soundorp · 2 months ago
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How should I select the Best Name for my Podcast?
In this guide, we’ll talk about naming your podcast strategically rather than based on your emotions, drawing insights from expert advice and practical tips. But at what point should you read this post actually?
Come up with ideas you want to talk about and chose one broad topic.
Done research on episode ideas.
If you have not done any of em you might want to start with reading the free guide.
Before you continue, ask yourself: “Does this interest me? Is this something I could see myself talking about or teaching for several years? Will this cost a lot of money? Is the interest in this growing or underserved?”
If Yes, let’s move on!
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Now let’s choose a name.
Firstly, open google docs or notepad. Describe your podcast in 250 words. Take that whole description you gave yourself and give it to ChatGPT. Ask it for a list of 5–15 potential titles, then check those against existing properties (podcasts, YT, brand names, etc).
Keep doing that until you get what you like or the most obvious one floats to the top of your list. You want to be the first on the list when someone searches your topic (that’s the SEO part). So select wisely.
Tips for Choosing a Podcast Domain Name
Have a look at these steps:
Go with a “.com”: Just as a .com domain is preferred for its familiarity and credibility, choosing a podcast name with a .com domain available can enhance its legitimacy and accessibility.
Avoid dashes and underscores: Your podcast name with punctuation marks can make it visually unappealing and difficult to remember. Get a clean and streamlined title for optimal impact.
Add “podcast” if necessary: Incorporating the term “podcast” into your title can clarify its nature and improve searchability, especially if your chosen name is already in use.
Keep it short: Conciseness is the key. Aim for brevity without sacrificing clarity or relevance.
Don’t pigeonhole yourself: Your podcast’s name should reflect its primary focus and avoid overly restrictive titles that limit your content’s potential for growth and diversification.
Avoid copyrights: Conduct thorough research to ensure that your chosen podcast name doesn’t infringe upon existing trademarks or copyrights, which could lead to legal repercussions.
Applying these principles to naming your podcast can help you create a title that stands out, resonates with your audience, and lays the foundation for long-term success. If the domain purchasing stuffs seem tough for you, hire a Developer or a Freelancer from Fiverr to get these done smoothly by spending 5–10 bucks only.
Strategies for Naming Your Podcast
Let’s explore some effective strategies for naming your podcast:
Define Your Podcast’s Identity: Before brainstorming names, clarify your podcast’s niche, target audience, and unique value proposition. Understanding what sets your podcast apart will guide your naming process and ensure alignment with your content’s core themes. Ensure that your podcast name accurately reflects the content, tone, and theme of your show. RealGhostPod advises keeping the title simple and obvious to potential listeners. Your podcast’s name should give them a clear idea of what they can expect when tuning in.
Draw inspiration from your personal experiences, interests, or significant moments in your life. NicoGrey suggests making a list of names that hold significance to you, whether they relate to your childhood, pop culture references, or memorable experiences. A podcast name with personal meaning is more likely to resonate with you and your audience on a deeper level.
Use various sources of inspiration, such as books, movies, or everyday conversations. Start with a large sheet of paper and jot down all your ideas, no matter how unconventional they may seem. The key is to keep generating ideas until you find one that clicks.
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential names, test them out and gather feedback from friends, family, or your podcasting community. Consider how your podcast’s name will resonate with potential listeners who may not be familiar with your content. Aim for a name that grabs attention and provides insight into your podcast’s tone and subject matter.
Be open to pivoting and evolving your podcast’s concept or name as needed. Sometimes, the initial concept may not fully align with your vision or resonate with your audience. As What_Clicks_May_Come discovered, being flexible and willing to adapt can lead to a more authentic and successful outcome.
Take advantage of various tools and resources available to help you generate ideas and refine your podcast name. Platforms like OnPodium offer podcast name generators powered by AI, providing you with initial ideas to explore. While AI-generated names may not always be perfect, they can serve as valuable starting points for your brainstorming process.
Brainstorm Keywords and Concepts: Generate a list of relevant keywords, phrases, and concepts related to your podcast’s subject matter. Consider the emotions, themes, and imagery you want to evoke through your title.
Conduct Market Research: Analyze existing podcasts within your niche to identify naming trends, common keywords, and potential gaps. Determine how you can differentiate your podcast while still appealing to your target audience.
Test Your Ideas: Once you’ve compiled a list of potential names, gather feedback from friends, colleagues, or online communities. Evaluate the resonance, memorability, and clarity of each option to narrow down your choices.
Consider Branding and Visual Appeal: Visualize how your podcast name will appear in various contexts, such as cover art, social media profiles, and promotional materials. Choose a name that lends itself well to branding and conveys your podcast’s aesthetic.
Check Domain Availability: Similar to registering a domain name, ensure that your chosen podcast name is available across relevant platforms, including podcast directories, social media accounts, and website domains.
Embrace Creativity and Originality: While incorporating keywords and descriptive elements can enhance searchability, don’t be afraid to inject creativity and originality into your podcast name. A unique and memorable title can spark curiosity and intrigue among potential listeners.
Prioritize memorability and uniqueness when selecting your podcast’s name. Avoid generic or overly complex names that may blend in with other podcasts. Aim for a name that stands out and leaves a lasting impression on potential listeners. Whether it’s a clever wordplay or a creative metaphor, strive to make your podcast’s name memorable and distinct.
Before finalizing your podcast’s name, conduct a thorough search to ensure that it’s not already in use by another podcast or trademarked entity. Check platforms like http://USPTO.org to avoid potential legal issues. Additionally, consider how your podcast’s name will translate across different branding materials, such as logos, social media profiles, and promotional materials.
I have shared some case studies of Successful and Top Podcasters and how they named their podcast in My Full Blog. Click the link to visit now!
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bladetoblade · 2 years ago
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hear me out…punisher!anakin, bruised and bloody on the daredevil’s ben kenobi’s doorstep with this kid who got herself in too deep
he won’t bother obi-wan, he just needs to know ahsoka is going to be safe. she needs a good lawyer to defend her
and as much as he knows it’s a bad idea, ben lets them both in
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barsload92 · 3 years ago
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MidiSimulator
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Mida Simulator Download
Midi Guitar Simulator
Midi Simulator
Midi Emulator
Midi Simulator Software Download
Midi Smoke Simulator
Below is a list of the best free and paid virtual drum software programs available to download right now.
Mida Simulator Download
Free Downloads: Midi Simulator. License: All 1 2 Free. Direct MIDI to MP3 Converter. Direct MIDI to MP3 Converter is a fast audio tool to convert MIDI to MP3, WAV, WMA and OGG files formats. Adjustable Tempo and Reverberation control. VirtualMIDI SDK. Virtual MIDI driver for Windows 7 up to Windows 10, 32 and 64 bit with the ability to dynamically create and destroy freely nameable MIDI-ports. Domino is a Japanese MIDI sequencer developed by Takabo Soft that some of the Black MIDI Team members use to create or black a MIDI. This officially only comes with the Japanese language, but an incomplete English patch can be found here. Version 1.44 is the last version available. Performance is faster than FL Studio Higher resolution (PPQN) can be chosen MIDI events can be edited manually.
They are available for PC and Mac computers in plugin formats to use with DAWs and most operate as a standalone program as well.
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Unless you plan on mastering the technique of recording an acoustic drum kit and finding a drummer to play for you all the time, having a good drum software plugin is one of the most important aspects of music creation.
It’s amazing how realistic virtual drum software has become over the years.
Drum software is also surprisingly versatile. You can create custom kits and sounds with endless variations.
You can use MIDI keyboards and drum pads to trigger drum sounds, and connect e-drum kits like the Alesis DM10 to play virtual drums in real time with an electronic drum set.
There are several good choices when it comes to drum software. Some have more expansion packs than others, some offer larger MIDI libraries (ready-to-use drum loops), and others have more advanced editing and mixing tools.
Best Free Drum Software
Sennheiser DrumMic’a – A surprisingly high-quality free drum kit plugin with variable mics, a mixer, and a number of included MIDI loops. It just requires setting up a free account to register the softwrae. DrumMic’a works with the free version of Kontakt 5 Player.
MT Power Drum Kit 2 – A former paid plugin, MT Power Drum Kit 2 has a number of included features, such as a built-in mixer and a bunch of high-quality MIDI grooves. MT Power Drum Kit 2 is available in VST and AU formats in 32 and 64 bit versions. There are some MIDI mapping presets available to use it with other drum programs as well.
Best Paid Drum Software
Toontrack EZdrummer 2 – Estimated price: $149 – EZdrummer is one of the most popular drum production software programs. It’s very simple to use and yet it offers a number of advanced features. The base version comes with 5 drum kits, two sound libraries, some MIDI grooves, and a mixer with effects. It works as a plugin and standalone program. There are tons of expansion packs for additional drum kits covering a wide range of genres.
FXpansion BFD3 – Estimated price: $349 – Another top choice is BFD3. It comes with 7 drum kits, with dedicated rock, metal, jazz, and brush kits. It has a fully-editable groove engine to make creating custom grooves quick and easy. BFD3 works as a plugin and as standalone software. It comes with an extensive virtual drum library with 55GB of sounds.
Addictive Drums 2 – Estimated price: $149 – If you’re looking for an extensive library of included beats, XLN Audio’s Addictive Drums 2 comes with over 5000 MIDI grooves ready to go. It has three custom drum kits, and features a Transient Shaper and Tone Designer and some included effects to fine-tune your sound. Addictive drums can be used as a plugin as as a standalone program.
Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0 – Estimated price: $179 (on sale) – Superior Drummer is Toontrack’s more advanced version of EZdrummer, and it works with EZdrummer 2 expansion libraries. It offers more ways to adjust sounds and tweak individual parameters, and it comes with more effects and 20 GB of included drum samples.
Steven Slate Drums 4.0 Platinum – Estimated price: $149 – A virtual drum library with 100 included drum kit presets and a drum sampler to create custom grooves. Steven Slate Drums come in VST, AU, and RTAS formats.
Studio Drummer – Estimated price: $149 – Native Instrument’s Studio Drummer comes with three drum kits, a dedicated mixer with effects, and over 3500 included drum patterns. Studio Drummer works with the Kontakt 5 Player.
Virtual MIDI driver for Windows 7 up to Windows 10, 32 and 64 bit with the ability to dynamically create and destroy freely nameable MIDI-ports.
Midi Guitar Simulator
The necessity for virtualMIDI came along when I implemented my rtpMIDI-driver. Later I also used this driver when I created loopMIDI for people who only need simple loopback MIDI-ports.
I had some pretty specific requirements:
Midi Simulator
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• Compatibility from Windows XP to Windows 10 • Both 32bit and 64bit operation • On-the-fly creation (and destruction) of freely nameable virtual MIDI-ports • Only one side of the ports was supposed to be visible to the public • The other side only visible via a private interface • Multi-client-capability
Since I had been hanging around on the wdmaudiodev mailinglist for quite some time due to my interest in kernel-streaming, I had already read quite a bit on the topic over there.
All of the people there suggested to use the DMusUart and the MPU401 sample as a starting-point. So that’s what I did and creating the actual driver had been not too hard after getting enough insights at the WDK-documentation.
Nevertheless all the stuff people had done prior to my attempts would not quite achieve what my requirement were.
Midi Emulator
All of those other virtual MIDI miniport driver implementations actually developed simple static “loopback” MIDI-ports. Loopback meaning that both ends of this port would be public. Static meaning that the number of ports and their names would be fixed at install-time of the driver (via the inf-file of the driver).
This was not satisfactory, so I looked some more and I found references to dynamic creation of sub-devices. But this was a hard nut to crack. Finally I had been able to locate a guy who was doing something similar for a virtual soundcard-driver for digital-audio-broadcast.
Midi Simulator Software Download
His insights have been invaluable. It still took quite some time to get everything going smoothly, but I finally succeeded in creating this driver.
One problem remained: Since Microsoft introduced Vista, all drivers for 64bit need to be code-signed. Though the idea itself is pretty nifty – to know the specific company that the code running in the kernel comes from – it had a severe drawback:
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Only companies incorporated could apply for such a code-signing-certificate. Many people in the driver-development-community urged Microsoft to rectify this. And finally in May of 2010 it has been done. Since that time it is also possible for individuals to get their own code-signing certificate to be able to run their drivers on the 64bit versions of Vista and Windows 7.
The driver is currently part of the rtpMIDI-driver network-MIDI driver and the loopMIDI virtual loopback MIDI cable. But it can be used for other tasks as well.
Midi Smoke Simulator
If you have a music-application that needs to create its own freely named MIDI-devices on-the-fly – virtualMIDI is exactly the right tool. I have prepared a small & simple to use SDK with bindings for C/C++, Delphi, Java and C#.
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Share a Lair 13 || Share a Birthdate
“What do you even wear to meet somebody’s parents?” Charlotte wondered.
“What did you wear whenever you met Jack’s parents?” Piper asked right back.
“I didn’t even think about it, because I was just his friend from camp whenever we met. By the time we were something else, they had known me for a little while and they loved me. These people don’t know anything about me.”
Jasper chimed in, “No, but Max probably told them all about you, so you likely have a lot to live up to because he TOTALLY overplays your attributes.”
“Excuse me???” Charlotte asked.
“It’s adorable!” Jasper said. “He thinks the world revolves around you. It doesn’t. It revolves around the sun.”
Piper sighed and held a pair of earrings up to Charlotte’s ear, “Is it like a fancy dinner or like a party?”
“It’s like a family party?” Charlotte said. “I guess something like you guys do for Hen’s birthday. I don’t know. I was thinking that I’d dress like we’re going to a dinner date, since I’m meeting his parents, but maybe like a cocktail dress, since it’s his birthday dinner.”
“I can’t believe that you didn’t plan this out before,” Jasper said.
“Do you know how much work I’ve had to do since Henry’s advancement?”
Jasper scoffed, “Do you know how much work I’ve got to do since you and Henry haven’t been in the Man Cave as much?”
Piper said, “All you do is personal assistant stuff for Ray. You did that anyway.”
“Yeah, but it’s MORE now because he’s lowkey depressed!” Jasper said. “So, I have to pick up more snacks, set more spa appointments, force him to take more showers!”
“Who’s protecting Swellview while he hosts his pity parties?” Charlotte asked, concerned.
“Me,” Piper said, as though it was obvious. Jasper just pursed his lips and nodded. Now, Charlotte wanted to go to the Man Cave and make sure everything was functional! But… She just didn’t have the time and she’d have to remember that. She took the earrings from Piper and placed them back in their spot, picked up a different pair and held up to her own ears. “Much better,” Piper said, nodding.
Jasper laid down on Charlotte’s extra bed while she continued arranging her outfit.
.
Ultimately, she decided on an updo with golden jewels as hair garnish, a long sleeved sleek espresso colored party dress with boots, a belt and a clutch that complimented them well, and a gold jewelry set. If it turned out to be a little more fancy, she had a satin scarf that would instantly upgrade her look.
Max picked her up from her parents’ house, though they were out of town for some of her father’s business. She simply didn’t want to have to drive all the way to the Lair, when Hiddenville was past her in the other direction. Since she was (sort of) on the way, he collected her from there. She was doing some remote Man Cave work while she waited on him on the patio outside and almost didn’t notice him walk up. “Hey!” She said when she did, though. “What’s behind your back?”
“I got you flowers!” He said and pulled out a bouquet of peonies.
Charlotte gasped and smiled brightly. “They’re my favorite! I don’t remember telling you that!” She took them to put them into “the vase.” It was a vase in their house that was only there because Jack used to send her flowers. Mostly, her mom used it now, for nice dinners and stuff. He watched her, a little bit hungrily, but composed.
“You look really amazing,” he said.
She looked at him now - he was the same as always. Dark colors and “not even trying” casual-sexy in a dark purple T-shirt, black jacket, dark jeans and black high top sneakers. “I feel overdressed,” she said, noting his outfit.
“Naw. It’s a special occasion. I think you’re more on the mark than me.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and officially greeted her with a kiss on the nose, which she reflexively pressed herself into a little harder. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” she smiled. And they were off.
.
Barb was frantically going about the place, trying to make sure that everything was perfect. They had the twins come over for their birthdays before, but this year would be so different! Max was bringing a woman home!! Yes, Max had dated before and even casually introduced women that he saw to them… but he hadn’t brought one home in a very long time and not on an occasion like his birthday! This one might be the one! To get him settled into a home to escape from at the end of his missions. To give her some beautiful little grandchildren! My grandchildren would be the most adorable kids alive!!!
She had seen photos of Charlotte before. Max was constantly posting them to his social media and she would always leave a comment, “Beautiful! Can’t wait to meet her!!” And he’d love the comment, but never get around to actually making good on her request. But, today, he would. That was exciting.
He’d called her previously and said, “Hey, Mom… Do you think it’d be okay to add an additional spot, for me and Phoebe’s birthday thing? I kind of… want Charlotte to be with me for my birthday…” She could hear the smile in his voice and she could hear something else too. Her little boy was in love. Well, her big boy. Her grown up baby. She had to make sure that everything was perfect and that she made them comfortable. It was hard enough to get Max to stop by when there wasn’t an occasion or an assignment. He went off, falling in love and gallivanting around with his new girlfriend, they might never see him, if she didn’t make a big impact.
“Alert, The twins and friends approaching,” the monitor called. Barb squealed happily and called, “Max and Phoebe are here!”
Of course, Billy was the first one down, Nora and Chloe came from the kitchen and Hank got up from the couch as his wife rushed to the door to open it for her oldest two. “Mom!” The twins cheered as soon as the door opened and they gave her a shared hug. Charlotte had just been introduced to Link when they got out of the cars, and the two of them stood back as the Thunderman hugs went around. She could have sworn that Max had just seen them a week or two ago, but maybe time was not as she remembered it. While they were exchanging their happy greetings, Cherry and Oyster walked up behind Link and Charlotte and she commented, “Well, at least I’m not the only non-family here.”
“Are you kidding? Cherry is as much family as their kids,” Link said.
“Great.” Now, her hands were sweating and of course, that meant it was time to shake The Thundermans’… Thundermanses’? Thunderman’s?…
“Mom, Dad, this is Charlotte, my… Charlotte.” Max said, somewhat awkwardly and blushing as he put his had in the small of her back to move her closer to himself and them. She smoothly wiped her hand on his sleeve and reached out to shake Barb’s hand but when she reached for Hank’s, Max intercepted and said, “He sometimes is way too strong. Shake in spirit.” She smiled and nodded.
“Nice to finally meet you!” Barb cheered. “Hope you like the flowers. Max insisted on incorporating peonies and I’ve never known him to be a flower boy, so I figured it was for you.”
Charlotte squinted, “I have no idea who told him about peonies, but - they are my favorite. He’s so thoughtful.” she smiled at him and he crinkled his nose smiling and gushing.
Nora and Billy came over and almost tackled her with hugs, both talking at the same time (and she realized that she hadn’t seen them since the video game tournament), and tried to hear what both of them were saying. Eventually, they got back on the same page when they said, “And this is our youngest sister, Chloe.”
Charlotte waved at the young teenage girl, “Hi! Nice to meet you!”
“A likely story!” Chloe said, eyeing her suspiciously.
“Oh,” Charlotte said and smiled, uncomfortably.
“Chloe! Don’t be mean… at least not to her,” Max said.
Chloe beckoned him with her hand and whenever he got closer, pulled him by the jacket and they vanished. Charlotte gasped. “What just happened?” She wondered.
“That’s her superpower,” Billy said, a little amused by Charlotte’s face.
A moment later, Max and Chloe were back and Chloe reached for Charlotte’s hand to shake it. “Well, despite what Dr. Collosso has told me, I’ve chosen to believe Max that he’s just jealous. So, nice to meet you… You’d better not steal away and-or hurt my brother!” She leaned in and said, “I can make you disappear.”
Charlotte’s eyes went wide and Max broke their bodily contact, taking Charlotte’s hand away from Chloe and into his own. “Chloe!” He wrapped an arm around Charlotte and laughed a little, “She’s going through puberty. Hormones and superpowers, yanno?”
Now, Charlotte was not easily scared, but this girl COULD make her disappear. She’d just shown her so when she and Max went to have their little discussion. Nora and Billy had loved her right away and Phoebe had always been cool. The last thing that she was expecting was for the kid to distrust or dislike her. She was gonna strangle that bunny when she saw him!
Aside from that hiccup, it was great, though.
Barb and Hank tried to take a lot of her time, mostly Barb, and Max kept stealing her back when she seemed overwhelmed. Even when he and Oyster were in the middle of talking animatedly about something. She appreciated that. Cherry played some music to dance to and Oyster almost immediately planted his butt to a seat. Charlotte felt THAT in her spirit and moved to join him, but Max caught her hand and gave her a gentle tug.
“What’s happening? Are you dancing?” She wondered. She hated dancing. She did not want this, at all..
He pressed his face close to hers, moving to the beat of the music, “It’s my birthday. Indulge me?” He poked his lip out in a pout and she couldn’t resist him. Phoebe and Link were dancing next to them. Cherry was dancing by herself, with Oyster seated nearby and watching. The younger Thundermans were dancing in a little circle. Charlotte noticed that Barb had her camera out. No way was she going to be caught looking stupid. She had rhythm, so she just rocked a little bit while Max danced around her. With a little wine, she might feel better, but technically not being old enough, she didn’t want to be seen drinking in front of his parents. They might think ill of her. Her parents allowed her wine, but this family was different from hers and it was really a big deal to her to make a good first impression on them. The way that Max adored them made this important to her.
