7 Skills to Stop Being SO F*cking Awkward

Because confidence isn’t magic—it’s a damn skill set.

This isn’t your average self-help fluff.

This is a 7-week tactical series to obliterate the habits that make you freeze, ramble, or feel like an outsider in every room you walk into.

Delivered in the raw, no-BS style of Dan Martell, each weekly drop breaks down one very fixable awkward trait and shows you how to crush it—with real frameworks, daily drills, and live calls to action.

Perfect if you’re:

✔ Tired of overthinking every social interaction

✔ Ready to lead, pitch, connect—and actually be remembered

✔ Done letting self-doubt hijack your voice and presence

You weren’t born awkward. You trained for it. Now let’s train you out of it.

⚒️ Skill #1: Radical Self-Awareness

You can’t fix what you can’t see.

Most people never confront their own social blind spots—because it’s uncomfortable. So they just keep repeating the same awkward patterns.

Do this:

• Film your next Zoom call or conversation.

• Watch it back. (Yes, it’s cringe. Good.)

• Spot 1–2 awkward tells: tapping, filler words, voice crack, overtalking.

Pro tip: Use the Mirror Rule: if watching it makes you squirm, that’s the skill gap.

🎯 Daily Drill: Record yourself speaking for 2 minutes every day this week. Identify and attack one tell.

👁️ Skill #2: Deliberate Eye Contact

The difference between creepy and confident? Intention.

Avoiding eye contact screams insecurity. Staring someone down makes them call security. The magic is in controlled, deliberate eye movement.

Try this:

• Use the Triangle Technique: cycle your gaze between someone’s left eye, right eye, and mouth every few seconds.

• Practice the 60/40 Rule: Hold eye contact 60% of the time while speaking, 40% while listening.

🎯 Daily Drill: Practice eye contact with 3 strangers today—cashiers, baristas, whoever. Hold for 3 seconds and smile.

💪 Skill #3: Power Posture & Movement

Your body says what your mouth can’t.

If you walk in slouched, arms folded, voice down—you’re asking the room to ignore you. Own your posture, and the room will respond accordingly.

Practice:

• Keep shoulders back and spine tall.

• Hands visible, not in pockets.

• Walk like you’ve got somewhere important to be.

🎯 Daily Drill: Start every morning with 2 minutes of power posing (Wonder Woman or CEO stance). Then record a video and compare it to your usual slouch.

🎙️ Skill #4: Tactical Storytelling

Storytelling done right builds trust, credibility, and curiosity.

Done wrong? You come off as a narcissist, rambler, or worse—boring. Learn to tell short, punchy, relevant stories that land like a TED Talk.

Structure to use:

• ABT Formula: “I was doing X AND I thought I was crushing it… BUT then Y happened… THEREFORE I learned Z.”

• Keep it under 60 seconds. If they want more, they’ll ask.

🎯 Daily Drill: Share one short personal story today using the ABT formula—on a call, post, or DM.

❓ Skill #5: Strategic Questioning

Asking better questions makes you more interesting—even if you say almost nothing.

Stop asking “what do you do?” and start asking questions that unlock stories and connection.

Use:

• “What’s been lighting you up lately?”

• “What challenge are you solving right now?”

• “What’s something people misunderstand about your role?”

🎯 Daily Drill: Ask someone 3 layers deep today. Start with a question, then follow it with “Why is that important to you?”

🧠 Skill #6: Real-Time Feedback Loops

If you can self-correct during a conversation, you become unstoppable.

Most people realize their awkward mistake after the fact. You can train yourself to adjust on the fly.

Tools:

• Ask mid-convo: “Does that make sense?”

• Watch facial cues (confusion = adjust tone or slow down).

• Self-score immediately after interactions: 1–10 confidence scale.

🎯 Daily Drill: At the end of every conversation today, write down one thing you did well and one thing to improve.

🧱 Skill #7: Intentional Environment Design

Your physical world influences your social energy. Set it up for success.

A cluttered desk, bad camera angle, low lighting, or echoey room—all chip away at your confidence without you realizing it.

Environment tips:

• Stand for calls when possible.

• Use lighting that highlights your eyes.

• Clean your desk before important convos.

• Keep a “Confidence Corner” where you film or record—make it your zone.

🎯 Daily Drill: Audit your environment right now. Fix 1 thing—today. Light, posture, background, sound.

🚀 Final Thoughts

You’re not awkward—you’re just untrained.

Confidence isn’t a personality trait. It’s a stack of skills. Learn the stack, drill the reps, and install the new operating system.

This blog is your launch pad.

The full course gives you the accountability, coaching, and frameworks to make the transformation stick.