TJ Walker asks you to record yourself answering "What do you do?" in 60 seconds, then watch it like you're hiring. The goal isn't perfect words but comfort that lets clarity happen. He shares how an engineer froze until she relaxed, then trusted emerged, and says the fix is cycles of record, review, adjust, repeat until it feels real, not rehearsed.
Chapters
Ultimize. Here's something you can do today that will change how people see you almost immediately. Record yourself answering one simple question: What do you do? Do it for 60 seconds, then watch it back with the sound on and ask yourself, would I hire that person? Not, do I like how I look? Not, do I sound perfect? Just, would I trust this person in a real situation? You'll see things instantly. You might notice you start strong and then fade. You might notice you ramble and never quite land the point. You might notice your voice goes up at the end of a sentence, like you're asking a question instead of making a statement. Or you might notice something even simpler: you don't look comfortable. And that's the key. I've worked with thousands of professionals just like you over the years. Engineers, executives, analysts, founders, and the biggest surprise for almost all of them isn't what they said, it's how they come across. I remember working with a group of engineers once, extremely smart, highly capable. A woman stood up to present, and the moment the camera came on and light came on, she froze, couldn't get through it. We stopped, reset, had a simple conversation instead. No pressure, no presentation. She spoke clearly, confidently, even had a sense of humor. Then we turned the camera on quietly without making it a big moment, and suddenly she was fine. Same person, same knowledge, completely different result depending on how comfortable she felt. And because she felt more comfortable, we felt more comfortable, which made her more comfortable. This is the part that people miss. They think communication and communicating with good etiquette is about finding the right words. It's not. It's about being comfortable enough that your natural clarity comes through. And the fastest way to get there is not thinking more, it's seeing yourself. When you watch yourself on video, you remove the guesswork. You stop wondering how you come across. You know. And once you know, you can fix things quickly. You shorten your answers. You slow down slightly. You finish your thoughts clearly. You put yourself in the shoes of your audience, which is really the essence of good etiquette. You look more present. None of this requires talent. It just requires awareness and repetition. And here's the part almost nobody does. They don't go back and try it again. They record it once, if at all, feel uncomfortable, and stop. The people who improve are the ones who record, watch, adjust, and repeat, even 5 minutes at a time, because after a few rounds, something shifts. You stop feeling like you're performing, and you start sounding like yourself at your best. That's the goal— not perfection, not polished to the point of being a robot, but clear, comfortable, and confident enough that someone watching you thinks, "I'd trust this person in a real situation." And once people think that, everything changes. Think of it this way. When you get dressed in the morning, whether you shave or put on makeup, whatever you do to your hair, you get dressed. It's not really because you have to look at yourself all day long. Doesn't really matter to you what you look like. You do that. You look in a mirror before you leave your house or apartment. Because you want other people to be comfortable seeing you. If you have all sorts of stains on the back of your pants, doesn't really affect you, you don't have to look at it, but for other people it's confusing. What's wrong with TJ? He spills coffee all over himself and doesn't notice. You wouldn't want to do that. Obviously you want to know what you look like before you leave your house. That's good etiquette. You don't want to make other people uncomfortable. It's exactly the same thing with how you communicate in meetings and in every business situation.