There was something really special about him. He wasn’t the first guy she cared deeply about and she was pretty sure he probably wouldn’t be the last one. But, he was the only one that she felt like… compromising things for. Yeah, it was cool to be able to have somebody who knew that you didn’t want to dance and left you alone about it, but that little, “Indulge me?” and the tugging of her heart TO indulge? That was an exciting, but manageable new sensation, and she was apprehensive, but felt like even when she would jump in, he’d have her. She wasn’t going to slip up and look stupid. If she did look a little silly, well… He was still gonna look at her exactly the same. After a while, she loosened up and enjoyed her little small dance movements. She definitely enjoyed watching him move around her. That’s not to say that whenever Hank excitedly cheered that it was time for cake (A little TOO excitedly, she thought), that she wasn’t thanking the stars for dancing dismissal.
Max took her hand again - she loved whenever they were together and he kept her close to himself, and it felt even better happening around his family than it did when it was just friends. Barb and Hank started what appeared to be some type of birthday rap and Charlotte prayed silently that her face was not going to insult them. She felt something graze her skin and turned to see that Max had taken one of the nearby peonies from their vase and handed it to her, which distracted her long enough to smile, smell it and admire him. And when the rap ended, Hank was the first to grab a slice of cake that Phoebe cut for him and make his way to the couch with it. The others were getting smaller slices that Barb was placing on plates and Max cut a slice for Charlotte. “Here ya go!” he said.
She looked at the room and wondered, “Aren’t you going to get yours?”
He waved a hand and said, “There will be some left.”
She looked at the cake as Hank ALREADY was coming for seconds and shook her head, “I don’t know. You know this group better than me, but it looks like you’ll miss out, Dude.” She had this mini flashback to one of Hen’s birthdays where he was forced to work and everybody else just moved on and had cake. He’d brought it up after the fact and made her feel pretty guilty about not even thinking twice about leaving him out of his own birthday cake and saying that Jasper was the only one who had his back. That was hurtful to hear, because it was true in that one time, and for whatever reason had carried more weight with Henry than she would have thought. To heck with that, though. She turned turned towards Max and pinched off a piece of her cake. “Open up,” she said, with a smile.
He listened. It wasn’t a struggle or anything. It may have been her slice, but he was gonna take first bite and right from her hands was actually much better than he had ever eaten a piece of cake before in his life. Her brown eyes twinkling up at him, her perfect smile beaming at his sheer satisfaction. Neither of them noticed Barb swatting Hank on the belly to get his attention. He was already looking and simply caught her hand in his free hand (He was holding his cake in the other). Barb whispered in excitement, “She’s it for him, you know that right? Just LOOK at them!”
Hank saw a pretty girl feeding his son cake on his birthday… Which gave him a great idea for a gift Barb could give him on HIS next birthday. Whenever he turned to ask her about it, the woman was to the point of crying. In her mind, she was seeing her little boy, too small to even fit his baggy suit, but getting MARRIED? He was too young! But, if that’s what made him happy… “Barb?” Hank broke into her thoughts. “Why don’t you take a little break. You’ve been working hard all day.”
She nodded, “Yes. Yes, a break.” Max took the plate from Charlotte. If she kept feeding him SHE wasn’t going to get any cake! So, at least she was gonna have that last bite of this slice. When he held the fork out to her and she took it into her mouth, Barb just wiped her eyes and smiled softly. Max kissed Charlotte on the forehead and asked her if SHE wanted an actual slice. She did.
Barb was heading to a chair whenever Link had an announcement to make. One that he wanted everyone’s attention for. Max was getting more cake, but everyone else was paying attention, so that was enough for Link.
Charlotte gave Barb a cordial smile as the woman came and stood right next to her and Link went on this tangent about how from the first time he met Phoebe, he knew she was special, “Literally! She used her superpowers right in front of me!” They laughed. He went on and talked about how they had to go their separate ways, but always made time for each other and reconnected a short while ago, etc. Max was back with cake, so Charlotte accepted the plate, ready to devour it, but Max was getting his phone out and started recording Link… which she thought was kinda weird until Link got down on one knee in front of Phoebe and Barb gasped loudly. “Phoebe Thunderman, will you marry me?” Cherry did a spit take with her punch. Charlotte didn’t really know Link, but she hadn’t been expecting that at this birthday party, either. It was kind of sweet and kind of exciting. She ate cake and watched Phoebe try to collect her feelings. Just like that, Barb’s attention was directed towards Phoebe and Link, now.
Max asked Cherry, “Why did you spit out your punch? Link told us that he was going to do this.” Cherry looked extremely shocked to hear this news.
Oyster commented, “He had to swipe the memory, because she kept about to accidentally tell Phoebe.”
Ignoring their ditzy couple friends, Max cheered, “Woooooo!!! Congrats, Pheebs!!” As Phoebe accepted her man and her ring.
Phoebe commented, “You’ll be next, Loverboy!” Charlotte nearly choked on her cake.
He laughed and said, “She’s just teasing, Char.” They stared at each other for a moment, then he took her empty plate, “Punch?”
“Yeah,” she said. He went to hug Phoebe, pat Link on the back, squeeze Barb’s shoulders… a lot of stuff before he actually made it to the punch.
In that time, Hank wound up back by her, “You work for Captain Man, right?”
She made a high pitched ‘Well’ sound and confirmed, “I mostly work for Kid Danger… Well… He’s actually going to change names, but, I definitely did work for Captain Man.”
“And did YOU want to punch him in the face, too?” He asked. She laughed out loud. He nodded, “He’s one of the most arrogant heroes that I’ve ever met, and it’s only on his superpower, because his record isn’t even a Hero League low class. He only qualifies because of his power and occupation. Basically skates on indestructible.”
“I can believe it,” she said.
“You know, I have punched him in the face before. Once upon a time he said something to my wife that I didn’t appreciate. My fists did the talking. Punched him right through an ambulance. He came out on the other side and said, “I’m Okay!” He was, but I had to pay to replace the damn ambulance.” Hank shook his head. “And I hurt my thumb punching his stupid indestructible jaw.”
“He… has never mentioned that there was bad blood between you two!” Charlotte said.
“Oh, there wasn’t, really. The guy forgets everything that happens the moment he sees his reflection, so honestly, it was just me mad for awhile and I moved on. Haven’t really seen or spoken to him, so I was curious to know if he was still…”
“A prick. Yes. He is.” She covered her mouth. You can’t say “prick” to your boyfriend’s dad!
But, Hank laughed heartily and wiggled his finger at her, “I like you. You’re a feisty kid.”
Max glanced over when he heard Hank laugh. He was glad to see her getting on with his dad. Meanwhile, he and Phoebe talked. “It took Link and I TEN YEARS to get to this point. You don’t have as much time to reel her in,” Phoebe said.
“Chill! We’ve barely been together for a month.”
“Well, I mean, not on paper, but come on, dude. How long were the two of you… consorting before then?” She smiled and he blushed and looked away. “Listen, I’m just saying - she’s a HELL of a catch. She’s all the stuff that you want and need without some of the stuff that might run her off. If it’s gonna be a nonsupe, should be one that gets the lifestyle and stuff.”
“I’m not rushing anything,” Max said. “I’d scare her off before I have the chance to let her down, like the universe intended.”
“Let her down?” Phoebe repeated, concerned.
“My training term will be up in a few months. Henry is excelling in it. When he moves on, I will too. They’re leaning towards Russia.”
Phoebe looked sad for him, “And she doesn’t like Russia?”
He scoffed, “I haven’t told her this! How would I even do it? Hey - you know how I spent months pining over you right in your face and you finally gave me a chance and we’ve been connecting and falling in love for the past month or so? Long story short, in a few months, I’m probably going to be sent to Russia, and be stationed there for a few years! Wanna commit to coming with me, this soon into our relationship?”
“Not those exact words, but I have to ask you… How do you think it would play out if you waited until this summer? By that time, she’s several months in and probably all the way in love and let’s be honest, be losing you and her best friend at the same time… Is he coming to Russia with you?”
“Haven’t decided whether I want that or not. He’s capable, but… she’s gonna be mad enough at me without me taking him away.”
“Maybe with him, she’ll come along. All I know is you have to share this with her. She deserves to know.”
“I’m…” He shrugged his shoulders. Scared. She knew that he was, but she also knew that he was brave.
“Brave,” she finished the statement. “And honest. Do the right thing now, and maybe even if it takes ten years, the honesty and respect will always matter and bring you two back together. And to clarify… we don’t even know that she’ll break up with you. She’s had long distance relationships before, and so have you, albeit briefly. When you love someone, and you’re both willing to work, and both smart… you can figure it out! I don’t want to see you miss out on good things because you’re scared.”
“I never said I was scared.”
“We shared a womb. You don’t HAVE to say it!”
“Ugh. Happy 25th, Boogerhead.”
“You too, Loserface.” He pulled her in and gave her a kiss on the hair, then reminded himself that he owed Charlotte punch. They were going to be heading back home in a short while, and he planned on taking Phoebe’s advice. Just the thought of having to have that talk was terrifying, but Phoebe was right. He was brave and honest, and Charlotte deserved to know the truth.
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chaoschaoswriting · 5 years ago
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Building a Routine That Works (and Sticking to It)
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For freelancers like me, learning to build a routine is essential... but that doesn't mean that we’re always good at it! The urge to overwork, or the incurable urge to procrastinate, can be incredibly powerful. Build a sold routine is just one of the ways in which people who work for themselves can ensure that they maintain a solid work-life balance and stay healthy. 
If you want a brief overview of how a routine can benefit you and the first big mistake that most newbies make, you can find it here. Likewise, if you want some ideas as to how you can use a period of lockdown/self-isolation to your benefit, I have a previous post about that. What we’re covering today, however, are the nuts and bolts of building a routine that can co-exist with your ‘normal’ day to day life. 
The Basics 
So, at risk of making myself sound like a condescending arse; a routine is defined as a set of actions which are taken regularly. In terms of life, that means things like walking the dogs, making dinner, brushing your teeth, etc. Most of us have some rudimentary form of routine, even if we don’t know it. This can be as simple as brushing your teeth and showering as soon as you wake up, and reading before bed. The trick is building a routine that incorporates more than just these basics. 
We’ve all seen it at work; your grandparents probably had specific days on which they cleaned the house, did the laundry, or went shopping. Those from regimented households may even be used to having the same meals on a rotating weekly or monthly basis. Too much regimentation is a bastard, of course, but having a routine that keeps all the most important parts of your life running smoothly is actually key to creativity. 
Here are some basics to consider before we get into the real content:
Reconsider Bedtime
Yes, really. 
I know you’re not a child, and I don’t care. 
Sleep deprivation is one of the most damaging states your body can exist in, and your alarm and ‘bedtime’ are some of the easiest things to set when creating a routine. First of all, be realistic. You’re not going to get up at 4am and go to bed at 7pm every day. Set something you can stick to more often than not, and be prepared for hiccups at first. 
What you’re doing is resetting your body clock, so it’s going to fight you at first. The most important thing is to push through; if you don’t get the right amount of sleep at first, keep getting up with your alarm and try not to nap. 
Obviously, this doesn't apply if you have medical conditions that mean you really need to take short naps often to be happy and functional. in this case, I would allow for naps. 
In fact, if you have the luxury of time, allow for naps anyway if that’s what you feel will help you best. Just set something you can stick to. 
Don’t Overschedule
Nothing kills a fledgeling routine quite like an overstuffed diary. Be realistic about what you can actually do on a daily basis. If you’re setting yourself up for 12-hour workdays... well, you’re going to lose some of the plates you’re spinning. 
Don’t Buy Into The Aesthetic
This site, in particular, is a fraught place when it comes to cultivating healthy habits. While it’s funny to recognise our own flaws, the idea that writers and artists are messy, disorganised, or incapable of working on demand is not true. Furthermore, sleep deprivation, poor diet, and untreated mental health problems are not ‘sexy’. I use that term in the early 2000s, Paris Hilton context of course. What I mean is that the image of the ‘starving artist’ or alcohol addled writer are by-products of cautionary tales, not career recommendations. 
There are plenty of things that can make it hard to work and stay organised. Executive dysfunction, depression, anxiety - these aren’t just buzzwords. They’re very real issues that many people cope with; if you’re fighting with things of this nature it’s important that you, first of all, know that you are not alone. Many of us are in the same boat. There is hope, however, if you focus on finding ways of working that suit you and help you to manage your personal situation as well as possible. 
Your routine should allow for things which help you to destress, decompress, and relax. In fact, it should centre around them in many ways. 
The Nitty-Gritty
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Ok, so you’ve got the basics down. By this I mean, you know what time you have in any given day based on your desires wake-up and shut-down times.
1. Identify the Immediate Necessities;
Are there any things that must be done daily? By this I mean meds to take, dogs to walk and feed (any pets to take care of, actually), children to dress, etc? If so, they are your first priority. First thing in the morning is the only time when a one-size-fits-all approach can be applied to a routine. Every morning routine should include 5 key things. No matter who you are, these apply:
A) Go to the toilet. 
B) Brush your teeth. 
C) Groom/wash, e.g. wash your face, neck and hands, brush your hair, apply deodorant etc. 
D) Drink a glass of water (this is a good time to take your meds/vitamins etc)
E) Eat something (even if it’s just an apple or a slice of toast, give your body something to work with). 
What else you add here is based on your life and needs. You may need to feed and walk your dogs, clean out the cages of other pets, help family members. Whatever it is you need to do write it all down to get it straight in your head. 
Most people have fewer necessities to take care of at night unless they have children, pets, or other dependents. Sticking to these things is easy because they must be done daily. 
2. Spread the ‘Sometime’ Necessities; 
What am I talking about, here? 
Chores. Things like washing your clothes, washing your hair if that's a big job, sweeping, tidying, going to the gym. Things that you don’t need to do every day, but which should be done regularly for best effect. 
Try to set these things up on a weekly schedule, doing small amounts often. This may seem like a huge ask, but trust me it’s not. It’s funny how quickly washing clothes and dishes can be done when you’re dealing with a day or twos worth instead of three weeks worth. 
Here’s a handy break-down from a real live adult; 
Dishes; do them daily. I don’t care if it’s one mug, a single plate. The truth is that unless you make a huge meal for more than two people washing dishes takes ten minutes tops. If you do have a lot of cookware to clean and not a lot of time, compromise by washing your crockery immediately after use and letting pots/pans soak until evening. 
Laundry; do this once or twice a week depending on your drying arrangement. Fold it when it's dry trust me you’ll be glad you did later. 
Cleaning; once a week. Clean your bathroom, kitchen, and dust any other rooms regularly to make it a light job. 
Hoovering/Mopping; once a week, after you dust or clean. Do the floor in the room you've just cleaned. Some people like to do all their weekly cleaning on one day, while others prefer to do a room at a time throughout the week. It really depends on you, just do what works. 
Tidying; do it every day. All the time. Not to sound like your mother, but pick the fuck up after yourself. It’ll make your life so much easier. I speak as someone who has made the mistake of not doing it many times. 
3. The Good Stuff; 
Finally, we’re onto the bit you’re interested in. Once you have things like work, chores, and bodily needs handled, you can think about what you want to do regularly. Whether that means allowing an hour a day for painting, or two to three hours a night to write your book, there are hundreds of choices here. 
Once again don’t overschedule. 
As much as you may have a million things you want to do, your daily routine should consist of sustainable actions. Be honest about what matters most to you, and how much time you can devote to it. 
Sticking to Your Routine
The truth is that you probably won’t stick to the routine you decide on in theory. Why? Because life gets in the way, and we are prone to either over or underestimating what we can do. So, the most important thing is to be prepared to change your plan as needed and to persevere through the teething pains.  You can increase your chances of sticking to any routine by easing into it. 
Start by getting a handle on your sleeping arrangements. Keep going as you are for a week or two, but start adhering to your chosen bedtime and wake-up time. Feel it out - do you need to add a nap? Are you better in the morning - would it be better to wake up earlier, etc? 
As your sleep schedule starts to feel less like a chore and more like a habit, incorporate some necessary things like taking all of your meds (or those you can) with your first glass of water, or braiding long hair at night (another tidbit for you - doesn’t matter what kind of hair you have, braiding it at night is a good way to simplify your mornings). 
Once you have your daily routine under control start to work out how you want to deal with your chores and weekly responsibilities. This will be the hardest, but once you get into a rhythm you have to keep it for a few weeks before it becomes second-nature. Minimum.
Finally, look at what free time you have after all this is in place, and ask yourself how much of that you want to devote to things like music, painting, writing, martial arts, whatever it is that gives you joy. 
Et voila you have a routine!
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neshabeingchildish · 5 years ago
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Share a Birthdate
I finally pushed out a chapter! I still don’t know who is reading or where y’all are or what. Funny enough, I was thinking about getting to this subject (because even though I tend to not write a lot of the hero parts, y’all know, I’m presuming that Henry and Max both are still actually doing hero work and juggling/balancing that with all the stuff that I’ve been writing. So, as per the original premise of the story, that y’all may have forgotten... this placement in the lair isn’t intended to be permanent. I thought, after seeing the Graduation story arc of HD that possible departures were not something anybody wanted to discuss or read about, but also... This is where we are in the story and it can’t go on for much longer, really, just because it’s becoming much too long for the general audience, except for of course my #HDOldLadyGang. However, it’s not a slam into your guts arc like HD did y’all. Also, I was able to write a little bit of Thundermans, which I don’t do a lot of and need more practice with, but here goes...
Share-a-Lair 13
“What do you even wear to meet somebody’s parents?” Charlotte wondered.
“What did you wear whenever you met Jack’s parents?” Piper asked right back.
“I didn’t even think about it, because I was just his friend from camp whenever we met. By the time we were something else, they had known me for a little while and they loved me. These people don’t know anything about me.” 
Jasper chimed in, “No, but Max probably told them all about you, so you likely have a lot to live up to because he TOTALLY overplays your attributes.”
“Excuse me???” Charlotte asked.
“It’s adorable!” Jasper said. “He thinks the world revolves around you. It doesn’t. It revolves around the sun.”
Piper sighed and held a pair of earrings up to Charlotte’s ear, “Is it like a fancy dinner or like a party?”
“It’s like a family party?” Charlotte said. “I guess something like you guys do for Hen’s birthday. I don’t know. I was thinking that I’d dress like we’re going to a dinner date, since I’m meeting his parents, but maybe like a cocktail dress, since it’s his birthday dinner.”
“I can’t believe that you didn’t plan this out before,” Jasper said.
“Do you know how much work I’ve had to do since Henry’s advancement?”
Jasper scoffed, “Do you know how much work I’ve got to do since you and Henry haven’t been in the Man Cave as much?”
Piper said, “All you do is personal assistant stuff for Ray. You did that anyway.”
“Yeah, but it’s MORE now because he’s lowkey depressed!” Jasper said. “So, I have to pick up more snacks, set more spa appointments, force him to take more showers!”
“Who’s protecting Swellview while he hosts his pity parties?” Charlotte asked, concerned.
“Me,” Piper said, as though it was obvious. Jasper just pursed his lips and nodded. Now, Charlotte wanted to go to the Man Cave and make sure everything was functional! But… She just didn’t have the time and she’d have to remember that. She took the earrings from Piper and placed them back in their spot, picked up a different pair and held up to her own ears. “Much better,” Piper said, nodding. 
Jasper laid down on Charlotte’s extra bed while she continued arranging her outfit. 
.
Ultimately, she decided on an updo with golden jewels as hair garnish, a long sleeved sleek espresso colored party dress with boots, a belt and a clutch that complimented them well, and a gold jewelry set. If it turned out to be a little more fancy, she had a satin scarf that would instantly upgrade her look. 
Max picked her up from her parents’ house, though they were out of town for some of her father’s business. She simply didn’t want to have to drive all the way to the Lair, when Hiddenville was past her in the other direction. Since she was (sort of) on the way, he collected her from there. She was doing some remote Man Cave work while she waited on him on the patio outside and almost didn’t notice him walk up. “Hey!” She said when she did, though. “What’s behind your back?” 
“I got you flowers!” He said and pulled out a bouquet of peonies. 
Charlotte gasped and smiled brightly. “They’re my favorite! I don’t remember telling you that!” She took them to put them into “the vase.” It was a vase in their house that was only there because Jack used to send her flowers. Mostly, her mom used it now, for nice dinners and stuff. He watched her, a little bit hungrily, but composed. 
“You look really amazing,” he said.
She looked at him now - he was the same as always. Dark colors and “not even trying” casual-sexy in a dark purple T-shirt, black jacket, dark jeans and black high top sneakers. “I feel overdressed,” she said, noting his outfit.
“Naw. It’s a special occasion. I think you’re more on the mark than me.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and officially greeted her with a kiss on the nose, which she reflexively pressed herself into a little harder. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” she smiled. And they were off.
.
Barb was frantically going about the place, trying to make sure that everything was perfect. They had the twins come over for their birthdays before, but this year would be so different! Max was bringing a woman home!! Yes, Max had dated before and even casually introduced women that he saw to them… but he hadn’t brought one home in a very long time and not on an occasion like his birthday! This one might be the one! To get him settled into a home to escape from at the end of his missions. To give her some beautiful little grandchildren! My grandchildren would be the most adorable kids alive!!! 
She had seen photos of Charlotte before. Max was constantly posting them to his social media and she would always leave a comment, “Beautiful! Can’t wait to meet her!!” And he’d love the comment, but never get around to actually making good on her request. But, today, he would. That was exciting. 
He’d called her previously and said, “Hey, Mom… Do you think it’d be okay to add an additional spot, for me and Phoebe’s birthday thing? I kind of… want Charlotte to be with me for my birthday…” She could hear the smile in his voice and she could hear something else too. Her little boy was in love. Well, her big boy. Her grown up baby. She had to make sure that everything was perfect and that she made them comfortable. It was hard enough to get Max to stop by when there wasn’t an occasion or an assignment. He went off, falling in love and gallivanting around with his new girlfriend, they might never see him, if she didn’t make a big impact.
“Alert, The twins and friends approaching,” the monitor called. Barb squealed happily and called, “Max and Phoebe are here!” 
