I was nervous about asking a bookstore employee for a recommendation, so I played a short confidence recording through my headphones before going inside. It said things like "You are calm, interesting, and capable of normal conversation." My headphones disconnected, but the recording did not stop. My phone automatically paired with a demonstration speaker on a display table. The affirmation began booming through the quiet bookstore while I frantically pressed every button except the correct one. Customers looked around for the source. The employee I had planned to speak to walked over just as the voice announced, "People enjoy talking to you." They unplugged the speaker and asked what kind of book I needed. I said, "Something about disappearing completely." They handed me a travel guide and told me the confidence exercise seemed to be going well. I bought the book because leaving without it felt even more awkward.