Why most public speaking advice is wrong—and how to finally overcome your speaking anxiety | Tristan de Montebello (CEO & co-founder of Ultraspeaking)
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Lenny Rachitsky
5 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2024
⏱️ 117 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tristan de Montebello is the co-creator of Ultraspeaking, the most effective method I’ve come across for rapidly improving communication and presentation skills. In 2017, Tristan became the fastest person ever to reach the finals of the World Championship of Public Speaking, achieving this feat in just seven months with no prior experience. In our conversation, we discuss:
• Why public speaking is a meta skill that can transform your life
• Practical games and exercises to improve your speaking skills
• The “Accordion Method” for preparing talks without memorization
• The “Bow and Arrow Technique” for crafting memorable presentations
• Tristan’s journey to the World Championship of Public Speaking finals
• Lenny doing some of the exercises live on-screen
Tristan is offering a limited-time discount to Ultraspeaking. Both codes are valid until November 14, 2024:
→ $500 off an Unlimited Membership with code UNLIMITEDLENNY500
→ $200 off a Rapid Tier pass for a single cohort with code RAPIDLENNY200
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-public-speaking-tristan-de-montebello
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Where to find Tristan de Montebello:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristandemontebello/
• Website: https://ultraspeaking.com
• Free email course: https://ultraspeaking.com/lenny/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction to Tristan de Montebello and Ultraspeaking
(01:42) Personal experiences with public speaking
(05:35) Misconceptions and meta skills in public speaking
(08:56) Enjoyment as a barometer for effective speaking
(15:30) Tactical tips for public speaking
(29:15) The importance of practice and games
(34:50) Game 1: The Conductor (Accessing different emotional states)
(45:54) Mindset shift: playing the game
(51:07) Game 2: Triple Step (Staying focused amid distractions)
(01:07:51) Quieting the noise
(01:09:46) Game 3: Conviction Prompts (Building executive presence)
(01:17:27) The Accordion Method explained
(01:37:57) The Bow and Arrow technique
(01:43:43) Final thoughts and encouragement
(01:44:55) Lightning round
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Referenced:
• Michael Gendler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgendler
• Alienor playing Conductor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmholFWwHro
• Triple Step: https://ultraspeaking.com/triple-step-game/
• Rapid Fire Analogies: https://ultraspeaking.com/rapid-fire-game/
• Joe Rogan Experience #1309 — Naval Ravikant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHkcs3kG44
• The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-Level/dp/0061735361
• Tall poppy syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome
• Peaky Blinders on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80002479
• The Nice Guys on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Nice-Guys-Russell-Crowe/dp/B01FV1GLR8
• Ember temperature control smart mug: https://www.amazon.com/Ember-Temperature-Control-1-5-hr-Battery/dp/B07NQRM6ML
• How I got to the World Championships of Public Speaking in 7 months: https://medium.com/the-mission/3000-people-staring-c2cbd14c6d6c
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | People tend to get into a public speaking voice. |
| 0:02.8 | We'll be in a class and they'll be chatting normally |
| 0:04.9 | and look super normal. |
| 0:06.5 | And then we'll say, okay, now just a timer, |
| 0:09.3 | I'm just going to give you a speech, |
| 0:10.3 | just speak for 60 seconds, so we get a baseline, |
| 0:12.4 | and I click play play and suddenly they say |
| 0:14.6 | the important part about doing this and they enter into a different version of themselves, |
| 0:20.3 | a professional version, whatever that would mean. It's so much more freeing, powerful, connecting, and effective to speak conversation. So the cue I often give people is. |
| 0:39.0 | Today my guest is Tristan Demontobello. Tristan is the co-creator of Ultra Speaking, |
| 0:42.0 | which is the best public speaking workshop I have ever come across. |
| 0:46.2 | In 2017, Tristan became the fastest competitor to reach the finals of the World Championship |
| 0:50.9 | of Public Speaking, and based on that experience built a very unique |
| 0:55.4 | course that helps you quickly build the skills to become better and to become more comfortable |
| 1:00.6 | speaking in public and especially speaking on the spot. |
| 1:04.0 | I like to spend time on this topic on this podcast because becoming a better speaker is such |
| 1:08.5 | an accelerant of your professional life and in this episode we delve into a bunch of tactics and also misconceptions about |
| 1:16.2 | how to become a better speaker and to make it even more fun and interesting we go |
| 1:20.7 | through a few of the exercises that Tristan and his team have developed live on the |
| 1:25.2 | podcast he goes through him I go through them it was a lot of fun I'm excited to hear what you think |
| 1:29.6 | If you enjoy this podcast don't forget to subscribe and follow it in your favorite |
| 1:32.8 | podcasting app or YouTube. It's the best way to avoid missing future episodes and |
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