Of course, Billy was the first one down, Nora and Chloe came from the kitchen and Hank got up from the couch as his wife rushed to the door to open it for her oldest two. “Mom!” The twins cheered as soon as the door opened and they gave her a shared hug. Charlotte had just been introduced to Link when they got out of the cars, and the two of them stood back as the Thunderman hugs went around. She could have sworn that Max had just seen them a week or two ago, but maybe time was not as she remembered it. While they were exchanging their happy greetings, Cherry and Oyster walked up behind Link and Charlotte and she commented, “Well, at least I’m not the only non-family here.”
“Are you kidding? Cherry is as much family as their kids,” Link said.
“Great.” Now, her hands were sweating and of course, that meant it was time to shake The Thundermans’... Thundermanses’? Thunderman’s?...
“Mom, Dad, this is Charlotte, my… Charlotte.” Max said, somewhat awkwardly and blushing as he put his had in the small of her back to move her closer to himself and them. She smoothly wiped her hand on his sleeve and reached out to shake Barb’s hand but when she reached for Hank’s, Max intercepted and said, “He sometimes is way too strong. Shake in spirit.” She smiled and nodded.
“Nice to finally meet you!” Barb cheered. “Hope you like the flowers. Max insisted on incorporating peonies and I’ve never known him to be a flower boy, so I figured it was for you.”
Charlotte squinted, “I have no idea who told him about peonies, but - they are my favorite. He’s so thoughtful.” she smiled at him and he crinkled his nose smiling and gushing. 
Nora and Billy came over and almost tackled her with hugs, both talking at the same time (and she realized that she hadn’t seen them since the video game tournament), and tried to hear what both of them were saying. Eventually, they got back on the same page when they said, “And this is our youngest sister, Chloe.”
Charlotte waved at the young teenage girl, “Hi! Nice to meet you!”
“A likely story!” Chloe said, eyeing her suspiciously. 
“Oh,” Charlotte said and smiled, uncomfortably.
“Chloe! Don’t be mean… at least not to her,” Max said.
Chloe beckoned him with her hand and whenever he got closer, pulled him by the jacket and they vanished. Charlotte gasped. “What just happened?” She wondered.
“That’s her superpower,” Billy said, a little amused by Charlotte’s face. 
A moment later, Max and Chloe were back and Chloe reached for Charlotte’s hand to shake it. “Well, despite what Dr. Collosso has told me, I’ve chosen to believe Max that he’s just jealous. So, nice to meet you… You’d better not steal away and-or hurt my brother!” She leaned in and said, “I can make you disappear.” 
Charlotte’s eyes went wide and Max broke their bodily contact, taking Charlotte’s hand away from Chloe and into his own. “Chloe!” He wrapped an arm around Charlotte and laughed a little, “She’s going through puberty. Hormones and superpowers, yanno?”
Now, Charlotte was not easily scared, but this girl COULD make her disappear. She'd just shown her so when she and Max went to have their little discussion. Nora and Billy had loved her right away and Phoebe had always been cool. The last thing that she was expecting was for the kid to distrust or dislike her. She was gonna strangle that bunny when she saw him! 
Aside from that hiccup, it was great, though. 
Barb and Hank tried to take a lot of her time, mostly Barb, and Max kept stealing her back when she seemed overwhelmed. Even when he and Oyster were in the middle of talking animatedly about something. She appreciated that. Cherry played some music to dance to and Oyster almost immediately planted his butt to a seat. Charlotte felt THAT in her spirit and moved to join him, but Max caught her hand and gave her a gentle tug. 
"What's happening? Are you dancing?" She wondered. She hated dancing. She did not want this, at all.. 
He pressed his face close to hers, moving to the beat of the music, "It's my birthday. Indulge me?" He poked his lip out in a pout and she couldn’t resist him. Phoebe and Link were dancing next to them. Cherry was dancing by herself, with Oyster seated nearby and watching. The younger Thundermans were dancing in a little circle. Charlotte noticed that Barb had her camera out. No way was she going to be caught looking stupid. She had rhythm, so she just rocked a little bit while Max danced around her. With a little wine, she might feel better, but technically not being old enough, she didn’t want to be seen drinking in front of his parents. They might think ill of her. Her parents allowed her wine, but this family was different from hers and it was really a big deal to her to make a good first impression on them. The way that Max adored them made this important to her.
There was something really special about him. He wasn’t the first guy she cared deeply about and she was pretty sure he probably wouldn’t be the last one. But, he was the only one that she felt like… compromising things for. Yeah, it was cool to be able to have somebody who knew that you didn’t want to dance and left you alone about it, but that little, “Indulge me?” and the tugging of her heart TO indulge? That was an exciting, but manageable new sensation, and she was apprehensive, but felt like even when she would jump in, he’d have her. She wasn’t going to slip up and look stupid. If she did look a little silly, well… He was still gonna look at her exactly the same. After a while, she loosened up and enjoyed her little small dance movements. She definitely enjoyed watching him move around her. That’s not to say that whenever Hank excitedly cheered that it was time for cake (A little TOO excitedly, she thought), that she wasn’t thanking the stars for dancing dismissal.
Max took her hand again - she loved whenever they were together and he kept her close to himself, and it felt even better happening around his family than it did when it was just friends. Barb and Hank started what appeared to be some type of birthday rap and Charlotte prayed silently that her face was not going to insult them. She felt something graze her skin and turned to see that Max had taken one of the nearby peonies from their vase and handed it to her, which distracted her long enough to smile, smell it and admire him. And when the rap ended, Hank was the first to grab a slice of cake that Phoebe cut for him and make his way to the couch with it. The others were getting smaller slices that Barb was placing on plates and Max cut a slice for Charlotte. “Here ya go!” he said. 
She looked at the room and wondered, “Aren’t you going to get yours?”
He waved a hand and said, “There will be some left.”
She looked at the cake as Hank ALREADY was coming for seconds and shook her head, “I don’t know. You know this group better than me, but it looks like you’ll miss out, Dude.” She had this mini flashback to one of Hen’s birthdays where he was forced to work and everybody else just moved on and had cake. He’d brought it up after the fact and made her feel pretty guilty about not even thinking twice about leaving him out of his own birthday cake and saying that Jasper was the only one who had his back. That was hurtful to hear, because it was true in that one time, and for whatever reason had carried more weight with Henry than she would have thought. To heck with that, though. She turned turned towards Max and pinched off a piece of her cake. “Open up,” she said, with a smile.
He listened. It wasn’t a struggle or anything. It may have been her slice, but he was gonna take first bite and right from her hands was actually much better than he had ever eaten a piece of cake before in his life. Her brown eyes twinkling up at him, her perfect smile beaming at his sheer satisfaction. Neither of them noticed Barb swatting Hank on the belly to get his attention. He was already looking and simply caught her hand in his free hand (He was holding his cake in the other). Barb whispered in excitement, “She’s it for him, you know that right? Just LOOK at them!” 
Hank saw a pretty girl feeding his son cake on his birthday… Which gave him a great idea for a gift Barb could give him on HIS next birthday. Whenever he turned to ask her about it, the woman was to the point of crying. In her mind, she was seeing her little boy, too small to even fit his baggy suit, but getting MARRIED? He was too young! But, if that’s what made him happy… “Barb?” Hank broke into her thoughts. “Why don’t you take a little break. You’ve been working hard all day.” 
She nodded, “Yes. Yes, a break.” Max took the plate from Charlotte. If she kept feeding him SHE wasn’t going to get any cake! So, at least she was gonna have that last bite of this slice. When he held the fork out to her and she took it into her mouth, Barb just wiped her eyes and smiled softly. Max kissed Charlotte on the forehead and asked her if SHE wanted an actual slice. She did. 
Barb was heading to a chair whenever Link had an announcement to make. One that he wanted everyone’s attention for. Max was getting more cake, but everyone else was paying attention, so that was enough for Link. 
Charlotte gave Barb a cordial smile as the woman came and stood right next to her and Link went on this tangent about how from the first time he met Phoebe, he knew she was special, “Literally! She used her superpowers right in front of me!” They laughed. He went on and talked about how they had to go their separate ways, but always made time for each other and reconnected a short while ago, etc. Max was back with cake, so Charlotte accepted the plate, ready to devour it, but Max was getting his phone out and started recording Link… which she thought was kinda weird until Link got down on one knee in front of Phoebe and Barb gasped loudly. “Phoebe Thunderman, will you marry me?” Cherry did a spit take with her punch. Charlotte didn’t really know Link, but she hadn’t been expecting that at this birthday party, either. It was kind of sweet and kind of exciting. She ate cake and watched Phoebe try to collect her feelings. Just like that, Barb’s attention was directed towards Phoebe and Link, now. 
Max asked Cherry, “Why did you spit out your punch? Link told us that he was going to do this.” Cherry looked extremely shocked to hear this news.
Oyster commented, “He had to swipe the memory, because she kept about to accidentally tell Phoebe.” 
Ignoring their ditzy couple friends, Max cheered, “Woooooo!!! Congrats, Pheebs!!” As Phoebe accepted her man and her ring. 
Phoebe commented, “You’ll be next, Loverboy!” Charlotte nearly choked on her cake. 
He laughed and said, “She’s just teasing, Char.” They stared at each other for a moment, then he took her empty plate, “Punch?”
“Yeah,” she said. He went to hug Phoebe, pat Link on the back, squeeze Barb’s shoulders… a lot of stuff before he actually made it to the punch. 
In that time, Hank wound up back by her, “You work for Captain Man, right?”
She made a high pitched ‘Well’ sound and confirmed, “I mostly work for Kid Danger… Well… He’s actually going to change names, but, I definitely did work for Captain Man.”
“And did YOU want to punch him in the face, too?” He asked. She laughed out loud. He nodded, “He’s one of the most arrogant heroes that I’ve ever met, and it's only on his superpower, because his record isn’t even a Hero League low class. He only qualifies because of his power and occupation. Basically skates on indestructible.”
“I can believe it,” she said. 
“You know, I have punched him in the face before. Once upon a time he said something to my wife that I didn’t appreciate. My fists did the talking. Punched him right through an ambulance. He came out on the other side and said, “I’m Okay!” He was, but I had to pay to replace the damn ambulance.” Hank shook his head. “And I hurt my thumb punching his stupid indestructible jaw.”
“He… has never mentioned that there was bad blood between you two!” Charlotte said.
“Oh, there wasn’t, really. The guy forgets everything that happens the moment he sees his reflection, so honestly, it was just me mad for awhile and I moved on. Haven’t really seen or spoken to him, so I was curious to know if he was still…”
“A prick. Yes. He is.” She covered her mouth. You can’t say “prick” to your boyfriend’s dad! 
But, Hank laughed heartily and wiggled his finger at her, “I like you. You’re a feisty kid.”
Max glanced over when he heard Hank laugh. He was glad to see her getting on with his dad. Meanwhile, he and Phoebe talked. “It took Link and I TEN YEARS to get to this point. You don’t have as much time to reel her in,” Phoebe said.
“Chill! We’ve barely been together for a month.”
“Well, I mean, not on paper, but come on, dude. How long were the two of you… consorting before then?” She smiled and he blushed and looked away. “Listen, I’m just saying - she’s a HELL of a catch. She’s all the stuff that you want and need without some of the stuff that might run her off. If it’s gonna be a nonsupe, should be one that gets the lifestyle and stuff.”
“I’m not rushing anything,” Max said. “I’d scare her off before I have the chance to let her down, like the universe intended.” 
“Let her down?” Phoebe repeated, concerned. 
“My training term will be up in a few months. Henry is excelling in it. When he moves on, I will too. They’re leaning towards Russia.”
Phoebe looked sad for him, “And she doesn’t like Russia?” 
He scoffed, “I haven’t told her this! How would I even do it? Hey - you know how I spent months pining over you right in your face and you finally gave me a chance and we’ve been connecting and falling in love for the past month or so? Long story short, in a few months, I’m probably going to be sent to Russia, and be stationed there for a few years! Wanna commit to coming with me, this soon into our relationship?” 
“Not those exact words, but I have to ask you… How do you think it would play out if you waited until this summer? By that time, she’s several months in and probably all the way in love and let’s be honest, be losing you and her best friend at the same time… Is he coming to Russia with you?”
“Haven’t decided whether I want that or not. He’s capable, but… she’s gonna be mad enough at me without me taking him away.”
“Maybe with him, she’ll come along. All I know is you have to share this with her. She deserves to know.”
“I’m…” He shrugged his shoulders. Scared. She knew that he was, but she also knew that he was brave.
“Brave,” she finished the statement. “And honest. Do the right thing now, and maybe even if it takes ten years, the honesty and respect will always matter and bring you two back together. And to clarify… we don’t even know that she’ll break up with you. She’s had long distance relationships before, and so have you, albeit briefly. When you love someone, and you’re both willing to work, and both smart… you can figure it out! I don’t want to see you miss out on good things because you’re scared.”
“I never said I was scared.”
“We shared a womb. You don’t HAVE to say it!” 
“Ugh. Happy 25th, Boogerhead.”
“You too, Loserface.” He pulled her in and gave her a kiss on the hair, then reminded himself that he owed Charlotte punch. They were going to be heading back home in a short while, and he planned on taking Phoebe’s advice. Just the thought of having to have that talk was terrifying, but Phoebe was right. He was brave and honest, and Charlotte deserved to know the truth.
11 notes · View notes
luvneedsnosyt · 5 years ago
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My Favorite Albums of 2019
Here is my list of my personal top albums of 2019 You can find my separate list for top EPs of 2019 here.
My Previous monthly lists from 2019: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
My list last year for my top albums of 2018 can be found here.
*Indicates someone I saw live in 2019
Honorable Mentions:
Anderson .Paak - Ventura Genre: Hip Hop / R&B/ Soul
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Recorded at the same time as last year’s Oxnard, Ventura is the more tender and unassuming brother of the two. Despite the vulnerability this seems to be Anderson’s more comfortable persona. Focusing on love and feelings and other mushy stuff. The experimenting on this album between R&B, jazz, electronic music creates a glossy and elaborate form of hip hop. At times Anderson’s versatility can get a bit in the way on long form projects, here that creativity is perhaps the most channeled of his career.
Proof: Reachin’ 2 Much (Feat. Lelah Hathaway) / Chosen One (Feat. Sonyae)
Anna of the North - Dream Girl Genre: Synth-Pop
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The tender and delicate music of Oslo singer Anna of the North is back following up her touching 2017 debut album. Anna’s music is not totally unassuming but is very subtle and reserved. You can take a moment to stop and feel the soothing vibes or you can pass it by and not notice. The synth based production is meant to provide a basis to get hips moving but also not to reach out and demand your attention in a needy way. Anna’s vocals are always warm and bouncy even when singing about sad subject matters.
Proof: My Love / Playing Games
Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Genre: Synth-Pop
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I stumbled on Billie Eilish’s “ocean eyes” single early on and instantly became a fan of her dark and brooding sound. It reminded me of the first time I heard The Weeknd. Even being an early subscriber it did surprise me a bit the vice grip the 18 year old would put on 2019. I knew she would find an audience with the undeniable talent for songwriting and impacting voice beyond her years. I did not foresee this low lit and frankly weird music hitting the mainstream with such a force, but I sure am glad it did. This is where I would say I can’t wait to see how she follows up this monster of debut album, but honestly she deserves to revel in the influence it is having and enjoy this moment. She will be around for however long she wishes to in the industry; that I am certain of.
Proof: bad guy / you should see me in a crown
BJ The Chicago Kid - 1123 Genre: R&B / Soul
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It was a long time coming for hook provider BJ The Chicago Kid’s 2016 debut album In My Mind. He showed he can carry a solo project just fine. Now in 2019 he’s back for his victory lap with another soulful and sexy album that follows up his debut quite nicely. BJ is a bit of a throw back to the late 90’s/early 2000’s soul music which is right up my alley so you already know I ride for it with no qualms.
Proof: Rather Be With You / Reach (Feat. Afrojack)
Bon Iver - i,i Genre: Indie Pop / Folk
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Justin Vernon’s band Bon Iver has created quite a robust cult following that’s very impressive off of four albums spanning over 12 years and in non-uniform song structures and themes. i,i might be the band’s most straightforward record, but that doesn’t mean there’s any downgrade in creativity and innovation. As always the case with Bon Iver albums your senses are confronted with multiple instruments and production tools used in traditional ways and used in ways you wouldn’t think of. Grooves are created then shifted and the only real constant is you don’t know what direction the music will go next. But that’s part of the joy and you know Justin Vernon is a trustworthy navigator on this expansive journey.
Proof: Hey, Ma / U (Man Like)
Bring Me the Horizon - amo Genre: Rock / Alternative
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On their sixth album, the English rock group took experimentation and expansion seriously broadening their rock sound to new horizons (ok, that was bad). amo isn’t as much a departure for the alt-Metal group but more increasing their pallet to include more cross genre influences dipping into punk, pop, electronic and hip hop. There’s definitely risk with lofty exploration so suddenly in a band’s discography but BMTH pull it off rather elegantly here creating a unique blend that sounds a bit like a harder hitting Muse record. I am one to applaud audacious creative efforts to expand on ones sound if the motives seem pure; even when those attempts don’t quite work (Mumford & Sons - Babel, Jack White - Boarding House Reach, Coldplay - Everyday Life this year for instance). When they do stick the landing you can bet I am in awe.
Proof: in the dark / medicine
Circa Waves - What’s It Like Over There? Genre: Alternative / Rock
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I will admit the English band hasn’t really been on my radar before this album, so I can’t ascribe how this album is different than their previous two albums (from what I've read it is very different though). What I do know if this is some of the best rock music to come out of 2019 in a year that wasn’t too kind to the genre. There are many emotional moments of this record that really bring levity to the glossy and cinematic music backdrops. There are two albums already announced in early 2020 from the group; they are definitely on my radar now.
Proof: Sorry, I’m Yours / Be Somebody Good
Chance The Rapper - Big Day Genre: Hip Hop / R&B
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With how long he’s been around and how many Mixtapes and side projects Chance has dropped it’s pretty surprising this is his first ever official LP. When you wait that long and build (to his credit) the anticipation he has, a lot of weight gets put on that first album; unfortunately I feel that weight affected the product and swallowed it up a bit once released. Chance, I think, felt a responsibility to speak to his vast diversity we’ve seen over the years in sounds and flows. That resulted in a bit of a bloated and disjointed project. Something Chance projects always seem to have is a continuity despite their variety that seems to be absent here. Once the short coming are acknowledged there is some really great songs here with few missteps (although there are a few). Some more quality control, restraint and a concept to follow there are the makings of a possible top 10 of the year album here. My favorite moments are the nostalgic and 90’s R&B influences moments that sprinkle the album, a whole project with those as more a driving force could really be something special.
Proof: All Day Long (Feat. John Legend) / Zanies and Fools (Feat. Darius Scott & Nicki Minaj)
Dabin* - Wild Youth // Wild Youth (The Remixes) Genre: Electronic / Future Bass / Dance
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Toronto multi-instrumentalist and electronic DJ Dabin returns with a sophomore album of more emotional and evocative electronic soundscapes. The melodic album flows smoothly through inspirational tracks of finding oneself coming to a climactic crescendo with the cinematic closer “Alive”. 
Proof: In Flames (Feat. Lexi Norton) / Alive (Feat. RUNN) // Part-Time Lover (Crystal Skies Remix) Feat. Claire Ridgely / Alive (Trvecta Remix) Feat. RUNN
Dermot Kennedy* - Without Fear Genre: Pop / Soul
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Irish singer Dermot Kennedy’s voice comes in like a freight train straight for your ear drum. He sings with such evocative passion and force it is quite a sound to behold. That’s not to say Without Fear is all potent bellowing. Dermot on his soulful debut here has plenty of softer, tender moments as well.
Proof: Moment’s Passed / Redemption
Foals - Part 2: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Genre: Rock / Alternative
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The second part of the English Rock bands 2-part album project this year is the louder and more aggressive sibling. The music is a bit less glossy and more gritty then it predecessor but still is quite refined in its ferociousness. I do prefer the more melodic first offering of the two but that doesn’t need to take away from how exhilarating this album is as well. 
Proof: The Runner / Neptune
GoldLink - Diaspora Genre: Hip Hop / R&B
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With his second album, DMV rapper GoldLink dove deeper into his African roots with increased Afro-inspired production and themes. Diaspora is a fusion dish of of East coast Hip Hop base, with 90’s R&B notes, a sprinkle of Jazz, a dash of DC house and intermixing of traditional African qualities. It’s quite a vibrant and varied plateful!
Proof: Zulu Screams (Feat. Feat. Maleek Berry & Babi Bourelly) / More (Feat. Lola Rae)
Goldroom - Plunge /\ Surface Genre: Electronic / House / Dance
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Returning from a brief hiatus after his debut album, 2016’s West of the West, Goldroom sneaked in at the end of November with one of the years most fun house records. The wait was definitely worth it for Goldroom fans. Plunge /\ Surface has a sense of wonder, discovery and joy that I think was quite well timed.
Proof: Do You Feel It Now (Feat. Love & Alexa) / Just Like A Dream (Feat. Nikki Segal)
Georgia Maq - Pleaser Genre: Synth-Pop / Alternative
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My late addition to my already completed list is this surprising and electrifying debut solo project from the lead singer of Melbourne punk/Alternative group Camp Cope. Just slipping in with an early release right before my cut off date (for my own sanity). This album is nothing like the sound of her band though. Instead Georgia Maq looked to artists like Robyn, LCD Soundsystem and Cut Copy for her solo venture with some delightfully delicious 80′s synth vibes. Pleaser is dark and atmospheric but not devoid of brittle emotion and angst. 
