The Higher Up 60-Second Speaking Challenge
Record one unbroken 60-second talk daily for 30 days to build communication as a trainable muscle
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 82%
Smoak reframes communication as a trainable muscle rather than a fixed personality trait. The method is deliberately simple so the only real obstacle exposed is the fear of being perceived: point the front camera at yourself, hit record, and speak for 60 unbroken seconds about anything that comes to mind while suppressing filler words. Do it daily for a minimum of 30 days. The unbroken single-take constraint forces you to think and speak simultaneously, and the daily cadence compounds fluency the way gym reps build calluses. Progress is made visible by comparing an early clip to a later one. The challenge spread organically to tens of thousands of people because it converts an abstract 'get better at speaking' goal into a concrete, observable daily action.
Origin
Michael Smoak posted a video urging viewers to record 60 unbroken seconds daily for 30 days. A viewer, Brandon, cut it up, named it the Higher Up Wellness public speaking challenge, and posted his first attempt, which drew five million views overnight and spawned tens of thousands of participants.
Core principles
- 01Communication is a muscle, not a fixed trait
- 02Reps beat talent over a long enough horizon
- 03The barrier is the fear of being perceived, not lack of ability
- 04You improve by shipping ugly early reps, not by waiting to be good
How to run it
- 1
Point the camera at yourself and record
Pick up your phone, turn on the front-facing camera, and hit record. The visible self-facing lens is deliberate exposure to the fear of being perceived.
Pro tip Use a burner or private account for the first weeks so no audience pressure interferes with the reps.
- 2
Speak for 60 seconds unbroken
Talk continuously for a full minute with no cuts or restarts. Whatever comes out, comes out; there is no required topic.
Watch out No editing. The single-take constraint is what trains real-time thinking and speaking.
- 3
Strip out filler words
Consciously avoid 'um', 'like', and 'you know'. Naming filler words as the enemy sharpens self-awareness of your speech patterns.
Pro tip A brief intentional pause reads as far more competent than a filler word.
- 4
Repeat daily for at least 30 days
Commit to one clip every day for a minimum of 30 days. Consistency, not any single session, is what compounds the skill.
Watch out Most people quit within the first weeks, right before fluency starts to click.
- 5
Compare day one to day thirty
Watch your earliest clip beside your latest one. The visible jump in confidence and clarity is the evidence that the skill is trainable.
Pro tip Seeing your own before/after is the strongest motivator to keep going past day 30.
In the wild
A viewer named Brandon took Smoak's video, cut it into a challenge, and posted his very first 60-second attempt on what he assumed was a low-visibility account, saying he was terrified of public speaking. The clip did five million views overnight, drew comments from huge accounts, and took him from zero to 40,000 followers, kicking off a wave of tens of thousands of people practising daily.
→ Zero to 40,000 followers overnight and the launch of a movement with tens of thousands of participants.
Creator Jet Franzen started the challenge, publicly working through the fear of looking like a 'cornball' on camera, and kept going. His clips improved visibly across the days and he built a following of roughly 500,000 across platforms while shifting into polished philosophical takes.
→ Grew from zero to around 500,000 followers and developed a distinct on-camera voice.
Common mistakes
Waiting until you have a good topic
The challenge deliberately has no required subject. Waiting for the 'right' thing to say is just avoidance dressed up as preparation.
Editing or re-recording the take
Cutting the clip defeats the single-take mechanism that trains you to think and speak at the same time.
Quitting inside the first few weeks
Most people wash out before fluency compounds, mistaking early awkwardness for lack of talent rather than lack of reps.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone terrified of public speaking or posting online who wants a low-cost daily rep to build fluency and presence.
Not ideal for
People seeking a one-off hack rather than a repeatable daily habit over weeks.
From the transcript
“I recommend you pick up the phone, turn the front camera on, hit record, and talk for 60 seconds unbroken. Whatever comes up, whatever comes…”
“Communication skills are just a muscle. It's like the first time you went to the gym and your hands were soft, and now you look…”
From the episode
16 Brutal Life Lessons for Ambitious People - Michael Smoak - #1083
Michael Smoak