Emart 60 LED Portable Photography Lighting Kit
The lighting gives your videos more quality & depth once it is uploaded. These are the 2 lights that I use to liven up my YouTube videos.
Grow an Email List
Creating a Podcast
Audacity
Audacity is a free audio software that runs on multiple operating systems. Easy to use & set up.
Audio-Technica ATR2100
The Audio Technica is a highly affordable mic with crystal clear audio. I was surprised by the price initally, but works like a charm for my podcast.
NASUM Adjustable Microphone Stand
The adjustable mic stand allows me to sit or stand while recording my podcast episodes. It also comes with a pop filter included.
Soundcloud Hosting
Soundcloud hosting is a few step process which provides an RSS feed link that you can submit to iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher & more.
Lifestyle:
In this section, I include a few tools, gadgets & resources I leverage in order to get work done. These are tools that help me with my business online & offline.
Work equipment
10 Pack Notebooks Journals
All my journal entries are by hand. To commit to the act of journaling, I normally buy the bundle packs so it last me some time.
Uvex Blue Light Blocking Computer Glasses
Spending a lot of time in front of the computer can put a strain on your eyes. The blue blocker glasses give my eyes a therapeautic feel & still allows me to continue to work.
Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
The Bose headphones have crystal clear audio & a noise cancelling feature. Great tool when you are creating content or going for a walk.
Additional Resources
Toastmasters
Toastmasters is an international public speaking club. Check out a club near you as a guest before deciding to commit to being a member.
Kindle Unlimited
Kindle Unlimited gives you quick access to books & organizes them all under one device.
Audible
Audiobooks are a great resource when you are driving or doing some form of an activity. Allows you to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
Social Intelligence