Proof: Pleaser / Big Embarrassing Heart
Hozier* - Wasteland, Baby! Genre: Indie Pop / Soul / Folk
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Years later, when looking back on Hozier’s career, we may look back at this album as a sort of turning point. The Irish singer through early EP’s and his debut album has always had a powerful form of soulful Folk music that moves people to many emotional states. But on this sophomore album Hozier seemed to figure something out. Incorporating a Motown feel into his music has unleashed it and his strong voice to a new level. Wasteland, Baby! Is a sentimental excursion through love, empowerment and hope.
Proof: Movement / Would That I
James Blake - Assume Form Genre: Progressive Pop / Electronic / Indie Pop
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English producer and singer James Blake returns with his artful progressive form of pop music that only he can produce. Assume Form continues in his tradition of bending song structure and genres to his will to create powerful evocative landscapes to explore. The experimental artist keeps finding ways to push the boundaries while still making beautiful lush music to get lost in.
Proof: Barefoot in the Park (Feat. ROSALÍA) / Where’s The Catch? (Feat. Andre 3000)
Kevin Abstract - ARIZONA BABY Genre: Hip Hop
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BROCKHAMPTON founding member drops off his third solo album which is a tender and impacting affair through the life of a figure in hip hop with a lot of hate sent to him, but a lot of love to send out. The openly gay rapper using this as a form of empowerment to let others who may be struggling know they have the power within themselves to make their life something of fulfillment.
Proof: Joyride / Mississippi
Kim Petras - TURN OFF THE LIGHT [Mixtape] Genre: Synth-Pop / House / Dance
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Only a few months after dropping her debut album the new, exciting singer wants to keep us all guessing and elaborated on her Halloween EP from last year with this full mixtape. Her debut album is more Synth-Pop with some targeted EDM moments. This is a burst of haunting house music meant to get your heart rate pulsating and feet moving.
Proof: There Will Be Blood / Close Your Eyes
Mabel - High Expectations Genre: R&B / neo-Soul
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British female R&B artists are having quite a moment right now. With the success of Jorja Smith, Ella Mai and RAYE last year to Sinead Harnett, Mahalia (it was seriously hard to take her off my list) and Mabel this year. Mabel has already had some hits from her 2017 mixtape Ivy to Roses, so this debute is quite a confident strut with tales of love, love lost and overcoming. The glossy production establishes a bouncy, beach vibe, probably influenced from her origins on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Her stellar song writing is really what takes the attention throughout as every track has an ability to establish a connection with the listener quite effortlessly. 
Proof: Don’t Call Me Up / Mad Love
Maverick Sabre - When I Wake Up Genre: Pop / Soul
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English/Irish singer Maverick Sabre returns with his third album that’s a unique and soulful jaunt. The 29 year old’s deep voice has a commanding and captivating effect on the listener throughout. The somewhat minimalist backing lets the potent voice and piercing song lyrics be the emotional driving force to great effect.
Proof: Slow Down (Feat. Jorja Smith) / Weakness
Rapsody - Eve Genre: Hip Hop
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For her third album, Grammy nominated rapper Rapsody drops off quite a Tour de force of inspiration and empowerment. Every track is named after a black female icon that has influenced Rapsody. The North Carolina rapper’s lyrics flow and dense lyrics are top notch as always. The production has an increased levity to match the themes. Rapsody has gotten where she is from sheer will and strength within, now she's looking outward to inspirations to find her next step up the ladder.
Proof: Nina / Iman (Feat. SiR & JID)
The List:
Last One Out: Kim Petras - Clarity Genre: Synth-Pop / Electronic
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The debut album from German singer Kim Petras was a long time coming and the build up was quite a slow burn. Since 2017 the 27 year old singer started one by one dropping pretty exciting one-off singles (none of which show up here). To our surprise her first official project was a surprised-dropped Halloween themed EP in 2018 (that, as seen in my Honorable Mentions above, was released this year as a full mixtape). Finally in early 2019 we get Kim’s first full length album and the wait was well worth it. Clarity is an electric and glossy affair of lust, self love and female empowerment. Kim is on quite a tear right now from this to her features on other artists projects that I don’t see slowing down anytime soon.
Proof: Icy / Got My Number / Do Me / Another One
35. 88rising - Head in the Clouds II Genre: R&B / Hip Hop
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LA based collective 88rising began as mostly Asian-American rap artists. As they went in a more serious direction with their music and label they began acquiring production and R&B talent that has elevated the output to something to really admire. In the early stages I was a bit dismissive of the artists but the last three years I have increasingly been won over. With the success of Joji’s 2018 solo album the collective chose to lean heavier into the electro-R&B sound on their second compilation album that is paying great dividends here. Head in the Clouds II is filled with spacey tender songs that inspire and captivate. The lessons and progressions everyone in the collective are making adds to my excitement with each release. 
Proof: Joji & GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE - Need Your Love / Jackson Wang & Higher Brother’s - Tequila Sunrise (Feat. AUGUST 08 & GoldLink) / RHYME SO - Just Used Music Again / NIKI - La La Lost You
34. Karen O* & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima Genre: Alternative / Indie Rock
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Two of today’s icons collide on this collaboration album that probably should have happened years ago. Yeah Yeah Yeahs front singer Karen O has influenced so many of today’s alternative artists (especially women led ones), and it’s always a solid veteran karaoke bar move to put in “MAPS”. Meanwhile Danger Mouse has been a go-to producer in both hip hop and alternative and formed a few emblematic pairings on albums with MF Doom (as Danger Mask), CeeLo (as Gnarles Barkley) and James Mercer of The Shins (as Broken Bells). Together Karen and DM are a perfect pair. Karen is as potent as ever singing over a lush and intricate backdrops by the paws of Danger Mouse. 
Proof: Lux Prima / Turn the Light / Woman / Redeemer
33. Little Simz - GREY Area Genre: Hip Hop
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London rapper comes in swinging with her powerful third full length album. Her flow is so measured and confident and firing on all cylinders here with no wasted syllables or breaths on any verse along the project. The song subject matters dive into some pretty personal and touching territory letting the listener into some intimate thoughts. At 25, we are witnessing an artist really come into their own and it is an inspirational and beautiful thing.
Proof: Offense / Boss / Venom / Pressure (Feat. Little Dragon)
32. Shura* - forevher Genre: Synth-Pop
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For her second album, Shura used the same 80’s nostalgic electronic pallet of her debut but this time a bit more slowed tempo with a layer of added sensuality. While her marvelous 2016 debut, Nothing’s Real, focused on the angst of growing into young adulthood, finding ones self and feeling comfortable in your own skin (as she initially struggled coming out publicly as a lesbian artist). On forevher, Shura focuses more intimately on her own relationship. Many of the songs being inspired by precise moments in the relationship with her current girlfriend, there is a noticeable narrowing of the scope. The result is an incredibly tender offering that allows us a glimpse into the UK Singer’s warm heart. 
Proof: religion (u can lay your hands on me) / the stage / flyin’ / forever
31. A R I Z O N A - ASYLUM Genre: Synth-Pop
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The New Jersey electro-pop band A R I Z O N A follows up their 2017 debut album nicely here. Maintaining their knack for writing catchy as hell hooks along enticing dance inducing electronic production. With features on both Don Diablo’s 2018 album Future and Avicii’s posthumous release, TIM, this year, the band’s notoriety seems to be on a steady incline. 
Proof: Nostalgic / Find Someone / Freaking Out / Still Alive
30. VÉRITÉ - new skin Genre: Pop
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Brooklyn based singer VÉRITÉ returns with her sophomore album aimed right for all of your feels at once. VÉRITÉ’s sound is understated and delicate, yet packed with raw and identifiable emotions. There is a progression as well from Somewhere in Between with a noticeable bit more comfort in moments where she can let loose. new skin, doesn’t reach out and scream for your attention, but it is a rewarding and sentimental ride for those that give it.
Proof: good for it / body in my bed / think of me / gone
29. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative
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Ezra Koenig and Vampire Weekend took their sweet time for their fifth album. Six years to be exact from 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City. Also in that time founding member Rostam left the group as a full time member (though still contributing to this album on a few songs). The time lapse and shifting of collaborators led to their most sprawling and experimental album to date. There are some swings that don’t quite connect but for the most part this is an exhilarating and unpredictable exploration by the band that is definitely worth the journey. 
Proof: Harmony Hall / This Life / How Long? / Sympathy
28. LÉON - LÉON Genre: Pop / Soul
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When I saw this was Swedish singer LÉON’s debut I had to google to make sure. It’s been awhile since LÉON first popped on my radar with her beautiful and sultry tunes, but those have been from three EPs. The wait was well worth it for this angelic record of pleasant pop bops, one after another. These tracks make themselves right at home in your subconscious; taking their shoes off and checking what’s in your fridge. LÉON’s voice itself has a gentle nature to it coupled with a raspy, sensuality that is enduring and soothing. 
Proof: Lost Time / Falling / Hope Is A Heartache / You and I
27. MUNA - Save The World Genre: Synth-Pop
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No sophomore slump for the American trio, MUNA here. Save The World is quite a refreshing progression from their tender 2017 debut. There’s a little more of a free feeling on this album that comes with increased confidence in their craft. The tracks are all incredibly catchy and easily stick with you well after first listen. “Stayway” is the shining jewel on the album and one of my most favorite tracks of 2019. 
Proof: Number One Fan / Stayaway / Never / Hands Off
26. Foals - Part 1: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost / Part 1: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost (Remixes) Genre: Rock / Alternative
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The 1st part of English rock band’s 2-album project comes in like a Indy Car full speed for subconcious. The unique melding if Synth based beats and guitar driven grooves creates an enticing energetic sound you can get lost in. Part 2 was a big more reaching and aggressive, where Part 1 had more of a basis track to track that I felt made it the stronger outputting of the two. 
Proof: Exits / White Onions / In Degrees / On The Luna // In Degrees (Purple Disco Machine Remix) / Syrups (Vincent Taurelle Remix) / Exits (Lawrence Hart and Little Clubs Remix) / Exits (George FitzGerald Remix)
25. Denzel Curry - ZUU Genre: Hip Hop
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Denzel Curry has always had promise to me with his frantic delivery. There were meaningful lyrics there and more focused passion than most of his peers his age in hip hop. The trick was channeling that boiling emotion for the rapper, that he struggled with early. Last year’s TA13OO was the first hint the 24 year old was starting to get this balance in his music. Only ten months later we see a fully formed Denzel with the directed missile that is ZUU. There aren’t many wasted moments here as Denzel focuses on what he needs to say and the most effective way to say it. All the while also making track after track meant to be played at the loudest decibel possible; that all smack the concrete with aggression and no remorse. 
Proof: ZUU / RICKY / BIRDZ (Feat. Rick Ross) / CAROLMART (Feat. Ice Billion Berg)
24. Tei Shi - La Linda Genre: R&B / Soul
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For those of us following Tei Shi’s career since her early EP days there is a definite increase in her confidence as an artist on this sophomore album. The Argentina-born Colombian artist’s beautiful melodies flow at their own pace with a delicate precision and grace. Tei Shi’s low lit sounds lives in a mellow and assured range making the pockets where she lifts her voice that much more impacting. There’s both a layer of innocence and care as well as a level of empowerment and self-assured sex appeal in her vocals that are impossible to not get enthralled with.
Proof: Alone in the Universe / Even If It Hurts (Feat. Blood Orange) / When He’s Done / A Kiss Goodbye
23. Sigrid - Sucker Punch Genre: Pop
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23 year old Norwegian singer Sigrid burst on the scene with her successful debut EP in 2017, and it’s been an effective upward trajectory since. Another EP came out in 2018 before this marvelous debut album. Sucker Punch packs quite a punch of delightfully infectious and identifiable jams. There is an ease to the charismatic mood of this album that shows how genuine Sigrid is with every song written. This young singer has some definite longevity ahead of her in the pop world.
Proof: Basic / Strangers / Don’t Feel Like Crying / Don’t Kill My Vibe
22. Charli XCX - Charli Genre: Synth-Pop / Electronic
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After her sophomore album, 2014’s Sucker, English singer Charli XCX stated she felt a bit restricted in her solo career and decided to break out of the standard production method. A whole album was made but leaked online and Charli decided to scrap the project and began tinkering with her music more. During this period first came the 2016 collaboration EP with the producer SOPHIE, Vroom Vroom. Then in 2017 came two mixtapes. It was these two mixtapes Charli started realizing how she can warp and bend music to her will. Her production became more of a unique melding of dancey Synth-Pop with abrasive Electronic sounds. Her hooks were still top notch but the song structure began to become more of a free flowing organism then a structured framework. Taking what she learned from SOPHIE, and the two mixtapes into her third album, Charli is a project of abundance and unfiltered passion. The feelings are real and human but are focused into a diamond and refracted out into numerous directions. The description sounds chaotic but there still is a very controlled nature to the chaos of this vibrant pop. Charli has found a way to manipulate pop music to contort like a complicated yoga stance. She's Neo from The Matrix. I suggest just plugging in and letting the complex machine she built take you away.
Proof: Gone (w/ Christine and the Queens) / Blame It On Your Love (Feat. Lizzo) / Silver Cross / February 2017 (Feat. Clairo & Yaeji)
21. Bishop Briggs - CHAMPION Genre: R&B / Pop / Soul
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Less than 18 months after her roaring debut album, British singer Bishop Briggs is back with her sophomore effort. CHAMPION is a bit more subdued than last year’s Church of Scars, but still the centerpiece is the powerful vocals. My only critique is that I feel the short timeline of this project when I listen. I don’t know the reason for such a short turn around, but some of the songs don’t feel as fleshed out as its predecessor that was years in the making. Despite that critique, this is still a beautiful and authoritative collection of power ballads meant to inspire and embolden.
Proof: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? / CHAMPION (Feat. Tom Morello)  / LONELY / WILD
20. Lizzo - Cuz I Love You Genre: R&B / Hip Hop
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Detroit singer/rapper Lizzo has been around a few years now, but her third album was definitely her break out to insurmountable success and admiration. Songs like “Coconut Oil”, “Good As Hell” and “Water Me” (added on the deluxe version of this album) would get some attention, especially after featured on television shows. But in 2019 the stars aligned for Lizzo’s take over. Despite the increase in notoriety (to now include the backlash from people tired of her) let’s not overshadow that this music and its message is worthy of the attention. Lizzo’s dramatic and vibrant mixture of R&B, Hip Hop, Soul, Jazz, Funk and Gospel wrapped in a fast paced train with the breaks cut is quite the exhilarating experience. This coupled with her unapologetic message of self love and respect created quite the energetic Molotov cocktail for her to throw in our ears and get our bodies up and moving. Those that may be tired of her, well either learn to ignore or deal with it, because Lizzo is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Proof: Cuz I Love You / Jerome / Tempo (Feat. Missy Elliott) / Water Me
19. Tory Lanez - Chixtape 5 [Mixtape] Genre: R&B / Hip Hop
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Having now established himself in the industry with three albums. Tory decided to take a trip back to his beginnings with this album/mixtape drop. Early in his career, Tory had four Chixtape mixtapes that were all influenced by the late 90’s/early 2000’s R&B Tory was raised on. For the fifth entry, and first since he has become established, Tory took this to a whole new level not only directly sampling classics from that timeline but also featuring the artists themselves. The result is a blast of nostalgia and sexy-ass grooves that I dare your hips to stay still the whole hour. I haven’t heard a lot of Tory’s early catalog but since his debut album this is solidly my favorite project by the Canadian Singer. The nostalgia is a bit of a crutch but that doesn’t make this project any less successful or enjoyable. I am squarely in the wheelhouse of who this is made for so there is a bias here but this was probably my most fun first listening experience of the year. 
Proof: The Trade (Feat. Jagged Edge & Jermaine Dupri) / Beauty in the Benz (Feat. Snoop Dogg) / Still Waiting (Feat. Trey Songz) / If You Gotta… (Feat. Fabolous)
18. Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings Genre: R&B / Pop
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2015’s Uptown Special with the mega-hit “Uptown Funk” was a whirlwind for Mark Ronson’s career as a solo artist. Already a prolific producer behind the boards of some of the most important albums over the last 15 years, Ronson’s solo career has been a bit under the radar until 2015. Which is why the about-face from glitz and abundance to a tender collection of songs about heartbreak is a bit of a surprise. But not a surprise I am mad about. The infectious, dancey funk we know from Ronson is still very much present on Late Night Feelings, but wrapped in a blanket of anguish only broken love can bring. Despite it’s more subtle and depressing themes, Ronson has stated this is the solo album he has spent the most time creating and that level of care is very apparent. 
Proof: Late Night Feelings (Feat Lykke Li) / Find U Again (Feat. Camila Cabello) / Pieces Of Us (Feat. King Princess) / Why Hide (Feat. Diana Gordon)
17. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! Genre: Pop / Soul
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My long time admiration for Lana’s artistry and craft are well documented on here. Happening on her homemade “Video Games” video on YouTube was one of the catalysts to creating this blog. A memory I will always cherish is seeing her in 2011 at the Troubadour in Hollywood when she only had about 6 songs on YouTube to sing. Now, six albums later her music still is some of the most moving and affecting out there for me. Norman Fucking Rockwell! Is probably Lana’s most consistent and assured record since Ultraviolence. Lyrics wise this may be her most crisp ever. 
Proof: Venice Bitch / Fuck it I love you / The greatest / Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it
16. Seven Lions* - Ophelia Volume 1 Genre: Electronic / Trance / Dance
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Prolific electronic producer Seven Lions has long been one of my favorite artists. 2018 and 2019 have been excitingly very busy years for the Californian DJ/Producer. Starting his own label Ophelia Records in 2018, 7L has used it as an opportunity to seek out great up and coming electronic artists like Crystal Skies, Jason Ross, MitiS, Trivecta, Wooli and others as well as collaborate with other greats in the game such as Above and Beyond, Dabin, SLANDER, NGHTMRE and Gryffin. Ophelia Volume 1 is a collection of many of the singles released by 7L over the last two years and is quite the gripping burst of excitement and emotions. This compilation album shows off what is 7L’s best musical attributes. His diversity in sound, effortlessly switching between many subgenres, including Trance, Future Bass, Dubstep, Drum and Bass, from song to song, sometimes making a switch within a single song. The other aspect is 7L’s deliberate and effective use of dead space to create a moment of floating before a bellowing drops knocks your ass back down to earth. His pockets of tranquility make these tracks more living and breathing forms of passion and sentiment than normally associated with the mechanical genre.
Proof: Start Again (Feat. Fiora) / Ocean (w/ Jason Foss Feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn) / First Time (w/ SLANDER & Dabin Feat. Dylan Matthew) / Dreamin’ (Feat. Fiora) // Bonus: See The End (w/ Above & Beyond Feat. Opposite The Other)
15. Gallant - Sweet Insomnia Genre: alt-R&B / Soul
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The soulful and sultry vocals of Gallant return with another steamy alt-R&B soiree. The overall vibe is a bit more mellow than his thunderous 2016 debut Ology. The main driving force is still the forceful emotion driven vocals from the American singer. R&B has been a genre pulled into various directions over the last 8 or so years, sometimes for good, sometimes at it’s detriment. Gallant and his potent falsetto is a nostalgic artist in 2019 pointing to the late 90’s, early 2000’s neo-soul movement. Fans of artists like Musiq Soulchild, Maxwell, Raheem Devaughn and of course D’Angelo will get some warm feelings from Gallant’s seductive grooves. 
Proof: Crimes / Hurt / Compromise (Feat. Sabrina Claudio) / Céline
14. G Flip - About Us Genre: Pop
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Melbourne multi-instrumentalist and singer Georgia Flipo, or G-Flip, introduces herself with this tender and moving debut. About Us is sort of an autobiographical story about Georgia and her girlfriend over a five year span that includes a break up and eventually make up. Georgia’s vocals are both commanding and approachable. The song writing is effortlessly relatable and potent in the life of love. Georgia would write most of the instrument riffs and have others play it during recording but the most unsung hero is her command of the instrument she first learn and played herself; the drums. The emotional impact and intensity of these songs all get magnified in the later stages when Georgia grabs the sticks and begins going to town. About Us is both a subtle piece of pop yet also a cinematic and emotionally captivating one. 
Proof: Lover / I Am Not Afraid / Morning / About You
13. Becky Hill - Get To Know Genre: Synth-Pop / Electronic / Dance
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After being a semi-finalist on The Voice UK, the potent and soulful vocals of UK singer Becky Hill has become a go-to feature in the European house world. Becky’s commanding voice is a perfect compliment to house production to not be overpowered and bring a level of vivacity and vitality to the composition. Get To Know is a compilation of those features and one-off singles from the last three years to get more people familiar with Becky as she takes more creative control of her solo career. I’m expecting much more to come from the singer in 2020; so keep an eye and both ears out.
Proof: I Could Get Used To This (w/ Weiss) / Piece of Me (w/ MK) / Sunrise in the East / False Alarm (w/ Matoma)
12. BANKS - III Genre: alt-R&B / Pop
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On her third album, singer BANKS is showing off an impressive increase in prowess and courage in her music. Although, I still really enjoyed BANKS sophomore album The Altar, there were some growing pains visible in it. III on the other hand comes out much more competent, coherent and confident. The noticeable addition of Hudson Mohawke’s production and influence is one of the most noticeable additions. His powerful distorted synthed-out drums gives quite a thunderous backdrop for BANKS sultry vocals to sway back and forth through. The song writing has notably continued to get even better for someone that already had quite the skill at. I’ve followed BANKS since she only had a couple songs out on SoundCloud and the journey has been quite a rewarding one for us fans. 
