My Unusual Method of Learning How to Speak

What I learned from Napoleon's failure in Russia.

I was always a poor speaker.

Atleast that was what I thought about myself.

Introverted, shy, always nervous in social situations—it became a core part of my identity. I convinced myself that my inability to speak was simply due to my personality, and I accepted it. However, in 2019, a Facebook ad made me rethink the importance of communication skills.

Realizing the Importance of Communication Skills

I saw an ad for a communication skills course that claimed to transform anyone into a confident speaker. Given how much I struggled with speaking, I was intrigued.

I paid for the course and committed to its daily video challenges, where we were supposed to record ourselves speaking and share it with the course group. But within a few days, my nervousness took over. I felt too exposed, too vulnerable, and I stopped participating.

This failure haunted me for a long time, but it eventually led to an important realization: The reason I couldn’t speak wasn’t because of my personality or introversion. It was because I didn’t have enough valuable things to say. I wasn’t doing anything significant enough in my life to talk about.

The Importance of Logistics in Speech and Warfare

This insight reminds me of logistics in warfare. Just as an army with great soldiers can’t win without proper supplies and ammunition, a speaker can’t excel without having something meaningful to say. You can have the best intentions and training, but without substance, it’s all useless.

Take Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, for example.

His army was one of the greatest at the time, with highly trained soldiers and advanced military strategies. Yet, they were defeated not by superior tactics but by poor logistical planning. The harsh winter and lack of supplies decimated his forces. It’s not always the fighting skill that wins the war—it’s the ability to sustain that skill through logistics.

In my case, I had the basic structure of speaking, but I lacked the “ammo”—the ideas, experiences, and insights necessary to communicate something worth listening to.

Building My Arsenal Through Self-Study

After this realization, I started to invest in self-study and reflection. Over time, I began accumulating knowledge from various disciplines—psychology, philosophy, geopolitics—and started to see connections between seemingly unrelated fields. These interdisciplinary insights became my new "ammo."

Now, when I speak, I no longer struggle to find things to talk about. I can discuss complex theories, human behavior, or even draw parallels between historical events and modern-day challenges. My confidence grew, not because I learned to speak better, but because I finally had something substantial to say.

The Challenges I Still Face

Even though I now have a wealth of knowledge, speaking is still a challenge for me. The biggest hurdle is my lack of habit. I haven’t developed the routine of speaking often, and I still judge myself harshly when I make mistakes. There’s a fear that I’ll forget everything I want to say, leaving me stranded mid-sentence.

The solution I’m working on is cultivating an abundance mindset.

By writing regularly and producing content across different formats, I ensure that even if I forget 90% of what I want to say, I still have more than enough to fill a conversation. The key is trusting myself, and through consistent practice, I am slowly learning to rely on the depth of my accumulated knowledge.

Conclusion

Looking back, I wasn’t a bad speaker because of my introversion or shyness. The real problem was that I didn’t have enough interesting things to say. Like an army without supplies, I couldn’t fight the battle of communication effectively.

But now, after years of self-study and reflection, I’ve built an arsenal of knowledge. And while I still face challenges, I’m learning that the key to speaking well isn’t just in how you say something—it’s in what you have to say.

By continuing to fill my mind with diverse knowledge and trusting myself more, I can finally speak with confidence, knowing that I have something valuable to offer.