- rolling stone

i got kicked out of an introverts group for telling how i cured my fear of talking in public, especially to ladies

i realized that i hated the sound of my own voice when i talked, since i spoke so little it sounded a bit like i was opening up a gone bad can of pineapples when i started talking

so i picked some accents and mannerisms i like in other people

bernadette, who is a francophone, learned english as a second language and would cut whole sections out of sentences and words and still got her meaning through, and very succinctly so i borrowed some of her mannerisms, like saying 'ent' when someone asks her a yes or no question

then, of course, i stole a lot of mannerisms from gollem, and charles bronson in the movie where he sells watermellons

then a girl i met from dunedin florida who had just gotten out of prison for hitting another girl with her shoe who was pestering her 

she had a strange, cheerful and very positive lilt to her voice, especially at the end of sentences when she would raise her pitch like she were asking a question

i put all these together and began talking to myself to pass the time using these mannerisms, and suddenly i felt comfortable with my own voice and perfectly comfortable talking to lots of ladies who would say hi to me just passing on the sidewalk 

wear an over the ear microphone so the police don't stop you thoand remember, we were literally ordered not to worry and literally ordered not to worry about what we say in court