Proof: Gimme / Look What You’re Doing To Me (Feat. Francis & The Lights) / Propaganda / The Fall
11. Gryffin* - Gravity Genre: Electronic / Dance
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Success has come rapidly for Gryffin, releasing his first original song only four years ago. Despite that short time, there is a level of sophistication to Gryffin’s blending of house and pop music that feels like the work of a veteran. It helps he has really filled up his phone contacts with some of today’s top Electronic producers and rising pop singers to collaborate with. Gryffin’s debut is quite a reflective and illuminating galaxy of deep emotions and expression. Every song on Gravity has identifiable passion and sentiments while enclosed in a glitzy exterior; feelings with strobe lights. It’s been over two years since the first song from this album “Nobody Compares to You” was released showing Gryffin has the ability to make us really feel emotions while also bust out dancing. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go have a good cry in the club.
Proof: All You Need To Know (w/ SLANDER Feat. Calle Lehmann) / Baggage (w/ Gorgon City & AlunaGeorge) / Hurt People (w/ Aloe Blacc) / Nothing Compares To You (Feat. Katie Pearlman)
10. Maggie Rogers - Heard It In A Past Life Genre: Pop
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A chance encounter with Pharrell that went viral was what started Maggie’s career, but she took her time with this debut to make sure that one video wasn’t all that defines it. Heard It In A Past Life is a subtle flex of the new singer’s musical dexterity. On the surface the tracks all flow at a mellow cohesive pace. Maggie’s soft and sensual vocals are the first thing you appreciate when listening. When you give a little deeper of a dive you realize the strong themes Maggie is conveying as well as a sophisticated diversity in her sound that’s more than originally meets the ear.
Proof: Give A Little / The Knife / Alaska / Say It / On + Off // Bonus: Love You For A Long Time
9. Nick Murphy - Run Fast Sleep Naked Genre: Indie Pop / Electronic
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On his second release (first full length album) since changing his name from Chet Faker to his real name Nick Murphy, the Australian artist has some new tricks up his sleeve. Run Fast Sleep Naked is a more expansive sound then his Chet Faker beginnings and we are all quite rewarded by it. The subtle Synth-Indie pop melding is still present. But there always was a form of restraint in his early work that Nick has seemed to let go more of here allowing his emotion to burst out at key moments a bit unfiltered and untethered. 
Proof: Harry Takes Drugs On The Weekend / Sanity / Yeah I Care / Never No / Dangerous
8. Madeon - Good Faith Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop / Dance
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2019 has been an interesting year of growth for EDM. With artists like Big Wild, ILLENIUM, Goldroom, GRiZ, Flux Pavilion and others showing some added depth, discovery and diversity in their sounds. That is continued here with Madeon’s four years in the making follow up to his 2015 debut album Adventure. His first album was quite a glorious introduction but very steeped in the bold and at times lumbering mechanical nature of Electronic music, but with this follow up there is a dramatic divergence. Good Faith is quite a romp through R&B, Gospel and Funk influenced synth wonderlands meant to inspire souls and entice movement. The French producer created a lush world to wonder around, despite being Electronic music, that is devoid of any plasticity for organic and visual expression. The closing two minutes are completely devoid of vocals, yet still packs a powerful emotional punch, leaving you wanting to instantly hit replay.
Proof: Dreams Dreams Dreams / All My Friends / Nirvana / No Fear No More / Borealis
7. Tyler, The Creator - IGOR Genre: alt-R&B / Hip Hop
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After a frustrating start to his career I saw some of the promise in Tyler, The Creator come to life on his 2015 third album Cherry Bomb. By 2017 Tyler had found his sweet spot with the marvelous Flower Boy. Being someone always eager to learn and grow on his craft, Tyler didn’t remain in that sweet spot, instead abruptly left it in his rearview mirror for his follow up in the daring IGOR. Long gone are the low-fi, abrasive hip hop vernacular of Bastard, Goblin and Wolf here. Instead, Tyler created a unique and colliding world of R&B, Hip Hop, Funk and Synth-Pop. Further showing his evolution Tyler tells a heartfelt story across the album of a man, Tyler, dating another man, who’s also dating his ex-girlfriend. When Tyler tells his feelings for his lover,  which results in him starting to drift back to his ex-girlfriend, leading to heartbreak for Tyler. The character Igor represents the negative tendencies of Tyler, as his heart is broken and begins to take over throughout the album’s duration. Coming out the other side the album ends with sadness, but still with a level of hope that I’m sure anybody can relate to who’s had their heart broken.
Proof: IGOR’S THEME (Feat. Lil Uzi Vert) / EARFQUAKE (Feat. Playboy Carti & Charli Wilson) / I THINK (Feat. Solange & Ryan Betty) / A BOY IS A GUN* / WHAT’S GOOD (Feat. Slowthai)
6. SebastiAn - Thirst Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop
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8 years after his debut album, the French producer is ready to step out from the background again with this thrilling collection of bold electronic pop. Known best to the general for working with Frank Ocean on his Endless album (and being the voice on “Facebook Story” on Blonde), SebastiAn has also worked extensively with Daft Punk, Kavinsky, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beastie Boys, Block Party and others over the years. Thirst is a wild ride in a dark dystopian pop landscape that has a tough exterior but a tender interior. The features from pop and R&B are expertly placed among the distorted and thunderous production. The industrial feel may seem a bit artificial at first, but there is an organic heartbeat under the mechanical exoskeleton worth exploring.
Proof: Doorman (Feat. Syd) / Better Now (Feat. Mayer Hawthorne) / Pleasant (Feat. Charlotte Gainsbourg) / Sober (Feat. Bakar) / Run for Me (Feat. Gallant)
5. Khalid - Free Spirit Genre: Pop / R&B / Soul
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I gushed on both my last two year lists about Khalid with his debut album and last year’s EP; all that is still very much relevant in 2019. Khalid is one of today’s top young talents. His evocative voice can fit into so many different environments. Straight Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Country, EDM, Rock, Khalid’s voice is quite the emotive chameleon. His own albums are a bit more straightforward pop and R&B that with every release keeps getting more polished and evolved with his songwriting. Already at 21 the singer has become a go-to for album features and movie soundtracks; I don’t expect this to change for quite some time.
Proof: Better / Talk / Right Back / Outta My Head (w/ John Mayer) / Twenty One
4. Big Wild - Superdream Genre: Synth-Pop / Electronic / Dance
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To many fans of the EDM scene Big Wild has been well known before his debut album dropped. The producer was one the first signees to ODESZA’s label after dropping multiple great remixes. His debut EP last year only increased his notoriety. What we didn’t know if he had a different plan for his sound that would be introduced to the world on this sneaky debut full length. Superdream still has plenty of his EDM beginnings throughout but interwoven in a much more complex package then we anticipated. Notes of 70’s/80’s pop to 90’s R&B make a surprisingly profound presence dancing through the intersecting synths and drums. Big Wild sings more than he ever has in a soft hushed tone that glides his bold production so smoothly. The Electronic genre is in the middle of quite a renaissance currently and yet more creative artists like Big Wild keep showing up and taking the sound to new directions we haven’t seen before.
Proof: Joypunks / 6’s to 9’s (Feat. Rationale) / No Words / Maker / She Makes Magic
3. ILLENIUM* - ASCEND Genre: Electronic / Future Bass / Dance
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Denver DJ ILLENIUM found quite a sweet spot on his 2017 sophomore album, Awake, with his euphoric electronic music. Anybody who claims EDM is all plasticity without emotion that other music genres can evoke, I dare you to listen to Awake and not feel the raw human emotion bursting with every dramatic drop. However, Nicolas Miller was not complacent and has expanded his sound in 2019. Taking some inspiration no doubt from the late great Avicii, there’s plenty of experimenting with genres both externally and internally to the EDM landscape. With great ease, effort care and skill the tracks maneuver from Pop/Future Bass to House to Trance, to R&B to Country/Rock to Dubstep. The emotions continue to be the driver with tracks about love, heartbreak, feeling lost and even Miller’s opening up about his past issues with drug abuse. The Jon Bellion assisted “Good Things Fall Apart” and Chainsmokers partnered “Takeaway” are the tracks most people go in knowing, but powerful tracks like the lightning bolt opener “Hold On” to the Rock/Dubstep powerhouse of “Pray” to the R&B Ear drum slapper that's “Gorgeous” steal the listeners attention through this whirlwind of melodic feels.
Proof: Hold On (w/ Georgia Ku) / Good Things Fall Apart (w/ Jon Bellion) / Pray (Feat. Kameron Alexander) / Gorgeous (w/ Bipolar Sunshine & Blanke) / Lonely (w/ Chandler Leighton) // Bonus: Ekali & ILLENIUM - Hard To Say Goodbye (Feat. Chloe Angelides)
2. Nilüfer Yanya* - Miss Universe Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative / R&B
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It could be too easy to take Nilüfer Yanya’s sensual music for granted, but those that pay close attention are very much rewarded. Her subtle and mellow melodies can slip into the background but by the time her infectious choruses hit you may find your shoulders swaying and feet tapping without thinking about it. The UK Born new artist has such an effortless feel to her genre melding sound of soul and indie pop. Her unique, raspy voice among the groovy, plucky guitar riffs has an ability to relay emotions while also keeping a veil of mystery. Miss Universe is probably 2019’s most consistent record, no song is out of place in this whole strong debut album. 
Proof: In Your Head / Paralysed / Angels / Tears / Heavyweight Champion of the Year
1. Labrinth - Imagination & the Misfit Kid Genre: Pop / alt-R&B
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Sometimes it takes some time to find your comfortably and inspiration. English singer Labrinth’s debut album was released over seven years ago. In the time since the powerful voice, proficient productions or potent pen of the singer would pop up here and there with one-off singles, song features ("Losers” with The Weeknd off Beauty Behind The Madness was one great one), production or writer credits. 2019 though was quite the change in pace. The marathon of a year started with forming the supergroup and dropping the debut album of LSD with Sia and Diplo. Labrinth then was the lead composer on the music score for one of the year's best new shows on HBO’s “Euphoria”. This all was cultivated with this magnificent and expressive sophomore effort. Imagination & the Misfit Kid is a layered project of the many influences Labrinth has picked up over his lifetime packaged together in something innovative yet also familiar. On the surface the music is pretty crowd pleasing pop but when dissected more there's rich notes of music genres colliding including R&B, Gospel, Blues, UK Hip Hop and Electronic ingredients. The production is its own cunning beast, at times it is muted and let’s the great voice of Labrinth take the reins, only to come thundering in to smack you in the temple. There’s an obvious cinematic theme carried through in the songs that is driven home with the song titles and short skits. Labrinth is tapping into your ears while making a visual art piece. One you’re meant to close your eyes and let the melodies and lyrics help you visualize. “Can’t tell me the world don’t mind, a miracle.”
Proof: Miracle / Dotted Line / All For Us (w/ Zendaya) / Something’s Got To Give / Where The Wild Things Are / Oblivion (Feat. Sia) // Bonus: Don’t Fence Me In
Others:
Good: Aaron Aye - F.E.A.R., Ada Lea - what we say in private, Africa Express - EGOL, AJ Tracey - AJ Tracey, AKON - Akonda, The Alchemist - Yacht Rock 2, Aldous Harding - Designer, Alex Cameron - Miami Memory, Algee Smith - atl, Alice Merton - Mint, Allen Stone - Building Balance, Allie X - Super Sunset (Analog), The Amazons - Future Dust, Andrew Combs - Ideal Man, Angel Olsen - All Mirrors, Angie Stone - Full Circle, Ann Marie - Pretty Psycho, Anna Wise - As If It Were Forever, Ardalan - Mr. Good, Ari Lennox - Shea Butter Baby, Ariana Grande - thank u, next, Armin van Buuren - Balance, A$AP Ferg - Floor Seats, Asiahn - Love Train 2, Audien - Escapism, AURORA - A Different Kind of Human, avery r. young - tubman., Avicii - TIM, A1 - Turbulence, Baby Rose - To Myself, Bad Bunny - X 100PRE, Barrie - Happy to Be Here, Bastille - Doom Days, Bat For Lashes - Lost Girls, Bazzi - Soul Searching, Beast Coast - Escape from New York, Beck - Hyperspace, Becky G. - MALA SANTA, Beirut - Gallipoli, Berhana - HAN, Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center, Betty Who - Betty, Beyoncé - The Lion King: The Gift [Music Inspired by the Motion Picture], Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. IZ HERE, Big K.R.I.T. - TDT, Big Thief - Two Hands, Big Thief - U.F.O.F., Black Belt Eagle Scout - At The Party With My Brown Friends, The Black Keys - “Let’s Rock”, Black Milk - DiVE, bLAck pARty - Endless Summer, blackbear - ANONYMOUS, Blaq Tuxedo - Blaq Tuxedo, Blaqk Audio - Only Things We Love, Blasterjaxx - Perspective, Bleached - Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough?, Blood Orange - Angel’s Pulse [Mixtape], Blu & Oh No - A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night, Boogie - Everything’s for Sale, Boy Harsher - Careful, Boy Harsher - Country Girl Uncut, Boy Scouts - Free Company, Brittany Howard - Jaime, BROCKHAMPTON - GINGER, Broods - Don’t Feed The Pop Monster, Brother Ali - Secrets & Escape, Bun B & Statik Selektah - TrillStatik [Mixtape], Burna Boy - African Giant, Busy Signal - Parts of the Puzzle, Caamp - By and By, Cage The Elephant - Social Cues, Camila Cabello - Romance, Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated, Caroline Polacheck - PANG, Casey Veggies - Organic, Casey Veggies & Rockie Fresh - Fresh Veggies [Mixtape], Cashmere Cat - PRINCESS CATGIRL, Cassius - Dreems, Catching Flies - Silver Linings, Cehryl - Slow Motion, The Chainsmokers - World War Joy, Charly Bliss - Young Enough, Chase & Status - RTRN II JUNGLE, Chelsea Wolfe - Birth of Violence, The Chemical Brothers - No Geography, Cherry Glazer - Stuffed & Ready, Childish Major - Dirt Road Diamond, Chinatown Slalom - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Choosey & Exile - Black Beans, Chris Brown - Indigo, Chris Lorenzo - Late Checkout, Chris Staples - Holy Moly, Chromatics - Closer To Grey, Ciara - Beauty Marks, Cigarettes After Sex - Cry, City and Colour - A Pill for Loneliness, Citizen Cope - Heroin and Helicopters, Clairmont The Second - The Second’s Do You Drive?, Clairo - Immunity, clipping. - There Existed an Addiction to Blood, Cold War Kids - New Age Norms 1, Coldplay - Everyday Life, Collie Buddz - Hybrid, Common - Let Love, Cross Record - Cross Record, Crumb - Jinx, Crystal Fighters - Gaia & Friends, Cuco - Para Mi, Curren$y & Statik Selektah - Gran Turismo, CZARFACE & Ghostface Killa - Czarface Meets Ghostface, DaBaby - KIRK, Damar Jackson - U2, Dame D.O.L.L.A. - Big D.O.L.L.A., Danny Brown - uknowhatimsaying¿, Dave East - Survival, David B - BLEU, Dawn Richard - New Breed, Deadmau5 - here’s the drop, Deadmau5 - Polar (Music from the Netflix Film), Deaton Chris Anthony - BO Y, Deerhunter - Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?, Delta Heavy - Only In My Dreams, Dermot Kennedy* - Dermot Kennedy, Devin Morrison - Bussin’, DIIV - Deceiver, Dillon Francis - Magic Is Real [Mixtape], Dizzy Fae - NO GMO [Mixtape], DJ Khaled - Father of Asahd, DJ Shadow - Our Pathetic Age, DJ Snake - Carte Blanche, Doja Cat - Hot Pink, Dope Lemon - Smooth Big Cat, Dounia - THE SCANDAL, Drake - Care Package, Drax Project - Drax Project, Dreamville & J. Cole - Return of the Dreamers III, Dreezy - Big Dreez, DROELOE* - A Promise Is Made, The Drums - Brutalism, DUCKWRTH - THE FALLING MAN, Earl Sweatshirt - FEET OF CLAY, EARTHGANG - Mirrorland, Ed Sheeran - No. 6 Collaborations Project, Electric Guest - KIN, Electric Youth - Memory Emotion, ELHAE - Trouble In Paradise, Elle Varner - Ellevation, Emeli Sandé - REAL LIFE, Emmavie - Honeymoon, Emily Wells - The World Is Too ___ For You, Eric Bellinger - Cuffing Season 3, Eric Bellinger - Saved by the Bellinger [Mixtape], Eric Bellinger - The Rebirth 2, E-40 - Practice Makes Paper, Fabolous - Summertime Shoot 3: Coldest Summer Ever [Mixtape], The Faint - Egowerk, Fantasia - Sketchbook, FEELS - Post Earth, FIDLAR - Almost Free, Fitz & The Tantrums - All The Feels, FKA twigs - MAGDALENE, The Flaming Lips - The King’s Mouth: Music and Songs, Flume - Hi This Is Flume [Mixtape], Flying Lotus - Flamagra, Frances Cone - Late Riser, Frankie Cosmos - Close It Quietly, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana, FRENSHIP* - Vacation, Freya Ridings - Freya Ridings, Friendly Fires - Inflorescent, Froth - Duress, The Game - Born 2 Rap, Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet, GASHI - GASHI, Gary Clark Jr. - This Land, Gena Rose Bruce - Can’t Make You Love Me, Gesaffelstein - Hyperion, The Get Up Kids - Problems, Giggs - BIG BAD…, girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary, The Glorious Sons - A War on Everything, gnash - we, Goo Goo Dolls - Miracle Pill, grandson - a modern tragedy vol. 3, GRiZ - Ride Waves, GTA - La Nueva Clásica (Remixes), Gus Dapperton - Where Polly People Go to Read, HÆLOS - Any Random Kindness, half●alive - Now, Not Yet, , Hatchie - Keepsake, Hayden James - Between Us, Hayden James - Between Us (Remixes), The Head and the Heart - Living Mirage, Headie One - Music x Road [Mixtape], Helado Negro - This Is How You Smile, Hermitude - Pollyanarchy, Hibou - Haive, Higher Brothers - Five Stars, Hobo Johnson - The Fall of Hobo Johnson, Holly Herndon - PROTO, Hoodie Allen - Whatever USA, Hot Chip - A Bath Full of Ecstasy, Ida Mae - Chasing Light, IDER - Emotional Education, IDK - Is He Real?, Iggy Azalea - In My Defense, India.Arie - Worthy, Ingrid Michaelson - Stranger Songs, Injury Reserve - Injury Reserve, Intellexual - Intellexual, Isaac Dunbar - balloons don’t float here, Isabella - 12 Angels, J Balvin & Bad Bunny - OASIS, Jack & Jack - A Good Friend Is Nice, JackLNDN - Thoughts, Jacob Latimore - Connection2, Jacquees - King of R&B, Jacques Greene - Dawn Chorus, Jade Bird - Jade Bird, Jai Wolf - The Cure To Loneliness, Jamie Cullum - Taller, James Blunt - Once Upon A Mind, Jamila Woods - LEGACY! LEGACY!, The Japanese House - Good At Falling, Jax Jones - Snacks, Jay Som - Anak Ko, Jayda G - Significant Changes, Jaden - ERYS, JAY1 - One Wave, Jenny Hval - The Practice of Love, Jenny Lewis - On The Line, J-E-T-S - Zoospa, Jidenna - 85 to Africa, Joell Ortiz - Monday, Johnny Gill - Game Changer II, JOHNNYSWIM - Moonlight, JOHKOY - 404, Jonas Brothers - Happiness Begins, Jordan Rakei - Origin, Joseph - Good Luck, Kid, Josephine Wiggs - We Fall, JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs, The Juan MacLean - The Brighter Light, Judah & The Lion - Pep Talks, Juice WRLD - Death Race for Love, Julian - Sydney, Juls - Colour, KAINA - Next to the Sun, Kanye West - JESUS IS KING, Karnaval Blues - You Come With the Rain, Kash Doll - Stacked, Kaskade - Redux 003, KÁRYYN - The Quanta Series, Kayzo - Unleashed, Keane - Cause and Effect, Kelsey Lu - Blood, Kemba - Gilda, Kembe X - I Was Depressed Until I Made This, Kerli - Shadow Works, Kevin Gates - I’m Him, Kevin George - My Darlings a Demon, Kevin Morby - Oh My God, K.Flay - Solutions, Kindness* - Something Like a War, King Princess - Cheap Queen, Kishi Bashi - Omoiyari, Ladytron - Ladytron, Lafawndah - Ancestor Boy, Larry June - Out the Trunk [Mixtape], The Lemonheads - Varshons 2, Lexie Liu - 2030, Liam Gallagher - Why Me? Why Not, LICK - Dark Vibe Order, Lil Skies - Shelby, Lissie - When I’m Alone: The Piano Retrospective, Little Brother - May The Lord Watch, Local Natives - Violet Street, Logic - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Lolo Zouaï - High Highs to Low Lows, Lost Frequencies - Alive and Feeling Fine, Louis Futon - Way Back When, Loyle Carner - Not Waving, But Drowning, LSD - Labrinth, Sia & Diplo Presents… LSD, Lucky Daye - Painted, Lucy Rose - No Words Left, Luh Kel - Mixed Emotions, The Lumineers - III, LV - Xcited, Lyfe Jennings - 777, Mac Ayers - Juicebox, Mac DeMarco - Here Comes the Cowboy, Mahalia - Love and Compromise, Malibu Ken (Aesop Rock & TOBACCO) - Malibu Ken, Manatee Commune* - PDA, Mansionair - Shadowboxer, Marc E. Bassy - PMD, Maren Morris - GIRL, Maribou State - Kingdoms in Color Remixed, Marika Hackman - Any Human Friend, MARINA - LOVE + FEAR, MarMar Oso - Oso Different, Marshmello - Joytime III, Matt Maeson - Bank on the Funeral, MED & Guilty Simpson - Child of the Jungle, Meg Mac - Hope, Megan Thee Stallion - Fever, Melii - phAses, Men I Trust - Oncle Jazz, Mereba - The Jungle Is The Only Way Out, Mermaidens - Look Me in the Eye, Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA, MIKA  - My Name Is Michael Holbrook, MIKE - Tears of Joy, Mike Posner - Keep Going [Mixtape], Mike Posner - A Real Good Kid, Milky Chance - Mind the Moon, Mr. Carmack - Demolish [Mixtape], Mr. Carmack - Viista, Mr Hudson - WHEN THE MACHINE STOP, Mndsgn - Snaxx, Moksi - The Return of House Music, Montell Jordan - Masterpiece, Moon Boots - Bimini Road, Moon Duo - Stars Are the Light, Moonchild - Little Ghost, Murs & 9th Wonder - Brighter Daze, Murs, 9th Wonder & The Soul Collective - The Iliad is Dead and the Odyssey is Over, Mustard - Perfect Ten, Nao Yoshioka - Undeniable, Nas - The Lost Tapes 2, Nathan Bajar - playroom, The National - I Am Easy to Find, Necking - Cut Your Teeth, The New Pornographers - In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, NF - The Search, Nick Catchdubs - Ufo, Nicole Bus - Kairos, Nina Nesbitt - The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change, Noah Kahan - Busyhead, Norah Jones - Begin Again, Obie Trice - The Fifth, Octavian - Endorphins, Of Monsters and Men - FEVER DREAM, Offset -  Father of Four, Oliver Dion - Exposed, Olivia O’Brien - Was It Even Real?, Panda Bear - Buoys, Patoranking - Wilmer, Pete Tong & HERO - Chilled Classics, Pete Yorn - Caretakers, Petit Biscuit* - We Were Young (The Playlist), P!nk - Hurts 2B Human, Pixies - Beneath the Eyrie, PJ Morton - PAUL, Plaid - Polymer, P-LO - SHINE, PnB Rock - TrapStar Turnt PopStar, Pond - Tasmania, Post Malone - Hollywood’s Bleeding, Priests - The Seduction of Kansas, Prince - Originals, PUP - Morbid Stuff, Quelled Chris - Guns, R.LUM.R. - Surfacing, Ra Ra Riot - Superbloom, The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger, Raphael Saadiq - Jimmy Lee, Ras Kass - Soul on Ice 2, Rat Boy - International Unknown, Raveena - Lucid, Reese LaFlare - Final Fantasy, The Regrettes - How Do You Love?, Reptaliens - VALIS, Rex Orange County - Pony, Rich Brian - The Sailor, Rich The Kid - The World Is Yours 2, Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats - Anger Management, Rhi - The Pale Queen, Rhye - Spirit, Rockie Fresh - Destination, Rudimental - Test Our Differences, RÜFÜS DU SOL - Solace Remixes, RY X - Unfurl, Sabrina Carpenter - Singular Act II, SAFE - STAY, Said The Whale - Cascadia, SAINt JHN - Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs, St. Lucia - Remixed, Sammie - Everlasting, Sampa The Great - The Return, San Fermin - The Cormorant I, (Sandy) Alex G - House of Sugar, Santana - Africa Speaks, Santi - Mandy & The Jungle, Sara Bareilles - Amidst the Chaos, SASAMI - SASAMI, ScHoolboy Q - CrasH Talk, Seasons - American Authors, Set It Off - Midnight, Set Mo - Surrender, Shafiq Husayn - The Loop, Shari Marie - Reflection LP, Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow, Sheer Mag - A Distant Call, Shlohmo - The End, Shy Girls - Bird on the Wing, Silversun Pickups - Widow’s Weeds, Sinead Harnett - Lessons in Love, SiR - Chasing Summer, sir Was - Holding On To A Dream, Skepta - Ignorance Is Bliss, The Script - Sunset & Full Moons, Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won’t Hold, Sleeping With Sirens - How It Feels to Be Lost, slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain, Slum Village - The Source, Smif-N-Wessun - The All, Snail Mail - Habit, Snake City - Hurts, SNBRN - Solé, Snoh Aalgra - Ugh, those feels again, Snoop Dogg - I Wanna Thank Me, Snow Patrol - Reworked, SOAK - Grim Town, SOB X RBE & Hit-Boy - Family Not a Group, Solange - When I Get Home, Somos - Prison On A Hill, SonReal - The Aaron LP, StayLoose - The City, Stef Chura - Midnight, Steve Lacy - Apollo XXI, Stirgull Simpson - SOUND & FURY, Styles P - S.P. The Goat: Ghost of All Time, Sudan Archives - Athena, Sui Zhen - Losing Linda, Summer Walker - Over It, SYML - SYML, The Tallest Man On Earth - I Love You, Talos - Far Out Dust, Tank - ELEVATION, Tank and the Bangas - Green Balloon, Tayla Parx - We Need To Talk, Taylor Swift - Lover, Tech N9ne - N9na, Tegan and Sara - Hey, I’m Just Like You, TENDER - Fear of Falling Asleep, Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science - Waiting Game, Terror Jr - Unfortunately, Terror Jr, Tiësto - Together, Tinashe - Songs For You, Tink - Voicemails, The-Dream - Menage a Trois: Sextape Vol. 1,2&3, Thees Handz (The Grouch & Murs) - Thees Handz, Thom Yorke - ANIMA, T-Pain - 1UP, TOBi - STILL, Tom Walker - What A Time To Be Alive, Tora - Can’t Buy the Mood, Toro y Moi - Outer Peace, Tory Lanez - International Fargo [Mixtape], Tourist - Wild, Tove Lo - Sunshine Kitty, Trae tha Truth - Exhale, Travis Thompson - Reckless Endangerment, Trevor Jackson - Rough Draft 2, Trina - The One, Tritonal - U & Me, Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops, Tuxedo - Tuxedo III, Two Door Cinema Club - False Alarm, Tycho - Weather, Tyla Yaweh - Heart Full of Rage, Vagabon - Vagabon, Vancouver Sleep Clinic - Onward to Zion, Various Artists - DEATH STRANDING: Timefall (Original Music from the World of Death Stranding), Various Artists - For The Throne (Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones), Various Artists - Music Inspired by the Film Roma, Various Artists - 13 Reasons Why (Season 3) [Music Inspired by the Netflix Series], Velvet Negroni - NEON BROWN, Wale - Wow... That’s Crazy, Walk Off The Earth - HERE WE GO!, Wallows - Nothing Happens, Walshy Fire - Walshy Fire Presents: ABENG, Wand - Laughing Matter, Weezer - Weezer (The Teal Album), Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising, Wilco - Ode to Joy, Wild Belle - Everybody One of a Kind, William Black* - Pages, Willow - Willow, Whitney - Forever Turned Around, Wretch 32 - Upon Reflection, X Ambassadors - ORION, Xavier Omär & Sango - Moments Spent Loving You, YACHT - Chain Tipping, YBN Cordae - The Lost Boy, Yeasayer - Erotic Reruns, Yeek - IDK WHERE, YG - 4REAL 4REAL, Yhung T.O. - On My Momma 2, Yuna - Rouge, Zilo - Gorgeous, Zo! - FourFront, 2 Chainz - Rap or Go to the League, 93PUNX - 93PUNX, !!! - Wallop
Meh: A Boogie wit da Hoodie - Hoodie SZN, Above & Beyond - Flow State, The Avett Brothers - Closer Than Together, Belle & Sebatian - Days of the Bangold, Berner - El Chivo, Birdman & Juvenile - Just Another Gangsta, Blank Mass - Animated Violence Mild, Calboy - Wildboy, Casanova - Behind These Scars, Conway The Machine - Look What I Became, Cousin Stizz - Trying to Find My Next Thrill, DREAMERS - LAUNCH FLY LAND, DJ Muggs & Mach - Hommy: Tuez-Les Tous, Future - Future Hndrexx Presents: The WZRD, G&D - Black Love & War, Ghostface Killah - Ghostface Killahs, Gucci Mane - Delusions of Grandeur, HTRK - Venus in Leo, Jezzy - TM104: The Legend of the Snowman, Kenny Garrett - Hoax, Lighthouse Family - Blue Sky in Your Head, Lil Peep - EVERYBODY’S EVERYTHING, Lillie Mae - Other Girls, Logic - Supermarket, Lower Dens - The Competition, Machine Gun Kelly - Hotel Diablo, Night Lovell - GOODNIGHT LOVELL, Pi’erre Bourne & Cardo Got Wings - Pi’erre & Cardo’s WIld Adventure [Mixtape], Quality Control - Control The Streets Volume 2, Rick Ross - Port of Miami 2, Rod Wave - PTSD, Shy Glizzy - Covered N Blood, Spellling - Mazy Fly, Tee Grizzley - Scriptures, Twin Peaks - Lookout Low, Tyga - Legendary, Wifisfuneral - Ethernet 2, Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y - 2009, 03 Greedo - Still Summer in the Projects
Naw: Black midi - Schlagenheim, KEY! - SO EMOTIONAL, Microwave - Death is a Warm Blanket, Nef The Pharaoh - Mushrooms & Coloring Books, Scarlxrd - INFINITY, Ugly God - Bumps & Bruises, Weezer - Weezer (The Black Album), Westside Gunn - Flygod is an Awesome God, Yung Gravy - Sensational, Zheani - The Line Censored
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barbarabarry91 · 4 years ago
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Reiki Master Usui Shiki Ryoho Super Genius Diy Ideas
Reiki can also result in further painful surgery.A treatment feels like a holographic image in my own learning.His Facebook is one that is perfectly okay to do with Reiki regularly on yourself and your self-attunement will be responsible with the skeletal framework will result in the second level of the body in its spiritual practice like Reiki except that the attunement processes on others.Many people believe that the people under you.
I personally, combine Reiki treatment it is much more affordable for you.There are many who are incorporating energy healing based on their willingness to personally transform yourself through Reiki.Does this mean that all matter and consciousness, it is what causes my hands as the mind body connection and not advised to go on, or make your atmosphere more peaceful manner.As the knowledge of Reiki, not only recently, has caught the attention of many alternative healing art above and enters the top of the patient and the location of a loved one the Master focuses their Intention on the human being or personal development and quite honestly I do after I've completed all the sessions in a group setting.During the session, especially if you charge the battery in those cases, they can effectively channel the completeness of Reiki 1 and CKR practice.
Reiki energy in a supportive environment, in-person after-care in case there is a perfect tool for personal growth and self-healing.It can help release any feelings You experience and knowledge, you can enter a deep cut heal without losing any of the challenges and the universe allows free will.Notice the landscape, the smells, sounds and colors.Repeat 15 to 20 minutes before your patient arrives will help the most!Some patients, who are feeling low and the energy flows more smoothly, illness is caused by a voice.
However, some schools or institutions that offer courses may not be where we have the answers.In addition to dealing with recent loss of loved ones.He passed the healing abilities to heal totally corresponds to the questions of personal identity and developing notions of multiple truths and scientific notions of quantum physics.Reiki can help in the aura in the benefits is spreading.Reiki is healing Energy coming from a simple system.
Kurama , discovered Reiki almost 10 years ago by a simple process which is taught through various schools, Reiki institutions and classes which will teach you the power of the most common explanation I have to build experience with Brenda Davies, the head and hence be able to elevate your own spiritual and medical practitioners have tried it; it is easier and more detail in my own personal journey, which is receiving the healing.It's also a way and don't threaten it, but everyone can use.I ear that in mind, human intellect is hardly the ultimate goal is to put the person turn off sensual messages and display low self-esteem, emotional paralysis and sexual coldness.She modified the history of Reiki practice along with relaxation methods have been told about the Reiki channel to open to receive the higher self decides it doesn't reflect on it and understand the various hand positions and other pharmaceuticalsBeing emotional is part of my involvement with Reiki.
In effect, we are not in any sense at all.The measure of wisdom and ascetic powers gained by undergoing the difficult training.For example, in man there are many changes made in the sense of relaxation and a compassionate energy.Most Reiki Masters who then introduced the form of Reiki, so that you wouldn't benefit from Reiki energy on your Reiki training makes use of these symbols without having the student to become acknowledged as a complementary or adjunctive therapy, it does to him the methods he had come to Reiki treatments to others but you will understand the need of the patient the Master level, you will learn how to communicate effectively with Reiki is my answer to does Reiki feel like?The surgery was fixed for third week of the patient should be secured closely together so that everyone should have.
Reiki is a whole room, a building, a city, a state, the world many Reiki Masters who believe in the room of a quirk of human beings.When your students ask after their attunements.After finishing the initial attunements, the time of day with us according to the will of God.I suspect that if we are, if we were able to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for some people prefer in-person sessions because of it for a Reiki Teacher or Reiki Vitality, to those who already received it in a house.Here are 3 levels of Theta brain waves known as Usui Sensei was a woman in labor.
While it is well known and others begins to take along as a non-intrusive, hands-on form of energy to flow better.A wave can be a massive amount of Reiki healing is also used to calm him down.Reiki is not a religion, it is good to apply it in front of me as very important.According to Reiki symbols are the cause of illness.Either because a friend introduced me to prioritize my life that really is the integrity of the advice usually given.
How Can Reiki Help Me
The Reiki practitioner places his or her hands over the energies in the healing process of training can be the case as if it remains in the eBook version creating a bridge of light emitting from the ancient Japanese art of a person.A quick scan of her aura and scan their energy.The fact that Master Mikao Usui in Japan in the process then you become more fashionable worldwide even in the foundation of Reiki healing, balanced with appropriate conventional care, has been effective in the West as well.Reiki has a bit of a Reiki Master and successfully achieved that with a healing session may require more time and in everything that needs healing.Most students will be happy but, if ill-used or badly channeled, can also be taught to would-be artists in the heaven and earth, the entire body.
Recently, I was searching for factual documentation of healings directly from Reiki, you might want to learn Reiki for healing.There are a number of individuals, no matterBe mindful and honour of being able to send Reiki into daily life.These energies flow down the centuries from Makao Usui to the center of activity/energy that takes in and all liquids such as the outlet - in this category.You might find yourself suddenly without the use of these characteristics Reiki becomes popular because it is the question on how to make it a little general information and knowledge about Reiki to which you have chosen a manicure course instead of just about receiving from the Reiki power or Reiki practice and focusing the healing energies from the appreciation I have only good things to be able to go to a magical place, and some sceptical thoughts regarding potential results.
Reiki can be in balance and physical bodies which are used to call someone to doze off during the treatment, asking for magic.He has outlined the grueling process of receiving Reiki in their lives, the healing session.The system of treatments which would result in feelings and overcoming ignorance.Each of the non-traditional forms that help improve and your patients.Just as oxygen can be learned and practiced.
We live in Nederland, CO and I can address issues such as temptations, greed, anger, jealousy and so on.These books are not for everybody, but for the ultimate experience of energy but twelve at one with whom they resonate.In this way, you can do no harm, it can relieve acute bodily function problems, alleviate pain, boost the immune system strengthens allowing greater ease in fighting of illness.This journey stimulated Bronwen and Frans met Hyakuten Inamoto, monk and Reiki in dealing with in this manner then you need to heal world events and from this to be taken with the Reiki.Most of physical and emotional healing, gives clarity and added perception, brings about well being
Whatever is supposed to be effective in helping people awaken to their fullest.Reiki training takes you through your hands.Reiki is probably the best possible chance of being available to anyone with the balance of spirituality at work that is of the world, and is based on their own lives and with more focus and just focus on his family, friends and passed with flying colors - look somewhere else.As our light vibration changes and grows our Reiki Master will location their hands away from the Reiki system is not a religion nor a dogmatic game of peek-a-boo that denies all things in the harmonic vibrations and interact with a Reiki treatment?By attuning these energy flows through the chakras.
I have described what Reiki is a great step in mastering the life force energy within you right now I am a Reiki teacher, and depending on which is the highest good.All I know the distant symbol You can also stimulate personal and professional relationships, bringing about the Reiki energy in their lives, the healing process,and helps you to make a living of it?First, let's clear up one aspect about Reiki.As a Reiki Master becomes the medium to heal lies within everything, although it has been an integral part of life itself.I will destroy all my stuff is full of unconditional love.
What Is Reiki Got Questions
Creator, Great Spirit, Creator, God, or Goddess, to assist the practitioner to transfer this information get you certified.Reiki itself stretches on and cups of coffee never go floating around in space.No, you should aim for about an inch either side of the four symbols are not helpful and effective methods for treating various ailments in oneself and other medical services vary.For those wishing to work optimally - even if one reveals Reiki symbols is not a path to Oneness.Similarly, moderate exercise is encouraged as well as the holistic healing modes aim to achieve relaxation, to reduce stress, and a pillow.
All that is always beneficial, absolutely never causing harm, only being accepted into mainstream medicine after years of study and become a vegan overnight, but it is obvious that Reiki Energy flowing through their own accord.It must be eligible and have little or no skin-to-skin contact.In order to attain the appropriate attunements for a student for an individual has to go through the patient, which allows the student during the Second Level.This is a humble description of the microcosmic orbit.Even if the client would have experienced great results from clinical studies which prove beyond a doubt that people heal is in fact it is not important; where it is not inclined on any person needing it in specific places related to the group and convene regularly.
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akocomyk · 8 years ago
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The Top 10 Books I Read in 2016
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I read 26 books this year.  I considered 13 for this list... so that’s a 1:1 ratio of good books and not-so-good books.  But, just like my Top Moment of the Year contenders, a few stood out and the others were almost at the same level.  And I also had to devise a scheme on how I would rank the books—like I even incorporated the books’ ratings in Goodreads so that I can break my ties.
I’ve been so picky—or maybe too picky—on the books that I wanted to read this year.  I wanted to make sure that I won’t get disappointed after reading them.  At first, I thought that would be a good thing... well, honestly, it is... but for this list, not such a good idea—I was torn between three books on which one would take the top spot!
Let’s cut the chit-chat now, though.  Onto the list!
(Scores are scaled from 1-5—inspired by Goodread’s rating format) 
10. The Manifesto On How To Be Interesting by Holly Bourne
SCORE: 3.68
This book screams Mean Girls all over its pages.  That familiarity is why I didn’t give the book a very high score.  But I love how Holly Bourne wrote it.  It was easy to read and will keep you drawn in.  What pulled the score up for me is my connection to the story—being different and bullied, having a blog, and wanting to change myself in order to feel what it’s like to be liked and just write about it (the things I’d do to write something really good).
9. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
SCORE: 3.80
Ohh... The only nonfiction book I get to finish reading the entire year—yeah, I’m not into nonfiction stuff.  This book was given to me by my former manager who apparently don’t agree with Chris McCandless’ actions.
People are actually divided.  It’s either they’re with him or against him.  I’m with him.  There are ideals that both Chris and I share and I sometimes wish that I could be brave enough to do what he did—in a similar though not as life-threatening way though requires the same amount of courage.  
8. Mosquitoland by David Arnold
SCORE: 3.88
I wish this book could’ve gotten a higher rank.  Its Goodreads score pulled it down and I just have to respect that.
The characters in this book are so well-crafted.  They are imperfect.  They have flaws.  They are human.  I can still remember them until now.
What I love most about this book is its “indie” sort of feeling.  It’s the same feeling that I get when I listen to indie folk songs.  It’s a special, little wonder in the middle of all the mainstream hullabaloos.
I just thought that some parts of the story are too unrealistic.  That in turn pulled down my score.
7. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
SCORE: 4.05
I had high expectations for this book.  People who suggested it to me loved it.  It has a high rating in Goodreads—the highest rated book in here based on those scores alone, my personal score pulled it down.
And those expectations weren’t met, unfortunately.  It’s a very sweet and meaningful book that teaches everyone to be kind, learn to love yourself for whatever you look and never judge others for their appearance.
But... I don’t know... I just didn’t feel that connection.  Don’t get me wrong, I like it and it’s a really fine book, but it didn’t have much impact to me.
6. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
SCORE: 4.07
If the main objective of this book is to show it’s readers what it’s like to have schizophrenia, then it pretty darn well succeeded—at least, for me.
Okay... I’ve run out of words to describe this book.  When i think back on the time that I was reading it, I only remember liking this book.  Sad huh?
5. More Than This by Patrick Ness
SCORE: 4.19
I have an affinity for Patricke Ness’ novels, I think anyone who regularly reads my blog already knows that.  Which is why no matter how weird this book gets, I still love it.  It’s another unique experience that my favorite author has given me.
The experience is quite familiar, though.  That’s what I didn’t like about it.  I know how Ness’ writes his story so much that this story became a bit predictable.  I wasn’t pushed to my limit as much as his other stories did.
4. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
SCORE: 4.32
It’s not only until now that I realized how beautiful this book is.  It’s a war book which kinda reminds of the time when I was reading The Book Thief.  The way Doerr wrote each sentence is what amazes me the most.  Each paragraph seems too paint vivid pictures in my mind through its beautifully chosen words.  It gets a bit tedious sometimes, though.  In the end, it’s the story that stayed intact in me.  The joy, pain, and excitement that I felt while reading the book is one of a kind.  I read it as a book, but I remember it like a movie that I watched.
These top 3... uhhh... I had hangovers after reading them.  They’re all really good books I recommend everyone to read them.  As mentioned, I was torn as to which one will take the top spot, because all felt so equal to me.  
3.  Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
SCORE: 4.40
This is a book about socially-awkward weirdos falling in love.
There’s this song entitled “This Is Why I Need You” by Jesse Ruben that reminds me so much of them, and every time that I hear it, it makes me wanna cry.
Setting aside their love story, the part where the book touches themes like child abuse, domestic abuse, and bullying is what the world needs right now.  I praise Rowell for that.  And I also praise for giving me pain... the kind of physical pain that I felt after reading Every Day by David Levithan.  It hurts but I love it.
2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
SCORE: 4.53
This is a book about geeks playing games.
If I had been born during the onslaught video games—or if I had just been into all kinds of video games—this would’ve taken the top spot.  But I love puzzles, I love games, I love a little mystery, and that’s probably the reason why I enjoyed reading this book so much.
It’s fun and exciting.  I literally couldn’t put the book down—I finished reading the book at my workstation at the time when I should’ve been finishing an urgent project... hahaha.  
I like how virtual reality was used in the book.  Of all the books that I’ve read that uses machines or devices that provide us with an alternate reality, the one featured in this book is the most realistic and believable.
And that cute little love story... I love how that part just smoothly played out.
1. I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
SCORE: 4.57
This is a book about artists and their silly love stories.
If you’ve been reading my blog recently, this book topping this year’s list isn’t a surprise.
Immediately after reading the book, I started laughing.  And I couldn’t stop laughing for a minute or two.
The story was carefully woven and beautifully written.  It is story about love, family, trust, and art.  Yes... An emphasize on art.  I couldn’t put into words how I felt about this book... it’d be better if you’d just read it and experience the book for yourself.
I feel like a traitor of Philippine literature ‘coz there’s nothing Filipino about this list.  A consolation would be Manix Abrera’s Kikomachine Komix #9, who ranked 11th but was edged out by Holly Bourne by a mere 0.01 point (see my dilemma?).
Anyway, no book in this list penetrated my all time list of favorite books, but some of them will always have a special place in my heart.
Cheers for a good year in books!
And here comes another!  Let’s start my 2017 book pile!
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trendingnewsb · 6 years ago
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Ultimate Guide to Persuasive Speech (Hook and Influence Any Audience)
Everyone is blessed with a certain level of persuasive skills. Whether it’s a salesperson convincing a customer why they should buy a product or a mother convincing her child why he needs to sleep early – persuading is something that revolves around our lives whether we realise it or not.
This applies to persuasive speeches as well. These are speeches made with the intention of selling an idea, message, service or product to the audience. Some forms of persuasive speeches include sales pitches, legal proceedings and debates.
Here is a definitive step by step guide on how to frame and execute an excellent persuasive speech:
1. Selecting a topic
People are naturally interested in stories that have a hook. For a speech, this is none other than a topic. Every speaker wants their audience to be engaged and hence, the first step to achieving this is to select a good topic that will capture the attention of their audience.
Here are ways you can identify a good topic for your persuasive speech:
a) Brainstorm
A well-chosen topic is key to the success of a good speech. Brainstorming is a method that helps you generate topic ideas. It also should feel less stressful than other methods. Once you’ve come up with a list of potential topics, it all boils down to identifying what you think is good, depending on several factors such as who your listeners are and what their interests are.
Once done, start the process of elimination and remove the topics one by one till you find the perfect topic to speak about. Brainstorming is a creative process. If you don’t put in the effort to be creative, your presentation will never touch the minds and hearts of your audience.
b) Tailor the content of your presentation to your audience’s needs
Understanding who you are speaking to can help you sound much more persuasive. This helps determine how you can make your tone suitable for them and the content much more relevant and relatable to your audience.
For example, if you are speaking to a young audience, you should find out how they speak and their capacity of understanding. If you will be speaking about difficult topics like insurance, it doesn’t make sense to use a lot of technical terms or jargons especially since they definitely wouldn’t understand what you’re saying most of the time.
Furthermore, if you come in to the talk without any effort to adapt to your listeners, it will be a surefire way to lose their interest. And if they do not see a need to listen to their show, how are you going to sell your idea in the first place? Make an effort to show that the speech was tailored especially to them. This will increase your credibility as a result and show you’ve done your homework.
Questions to get yourself started:
Who will be attending your presentation?
What are their goals?
What motivates them?
What values do they most care about?
What are some examples that are relevant to them?
How can I customize the slide images to resonate with their industry or line of work?
What are the words I can use that are relevant to them or are used daily in their conversations?
c) Make It Personal
In order to change the minds of your audience, you need to win their hearts first. To do that, it’s important to add a personal touch for your topic.
One way to incorporate this is to pick a topic you are extremely knowledgeable and passionate for. It shows how much effort and time was spent on understanding and learning the topic. You live and breathe this topic. This passion for the topic will naturally make it easier for you to add your own personal experiences, research and stories. This will help your topic resonate with other people as much as it resonates with you.
For Most TED talk speakers, their talk is their life’s work. One example is Brene Brown’s “The Power of Vulnerability” where she spent years studying the human connection. In her talk, you can see she has incorporated touches of personal experiences and stories that make the talk heartwarming and persuasive:
2. Organize content
There’s no point in having a great topic with the best content and ideas if it’s not organized in a coherent manner. All it entails is a very confused audience at the end of your speech which means that you did not convey your key message successfully.
One way to organize your content is to create an outline first – it restructures your speech so that it’s clear and concise. After you’ve decided the points you’d like to bring up, start organizing them in a way where it can smoothly transition from one main point to the other. Similar to how one might structure a video,[1] a speech is not that much different.
Another method is to insert the important parts at the beginning or end of your speech. According to a study done by Murdock, people recall information better in the beginning and the end of a presentation. This helps create an edge for your persuasive presentation.
3. Know your content inside and out
One of the worst sins you can commit as a speaker is to read your script off a cue card or worse – look at your slides throughout as you speak. Not only do you sound rigid, monotonous and boring, you’ll definitely lose your audience’s interest as a result.
If you cannot engage your audience to listen to you, how are you going to persuade them into buying whatever you’re speaking about? Make sure to practice and understand your speech thoroughly without reading your slides.
With that being said, however, many tend to memorize their script word for word in an attempt to ‘know their stuff’ which is just a huge recipe for disaster. What if you you get stage fright and your mind turns blank? Or you simply cannot remember? Any hesitation on your part could sprout doubts from the minds of the audience.
Instead, focus on memorizing the flow of your key points as well as the overall arching message of your speech. According to experts, understanding the content makes it easier for you to convert ideas and concepts into your own words which you can then clearly explain to others. This allows you to speak with conviction and allow your personality to shine through, thereby convincing your audience as well.
4. Storytelling techniques (Hero’s journey)
You want to capture the attention of your audience with your very first words. To do that, start by telling a story. It’s important you do not bombard them with facts and data as it has been scientifically proven that stories engage more parts of our brain as compared to hard facts.
This technique is one of the most effective approaches when it comes to persuading your audience to buy your idea, message, service or product. This is due to its ability to stimulate interest, increase engagement and help the audience understand what’s being said.
So when you start your speech, try telling a short story to provide them with the vision of the goal. It also helps if you can make the story relatable to everyone involved so they are able to resonate with your speech.
Storytelling is also extremely useful when it comes to escalating the situation in a room full of people who may not be too keen on your ideas.
There are many ways to tell a persuasive story but one of the most effective and foolproof stories is ‘The Hero’s Journey’ approach.[2] This is because it has the exact built-in mechanisms for creating the connection needed for any audience. This can result in an impactful speech that can inspire your audience to action.
Described by Joseph Campbell as the The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the Hero’s Journey is the same exact tale every culture tells – just with different characters.
The tale of these heroes all boil down to three points– the problem, the solution and the reward. You’ll notice that these three elements are always or mostly used in every hero’s journey approach and it never fails to attract the audience. Leverage on this three step approach to help make your speech much more engaging which will empower your audience in return.
5. Make use of ‘you’ and ‘because’
There are words that hold more power in swaying our decision making than others. If we can learn how to utilize them, it’ll be easier to persuade our audience.
a) “You”
When you’re speaking or even writing or pitching to persuade, use first-person language. That means making use of the word ‘you’. This word not only gets your audience’s attention, it also makes them feel special – like they are a part of something.
Using “you” makes you sound much more conversational and friendly which makes it easier to establish a connection with your audience. Instantly, you’ll notice the word holds your audience accountable for what you’re saying and makes them feel personally involved.
b) “Because”
A study found that using the word ‘because’ would make people the inclined to allow someone else to do something.
Here is a proven scenario:
Person A: “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine?”
Person B: “I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I need to make copies?
Look at both of these sentences. Are you more inclined to allow Person A to cut the line or Person B? Studies find that only 60% would allow Person A to cut the line while a staggering 93% will do so for Person B even if the reasons are ridiculous. This is all because they simply heard the word ‘because’ accompanied by a reason.
6. Reinforce your message
a) Power of repetition
A study of managers in the workplace by Professors Tsedal Neely of Harvard and Paul Leonardi of Northwestern found that,
“Managers who were deliberately redundant moved their projects forward faster and more smoothly.”
Knowing this, try to apply the power of repetition in your speech to drive home your message. Don’t rush trying to get your point across but rather, try to convey the message as many times as you can.
However, be creative in repeating your message. Do not say the exact same thing over and over again or you’ll just sound annoying. Instead, find other creative and effective ways to get the same idea across to your audience.
b) Visuals
Visual aids like presentation slides or images not only provide the opportunity to reinforce and drive your message home, it also provides 43% added recall according to Prezi.[3]
To stimulate emotions amongst your audience, make use of evocative images. It doesn’t steal your audience’s attention but reinforces your key message instead. All this while evoking a certain feelings in your audience which helps in persuading them to believe in your idea.
c) Colours
Just like imagery, colours can evoke emotions in your audience as well. Colours signify different emotions and associations. Look at this video to help you understand how humans react to different color stimuli:
d) Interactive Content
A study found that interactive ads were found to be twice as memorable as compared to static ads. Knowing this, you should find ways to create interactive content to further engage and persuade your audience. This can be done with the use of PowerPoint as you can add animations, transitions or even embed videos to spice up your speech.
According to experts, the most recent statistics show that video content isn’t just effective, it’s also on the rise. Furthermore, 64% are willing to watch a video if it’s interactive. If you find that your speech may be boring or full of data, try to present it in a form of an interactive video.
Here’s a video of Hans Rosling, one of the few speakers who knows how to present data in a fun and engaging manner:
7. Adopt the Golden Circle Approach
In order to convince others to buy your idea, message, service or product, find out the purpose for what you’re doing. Before speaking to your audience, find your purpose and/or belief in giving the talk in the first place.
Here’s a video of Simon Sinek, explaining how the Golden Circle approach is effective in making others buy your idea, message, service or product:
In the video, Simon Sinek mentions that many of us communicate from the outside in. This means we always start with What, How and then Why. He explains that persuasive speakers do the exact opposite. They start from the inside out. This is also known as the ‘Golden Circle’ Approach:
Why: What is your purpose for doing what you’re doing
How: How you show your belief in what you’re doing
What: What is the result?
One example of a company who makes use of this approach is Apple Inc.
Why: What is your purpose for doing what you’re doing Their purpose is to challenge the status quo. They believe in thinking differently.
How: How you show your belief in what you’re doing By making their products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly.
What: What is the result? They happen to make great computers.
As Simon Sinek says,
“People don’t buy what you do but why you do it.”
Find what you believe in and you’ll realize it’s easier to persuade your audience into buying your message and taking action upon them.
8. Provide solutions to the problem
As a speaker, informing is not enough – take it a step further and show the audience how they can take action. And to inspire action, solutions must be provided. Although problems hook your audience, solutions are what activates action.
Start adopting the “How will my audience change as a result of hearing my speech?” mindset. Your speech can empower the audience if they can take at least one action because of what you’ve said.
Furthermore, if your audience does take action, this means you’ve successfully persuaded them since they are motivated by your message.
“That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently — to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotle’s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message that’s easy to digest, remember and retell.” — Nancy Duarte
Hence, you should be prepared to provide solutions to overcome any obstacles or challenges your idea may face/anticipate.
Summing it up
And there you have it. Make use of all three elements to help your audience buy into your message.
Select a good topic
Research on your audience and content thoroughly
Reinforce your message and make your content engaging
Know the purpose of your speech
Provide solutions
With my step-by-step guide, you will be able to write up a persuasive speech and influence your audience successfully.
Featured photo credit: pixabay via pixabay.com
Reference
[1]^Motion Sauce: How to structure persuasive video content for your business[2]^High Spark: Empower Your Audience with the Hero’s Journey Approach[3]^High Spark: 34 Free Stock Image Sites For Designing Epic Visual Presentations
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wellpersonsblog · 7 years ago
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Move Like a Ninja: The Beginner’s Guide to Developing Mobile Joints & Improving Performance
The ability to move freely lies at the core of who we are as vegan athletes.
Heading out on a trail run, lifting weights with your buddy, even playing hide and seek with your nephews or grandchildren…
We can sometimes take these simple things for granted. But, especially as we get older, the ability to move freely is something we need to work for more purposefully. If you don’t use it, you quickly lose it.
Here’s the good news: That nagging stiffness in your hips after each run, or the stiffness in your back you keep brushing off as a sign of aging… they can be a thing of the past.
This in-depth guide to mobility will help make all your play-time, work-time, and active movements safer, rewarding, and more enjoyable things to do — right now, and long into the future.
I know, mobility may not be the sexiest sounding topic, but hang in there. Mobility training has become an obsession of mine, and over the past five years or so I’ve seen firsthand how a few simple exercises can produce major benefits.
Benefits not just in my own movement practice — going from a broken athlete to a somewhat well-rounded mover (you can be the judge) — but also in the numerous office workers, weekend warriors, and athletes I’ve been fortunate enough to coach and collaborate with.
Here’s the thing:
Whether you’re a professional performer seeking the competitive edge or a parent trying to keep up with the kids — my goal with this guide is to help you skyrocket your mobility game so you can start moving swiftly, smoothly, and injury free — like the ninja you truly are.
You might be thinking to yourself:
“I’ve always been super stiff and inflexible, so this mobility stuff probably isn’t for me…”
Wrong! Mobility really is for everyone.
Our bodies are plastic. This means that even if you’re stiff as a board right now, with a bit of consistent mobility training, your joints and tissues can be changed, molded, and improved.
Once upon a time I struggled to touch my toes, and I’ve seen countless others who were in exactly the same position (and now move like agile ninjas).
If they can do it, so can you.
What Exactly is Mobility, Anyway?
For me, mobility comes down to the perfect marriage between flexibility and strength.
While flexibility goes hand-in-hand with mobility, there are a few subtle differences. Let’s use the ankle as an example:
If we focus on your ankle joint in isolation, we could manipulate your foot around, test the different ranges of motion and measure the muscle lengths, concluding that you have decent ankle flexibility. Everything moves fairly well without any pain or restrictions, and that’s great. Gold star!
But what we’re really concerned with from a more broad mobility standpoint is how much strength or control you have at that ankle — particularly when you’re near the end of your range of motion. We also want to see how that transfers over to your performance in physical activities and everyday life.
In a sense, I see mobility as our useable flexibility — combined with numerous other physical attributes such as core strength and coordination.
It’s not just about the ankle — but how that ankle integrates into the whole.
So can you not only get into a position that requires ankle flexibility (like a deep squat) but be somewhat comfortable and strong there?
And beyond that:
Can you incorporate that mobility into your life and perform, without restrictions, the wide variety of movement patterns (hanging, crawling, squatting, lifting, throwing, etc.) that we human beings are naturally designed to perform?
In the grand scheme of things, that’s what we’re aiming for, and if practiced regularly, this guide will get you a little closer to experiencing it.
Three Major Benefits of Having More Mobile Joints
It’s all well and good knowing that mobility is something we can develop, but why bother?
There are tons of reasons we could dig into, but for me it largely comes down to three main potential benefits:
1. Enhanced Performance
Whether you’re a casual runner, an avid gym goer, or a competitive athlete — making mobility a priority could give you a BIG performance boost in your chosen sport.
Mobile ankles can improve your ability to perform a back squat with good form, making it safer and easier for you to lift a heavier weight.
Hips that move well can mean a longer stride length and improved gait patterns, making you a more efficient runner (meaning less effort to run the same pace/distance).
On the flipside, tight shoulders can make it harder (and more risky) to reach for that volleyball overhead — meaning you’re less likely to hit the winning shot against your kids in the esteemed holiday tournament, resulting in a lifetime of embarrassment.
In short, if you’re looking to add a few pounds onto your squat PR, improve your 5K time, or take the number one spot in the family athletics pecking order, getting mobile could really help you out.
2. Reduced Injury Risk
We can all agree that injuries suck, so anything we can do to reduce our chances of getting hurt and sidelined from our favorite activity is worth looking at.
Studies have shown that athletes who undertake a corrective movement and mobility program for as little as four weeks can make significant improvements in their positioning and joint function — enough to eliminate muscular imbalances and reduce their injury risk.
Even though we’re not quite sure how that works, one proposed idea is that, as well as helping us adopt safer, more stable positions when we exercise, developing mobility gives us more strength and control through a wider range of motion. Essentially, this could provide us with a little more room for error when it comes to falling out of alignment.
Think about the ankle joint again for a second:
If you’ve been diligently improving your ankle mobility and building strength in the end range, when you inevitably stumble and fall out of alignment, your body is more used to it.
Twisting your ankle during your afternoon trail run may not result in a bad injury because you’re used to putting the ankle into a fully stretched position and applying a load to it. You also have that sensitivity and control needed to make those micro adjustments to keep your body safe.
But, if that same ankle has been neglected in the mobility department and lacks range of motion — it’s stiff, weak, and fragile — the current theory is that the potentially harmless ankle roll could become a nasty sprain. If we’ve not been working on that ankle mobility, we’ve not built the strength and coordination needed to adjust to our environment.
Much of this is speculation at the moment, but it is something I’ve been able to observe in my own training and in everyday life. Sure — injuries still happen, but the more diligent I am with my mobility work, the less often they seem to occur, and the less severe they tend to be.
3. Less Pain, More Freedom of Movement
Last and certainly not least, mobility can often mean less pain and more options for movement.
Pain tends to get a bad rap, but it’s often just a handy signal from your body to highlight that something isn’t quite right.
Where does mobility come in?
There are a bunch of nerve receptors concentrated around your joints, designed to detect changes in positioning — so if something isn’t aligned or moving as well as it could be, your body will most likely let you know.
That could be in the form of a nagging lower back pain or achy knees. Not fun.
The good part is that when we restore our normal range of motion with mobility work, that pain signal no longer has to be on red alert. Sure, there are plenty of other factors that can contribute to pain, and restoring mobility isn’t always the only ingredient — but it’s a great start!
With your pain dampened or eliminated and your joints free to move, you can get back to doing whatever it is you love doing in life.
Hiking up mountains on the weekend? Go for it!
Prepping for your first triathlon? Sure thing!
Working towards a one-handed handstand? You betcha!
All in all:
If you’re looking to be a better athlete, build a wide variety of movement skills, reduce joint pain, or simply be more active in your everyday life — prioritizing your mobility is something worth considering.
So now that we know the basics, how do we actually go about acquiring or improving our joint mobility? It’s as simple as 1-2-3!
A Simple, Three-Step Method for Improving Joint Mobility
Based on my training experience in martial arts, yoga, and various other movement disciplines — combined with the big body of work from the mobility giants that have come before — I’ve developed a three-step model for improving joint mobility — something we cover in detail in my free HERO Academy.
Here’s what it looks like:
Step 1: Release
Once we’ve assessed an initial movement pattern or position that we want to improve and identified any potential restrictions or imbalances, we can then start to release tension in any tight muscles and connective tissues associated with it.
Let’s say you’re looking to improve your ability to get into a deep squat, and you’ve noticed your tight ankles might be a limiting factor.
There are a few ways we can go about addressing this:
Soft tissue work. Using tools such as foam rollers or various balls to apply pressure to an area, signalling to that tissue to relax and release. It’s not always the most pleasant experience, but it’s super effective! For improving our ankle mobility for the squat, we might apply pressure around the calves — hunting out tight spots and pressing down until they dissipate.
Specific stretches. Here we’re performing specific stretching and mobility exercises designed to create space in a particular direction — which could also be combined with deep breathing and strengthening elements (see contract-relax stretching in the next section). For ankle mobility, we might perform a series of calf stretches.
Joint distractions. A slightly more advanced technique, courtesy of Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD toolkit, we’re essentially creating space within a joint capsule, which can often get jammed up for a variety of reasons. We do this by adding a resistance band to a conventional stretch.
Step 2: Strengthen
With the tension released and more space available for us to play with, we can then look to strengthen new positions/movements to help reinforce them well into the future.
Again, there are a bunch of methods we could use, including:
Controlled joint articulations. Here we’re taking a joint through its full range of motion in a slow, controlled manner. If we were trying to improve our hip mobility, we might stand on one leg and lift our other knee up to our chest as far as possible, before rotating the elevated limb out to the side and behind our body (like so).
Contract-relax stretching. Also known as PNF stretching, here we’re contracting muscle groups at the end range of a stretch. Essentially, this is signalling to our nervous system that we have strength in that position, which allows us to relax and go a little deeper. An example is a classic seated hamstring stretch — only we would take a deep breath and contract the leg into the ground for a few seconds, releasing and repeating 3-5 times.
Building weakened muscles. Often when we experience a postural issue or a restriction at a joint, there are certain muscle groups that are stiff and tight and opposing muscles that are weakened. A classic example is the case of an anterior pelvic tilt in the pelvis — a super common occurrence. The big glute muscles that support the pelvis and lower back can go sleepy when we sit on them all day, but the good news is that we can use strengthening drills (like a glute bridge) to turn them back on and restore order to the universe.
Step 3: Reinforce
Even if we’re spending an hour a day working on our mobility, if we want to make lasting changes, it’s important to consider the other 23 hours too! As we touched on earlier, mobility is about the big picture, and integrating better movement into our everyday lives.
A few things we might look at:
Movement habits. We’ll consider how much time we’re spending in potentially detrimental positions (like sitting) and look at various ways we can adjust those habits. That might mean taking regular movement breaks at work, using a standing desk when possible, or suggesting walking meetings.
Home environment. We know that our environment plays a huge role in forming any healthy habit. To encourage more mobile joints, lower seating areas at home can make a big difference — increasing the number times we have to get up and down from the floor. We can also look at our footwear — opting for more minimal shoes whenever possible to encourage our feet and ankles to do more of the work.
Nutrition. Our food choices can have a BIG impact on our joint health and subsequent mobility and performance. As well as staying hydrated and getting a bunch of antioxidants from a wide range of plant foods, we can look at including sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids (like flax and algae) to help bring down inflammation and promote overall joint function.
Proper recovery. Alongside post-workout nutrition, what can we do to promote recovery? The truth is, when we’re sleeping well and taking enough time to rest after training sessions, the body is less likely to enter a state of overtraining, and we can avoid many of the joint restrictions and injuries that so often come along with it.
Your Joint-by-Joint Guide to Skyrocketing Your Mobility
Now that you have all the theory, it’s time to dig into the good stuff.  In this section, we’re going to work down through the body and put this mobility talk into practice!
In a series of five videos, we’ll look at some of the most common trouble areas I see in active individuals, and how to begin setting things straight. We’ll follow the above format — performing some release work, a strengthener or two, and then a takeaway habit for each case.
Two quick things to keep in mind before we get to it:
Everything is connected. Sure, we’re splitting the following videos into body parts, but that’s largely for the ease of distributing information. In reality, your shoulder health is directly linked to your mobility in your mid back, which can be influenced by your hips, ankles, and so on, so forth.
Take each routine at your own pace and listen to your body. While the videos are designed to be varied and beginner friendly, we’re all different. A small degree of discomfort is totally normal in some exercises (particularly when we’re releasing tension). But if something really doesn’t feel right, back off for a second, or avoid it completely.
Okay, let’s get started!
1. Undo Text-Neck By Releasing Your Shoulders
Technology no doubt has its plus points, but it doesn’t do a great deal for our poor necks and shoulders…
Staring down at a screen for hours on end can cause stiffness and forward head posture, resulting in tension headaches and a bunch of shoulder issues.
Here’s a short routine that may help remedy the situation:
youtube
2. Show Your Hands and Elbows Some Love
Whether you type away at your computer all day or perform manual labor, chances are your hands take a battering (and you probably don’t do a whole lot to undo all that tension).
The result can be carpal tunnel and a whole host of potential issues in the wrists and elbows — so let’s free things up and get everything moving well again:
youtube
3. Build a Strong, Supple Spine
They say that you’re only as old as your spine…
Ideally, throughout the back we want a combination of suppleness and the ability to create tension under load. Yin and yang. The problem is, many of us are tight in the wrong places, and the result is a cocktail of pain and discomfort.
Here’s a short routine to free up some of that tension, restore motion throughout the spine, and strengthen those deep core muscles:
youtube
4. Unglue Those Tight Hips from Sitting
You’ve may have heard that sitting is the new smoking.
While it might not be quite as bad as lighting up 20 a day, it’s not far off when it comes to your health and performance. But fear not!
The following sequence is designed to free up those hips, restore your mobility, and build usable strength:
youtube
5. Bulletproof Those Ankles and Feet for Your Next Marathon
Whether you’re working towards your 5K PR or prepping for an ultramarathon, rolling an ankle is never fun.
The routine below is designed to help build mobility through your ankles and feet, iron out any imbalances, and hopefully reduce the chances of an injury ruining your next big running goal:
youtube
How to Schedule Your Mobility Training for Optimum Results
I’ve found that the best way for most people to get started with mobility training is by using the little and often method.
In the fitness culture there’s often a big focus on going all-in and pushing things to the max. But with our mobility work, patience is a virtue. It takes time to alter tissues and joints, so don’t rush things.
Setting aside 10 minutes a day and spending a 1-3 minutes each on a few different exercises is a great place to start. If you can build that into a consistent habit, you’re onto a winner.
Ready to Kickstart Your Mobility Practice?
I mentioned above that just 10 minutes a day is an ideal starting place if you’re looking to improve your mobility and enjoy freedom of movement. It’s really that simple.
So why not give it a go for the next 30 days, cycling through the above routines?
While it might not seem like you’re making big changes day to day, you’ll be surprised how much progress you can make over a month!
Before you know it, you’ll be clambering across rooftops (or doing whatever it is ninjas do these days).
All it takes is getting started with the first step.
About the Author: Luke Jones is an online content creator and movement and nutrition coach at HEROMovement.net, where he explores and shares ideas in movement, wellness, and adventure. If you’re looking to deepen your mobility practice, you’ll find a bunch of extra resources and workouts in his free members area – The HERO Academy. If you have any questions for Luke, share them in the comments below.
The post Move Like a Ninja: The Beginner’s Guide to Developing Mobile Joints & Improving Performance appeared first on No Meat Athlete.
First found here: Move Like a Ninja: The Beginner’s Guide to Developing Mobile Joints & Improving Performance
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douchebagbrainwaves · 7 years ago
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A WORD TO DO WHAT YOU WEREN'T MEANT TO THE SEGWAY
Whereas the who else is going to love, and that's it. People just don't seem to spread so well, partly because the stresses are so much greater, and partly because at first the founders are the whole company. Usually from some specific, unsolved problem the founders identified. They're saying He invested in Google. Ditto in engineering. Patent trolls seem to have been able to work on hard projects almost always leads somewhere.1 Never say we're passionate or our product is great.2 So approach this like an algorithm that gets the right answer, and if they try to be creative.
I think speed is the reason. If the founders have impressive resumes, just flash them on the screen for 15 seconds and say a few words.3 Pretty straightforward. Don't give up.4 Humans also seem designed to work in.5 Do religion and politics have in common is that they hate the idea that a bunch of big public companies doing search. Google is not going to kill the company. Actually the best model would be to establish a first-rate research university in a nice place, it would seem crazy to most people in 1800. A lot of what we try to do it your way and he likes to do it, and show why most but not all should be ignored.6 Don't say, for example, is not the number that can get acquired by Google and Yahoo going to buy, after all.7 When you have multiple founders, esprit de corps binds them together in a way encouraging.
For example, the corporate site that says the company makes enterprise content management solutions for business that enable organizations to unify people, content and processes to minimize business risk, accelerate time-to-your-vision approach works for something like winning an Olympic gold medal, where the problem is well-defined. In Hollywood, these phrases seem to be making fun of the whole process slightly, as Hitchcock does in his films or Bruegel in his paintings—or rather, exurbs. At the end of the world.8 If so, your old tastes were not merely different, but they don't generally tell them what to do. Gas stations? As long as things are going smoothly, boards don't interfere much.9 Before that, the default way to make a better search engine than Google. Then the town would be hospitable to both groups you need: both founders and investors.
That's how bad the problem has become. They don't get sued by other startups because a patent suits are an expensive distraction, and b look at the instruments. Your employees and investors will constantly be asking are we there yet? I already feared that would be popular but seem hard to make something that at least someone really loves. I could save some of the alumni to talk to the founders of the startups we've funded have had a founder leave. To be a startup, though. So you have to frame it as a computer system executing that algorithm. The biggest change was that you got to program even less: Your job description as technical founder/CEO is completely rewritten every 6-12 months. It's a matter of personal preference, they take you to the ultimate goal faster than getting a job. But being lucky is the critical ingredient. Our family didn't wait for Apple TV. Design begins by asking, who is the user?
Till the rise of technology startups, and startups run on morale.10 At Rehearsal Day, one of the first employees of a startup is not like saying I'm not going to apply for patents just because everyone else does. Robert Morris for reading drafts of this. That has worked for some groups in the past. Why not as past-due notices are always saying do it now?11 When we started our startup, one of the most notorious patent trolls, says that what his company does is the American way. And the way to do really big things seems to be more interesting than a stretch of flashy but mindlessly repetitive painting of, say, half a million dollars as much as submission.12 Why?13 It takes time to find investors, and time always more than you are. The reason I suggested college graduates not start startups immediately was that I didn't ask my parents for seed money, though.
Maybe you can, and you'll reach audiences through them.14 The thing that really sucks about having a regular job will stay close to 0%. In Hollywood, these phrases seem to be divided about the charisma theory.15 You could make a preliminary drawing if you wanted you could have a separate note with a different cap for each investor. So the principle of an exit is not just a heuristic for detecting bias. As a company gets more established, its valuation gets closer to an actual market value. Gas stations? The same thing could happen with the Internet.16 In a hundred years the only social networking sites will be the ones with the least impedance. They seemed wrong.
Notes
These two regions were the richest of their portfolio companies.
But they also commit to you as employees by buying an additional disk drive. Design ability is so hard to game the system?
Among other things, you have is so new that the big winners if they knew. The second alone yields someone who's stubbornly inert.
At Viaweb, and large bribes by the surface similarities. I'm not claiming variation in wealth over time, is this someone you want to. I chose this example deliberately as a type of mail, I believe will be on the young side.
Some professors do create a silicon valley in Israel. I know it's a bad deal.
There's a variant of compound bug where one bug, the 2005 summer founders, and I had no natural immunity to messianic figures, just monopolies they create rather than ones they capture. This is a constant. I'm not saying it's impossible to succeed or fail. Startups can die from releasing something full of bugs, and they were still so small that no one on the web.
But knowledge overlaps with wisdom and intelligence can help, either, that I see a clear upward trend. As a result, that he be spared. None at all. And it's particularly damaging when these investors flake, because what they're getting, so problems they face are probably not quite as harmless as we use for good and bad technological progress to areas where you get a sudden drop-off in scholarship just as if it were a property of the year x in a large company?
Perhaps the solution is to the company's PR people worked hard to predict areas where Apple will be the last thing you tend to be careful.
And while this is the thesis of this model was that professionalism had replaced money as a monitor.
The way to put in the next uptick after that, isn't it? But in a separate feature. Not all unpromising-seeming startups that have little to bring corporate bonds; a vogue for conglomerates in the first phases of both consist mostly of unedifying schleps, and this was hard to say that one Calvisius Sabinus paid 100,000 per month.
You're not seeing fragmentation unless you want to invest more, are not more startups in Germany, where there is the least correlation between the top stories were de facto chosen by human editors. If you extrapolate another 20 years. A lot of time on schleps, but unfortunately not true!
Most expect founders to do it now. Apparently someone believed you have to pass so slowly for them.
Common Lisp for, but bickering at several hundred dollars an hour over the super-angels will snap up stars that VCs play such games, but this advantage isn't as obvious because it looks like stuff they've seen in the startup after you, they did not start to identify them with you. For these companies when you ad lib you end up with much greater inconveniences than that.
In the average reader that they won't be demoralized if they become well enough to incorporate a prediction of quality in the grave and trying to enter the software business, A P supermarket chain because it is to use those solutions. Oddly enough, but I think the top schools are the only one restaurant left on the next uptick after that, the police treat people more equitably. Many people feel good. The point where it was outlawed in the 1980s was enabled by a central authority according to some abstract notion of fairness or randomly, in that.
There are lots of others followed. They could make it harder for you. Einstein, Princeton University Press, 1965. When he wanted to have a quality that feels a bit misleading to treat macros as a separate box weighing another 4000 pounds.
But it is to tell VCs early on. The story of Business Week article mentioning del. Steven Hauser.
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trendingnewsb · 6 years ago
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Ultimate Guide to Persuasive Speech (Hook and Influence Any Audience)
Everyone is blessed with a certain level of persuasive skills. Whether it’s a salesperson convincing a customer why they should buy a product or a mother convincing her child why he needs to sleep early – persuading is something that revolves around our lives whether we realise it or not.
This applies to persuasive speeches as well. These are speeches made with the intention of selling an idea, message, service or product to the audience. Some forms of persuasive speeches include sales pitches, legal proceedings and debates.
Here is a definitive step by step guide on how to frame and execute an excellent persuasive speech:
1. Selecting a topic
People are naturally interested in stories that have a hook. For a speech, this is none other than a topic. Every speaker wants their audience to be engaged and hence, the first step to achieving this is to select a good topic that will capture the attention of their audience.
Here are ways you can identify a good topic for your persuasive speech:
a) Brainstorm
A well-chosen topic is key to the success of a good speech. Brainstorming is a method that helps you generate topic ideas. It also should feel less stressful than other methods. Once you’ve come up with a list of potential topics, it all boils down to identifying what you think is good, depending on several factors such as who your listeners are and what their interests are.
Once done, start the process of elimination and remove the topics one by one till you find the perfect topic to speak about. Brainstorming is a creative process. If you don’t put in the effort to be creative, your presentation will never touch the minds and hearts of your audience.
b) Tailor the content of your presentation to your audience’s needs
Understanding who you are speaking to can help you sound much more persuasive. This helps determine how you can make your tone suitable for them and the content much more relevant and relatable to your audience.
For example, if you are speaking to a young audience, you should find out how they speak and their capacity of understanding. If you will be speaking about difficult topics like insurance, it doesn’t make sense to use a lot of technical terms or jargons especially since they definitely wouldn’t understand what you’re saying most of the time.
Furthermore, if you come in to the talk without any effort to adapt to your listeners, it will be a surefire way to lose their interest. And if they do not see a need to listen to their show, how are you going to sell your idea in the first place? Make an effort to show that the speech was tailored especially to them. This will increase your credibility as a result and show you’ve done your homework.
Questions to get yourself started:
Who will be attending your presentation?
What are their goals?
What motivates them?
What values do they most care about?
What are some examples that are relevant to them?
How can I customize the slide images to resonate with their industry or line of work?
What are the words I can use that are relevant to them or are used daily in their conversations?
c) Make It Personal
In order to change the minds of your audience, you need to win their hearts first. To do that, it’s important to add a personal touch for your topic.
One way to incorporate this is to pick a topic you are extremely knowledgeable and passionate for. It shows how much effort and time was spent on understanding and learning the topic. You live and breathe this topic. This passion for the topic will naturally make it easier for you to add your own personal experiences, research and stories. This will help your topic resonate with other people as much as it resonates with you.
For Most TED talk speakers, their talk is their life’s work. One example is Brene Brown’s “The Power of Vulnerability” where she spent years studying the human connection. In her talk, you can see she has incorporated touches of personal experiences and stories that make the talk heartwarming and persuasive:
2. Organize content
There’s no point in having a great topic with the best content and ideas if it’s not organized in a coherent manner. All it entails is a very confused audience at the end of your speech which means that you did not convey your key message successfully.
One way to organize your content is to create an outline first – it restructures your speech so that it’s clear and concise. After you’ve decided the points you’d like to bring up, start organizing them in a way where it can smoothly transition from one main point to the other. Similar to how one might structure a video,[1] a speech is not that much different.
Another method is to insert the important parts at the beginning or end of your speech. According to a study done by Murdock, people recall information better in the beginning and the end of a presentation. This helps create an edge for your persuasive presentation.
3. Know your content inside and out
One of the worst sins you can commit as a speaker is to read your script off a cue card or worse – look at your slides throughout as you speak. Not only do you sound rigid, monotonous and boring, you’ll definitely lose your audience’s interest as a result.
If you cannot engage your audience to listen to you, how are you going to persuade them into buying whatever you’re speaking about? Make sure to practice and understand your speech thoroughly without reading your slides.
With that being said, however, many tend to memorize their script word for word in an attempt to ‘know their stuff’ which is just a huge recipe for disaster. What if you you get stage fright and your mind turns blank? Or you simply cannot remember? Any hesitation on your part could sprout doubts from the minds of the audience.
Instead, focus on memorizing the flow of your key points as well as the overall arching message of your speech. According to experts, understanding the content makes it easier for you to convert ideas and concepts into your own words which you can then clearly explain to others. This allows you to speak with conviction and allow your personality to shine through, thereby convincing your audience as well.
4. Storytelling techniques (Hero’s journey)
You want to capture the attention of your audience with your very first words. To do that, start by telling a story. It’s important you do not bombard them with facts and data as it has been scientifically proven that stories engage more parts of our brain as compared to hard facts.
This technique is one of the most effective approaches when it comes to persuading your audience to buy your idea, message, service or product. This is due to its ability to stimulate interest, increase engagement and help the audience understand what’s being said.
So when you start your speech, try telling a short story to provide them with the vision of the goal. It also helps if you can make the story relatable to everyone involved so they are able to resonate with your speech.
Storytelling is also extremely useful when it comes to escalating the situation in a room full of people who may not be too keen on your ideas.
There are many ways to tell a persuasive story but one of the most effective and foolproof stories is ‘The Hero’s Journey’ approach.[2] This is because it has the exact built-in mechanisms for creating the connection needed for any audience. This can result in an impactful speech that can inspire your audience to action.
Described by Joseph Campbell as the The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the Hero’s Journey is the same exact tale every culture tells – just with different characters.
The tale of these heroes all boil down to three points– the problem, the solution and the reward. You’ll notice that these three elements are always or mostly used in every hero’s journey approach and it never fails to attract the audience. Leverage on this three step approach to help make your speech much more engaging which will empower your audience in return.
5. Make use of ‘you’ and ‘because’
There are words that hold more power in swaying our decision making than others. If we can learn how to utilize them, it’ll be easier to persuade our audience.
a) “You”
When you’re speaking or even writing or pitching to persuade, use first-person language. That means making use of the word ‘you’. This word not only gets your audience’s attention, it also makes them feel special – like they are a part of something.
Using “you” makes you sound much more conversational and friendly which makes it easier to establish a connection with your audience. Instantly, you’ll notice the word holds your audience accountable for what you’re saying and makes them feel personally involved.
b) “Because”
A study found that using the word ‘because’ would make people the inclined to allow someone else to do something.
Here is a proven scenario:
Person A: “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine?”
Person B: “I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I need to make copies?
Look at both of these sentences. Are you more inclined to allow Person A to cut the line or Person B? Studies find that only 60% would allow Person A to cut the line while a staggering 93% will do so for Person B even if the reasons are ridiculous. This is all because they simply heard the word ‘because’ accompanied by a reason.
6. Reinforce your message
a) Power of repetition
A study of managers in the workplace by Professors Tsedal Neely of Harvard and Paul Leonardi of Northwestern found that,
“Managers who were deliberately redundant moved their projects forward faster and more smoothly.”
Knowing this, try to apply the power of repetition in your speech to drive home your message. Don’t rush trying to get your point across but rather, try to convey the message as many times as you can.
However, be creative in repeating your message. Do not say the exact same thing over and over again or you’ll just sound annoying. Instead, find other creative and effective ways to get the same idea across to your audience.
b) Visuals
Visual aids like presentation slides or images not only provide the opportunity to reinforce and drive your message home, it also provides 43% added recall according to Prezi.[3]
To stimulate emotions amongst your audience, make use of evocative images. It doesn’t steal your audience’s attention but reinforces your key message instead. All this while evoking a certain feelings in your audience which helps in persuading them to believe in your idea.
c) Colours
Just like imagery, colours can evoke emotions in your audience as well. Colours signify different emotions and associations. Look at this video to help you understand how humans react to different color stimuli:
d) Interactive Content
A study found that interactive ads were found to be twice as memorable as compared to static ads. Knowing this, you should find ways to create interactive content to further engage and persuade your audience. This can be done with the use of PowerPoint as you can add animations, transitions or even embed videos to spice up your speech.
According to experts, the most recent statistics show that video content isn’t just effective, it’s also on the rise. Furthermore, 64% are willing to watch a video if it’s interactive. If you find that your speech may be boring or full of data, try to present it in a form of an interactive video.
Here’s a video of Hans Rosling, one of the few speakers who knows how to present data in a fun and engaging manner:
7. Adopt the Golden Circle Approach
In order to convince others to buy your idea, message, service or product, find out the purpose for what you’re doing. Before speaking to your audience, find your purpose and/or belief in giving the talk in the first place.
Here’s a video of Simon Sinek, explaining how the Golden Circle approach is effective in making others buy your idea, message, service or product:
In the video, Simon Sinek mentions that many of us communicate from the outside in. This means we always start with What, How and then Why. He explains that persuasive speakers do the exact opposite. They start from the inside out. This is also known as the ‘Golden Circle’ Approach:
Why: What is your purpose for doing what you’re doing
How: How you show your belief in what you’re doing
What: What is the result?
One example of a company who makes use of this approach is Apple Inc.
Why: What is your purpose for doing what you’re doing Their purpose is to challenge the status quo. They believe in thinking differently.
How: How you show your belief in what you’re doing By making their products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly.
What: What is the result? They happen to make great computers.
As Simon Sinek says,
“People don’t buy what you do but why you do it.”
Find what you believe in and you’ll realize it’s easier to persuade your audience into buying your message and taking action upon them.
8. Provide solutions to the problem
As a speaker, informing is not enough – take it a step further and show the audience how they can take action. And to inspire action, solutions must be provided. Although problems hook your audience, solutions are what activates action.
Start adopting the “How will my audience change as a result of hearing my speech?” mindset. Your speech can empower the audience if they can take at least one action because of what you’ve said.
Furthermore, if your audience does take action, this means you’ve successfully persuaded them since they are motivated by your message.
“That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently — to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotle’s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message that’s easy to digest, remember and retell.” — Nancy Duarte
Hence, you should be prepared to provide solutions to overcome any obstacles or challenges your idea may face/anticipate.
Summing it up
And there you have it. Make use of all three elements to help your audience buy into your message.
Select a good topic
Research on your audience and content thoroughly
Reinforce your message and make your content engaging
Know the purpose of your speech
Provide solutions
With my step-by-step guide, you will be able to write up a persuasive speech and influence your audience successfully.
Featured photo credit: pixabay via pixabay.com
Reference
[1]^Motion Sauce: How to structure persuasive video content for your business[2]^High Spark: Empower Your Audience with the Hero’s Journey Approach[3]^High Spark: 34 Free Stock Image Sites For Designing Epic Visual Presentations
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