Here's how The Wizard of Oz broke that habit for me
Welcome back!
If you read my embarrassing NFL story last week, you'll remember I blamed the disaster on not preparing enough.
I thought I needed to spend more time memorizing and practicing what I wrote.
Why did I think that was the answer?
Where did I learn this?
If you're a chronic over-preparer, I think you will appreciate this origin story.
It all started with the Wizard of Oz.
In high school, I was given a project to present about the historical significance of the Wizard of Oz (1939 film).
I had never given this type of formal presentation.
So I asked my mom, a teacher, for help.
She asked me to stand up in front of her and present.
I took out my research paper and started summarizing it for her.
The Spartan-Greek in her, bluntly stopped me.
"What are you doing? No. Boring. Start with an interesting story, Anne."
She asked me to hand her the paper and scanned it for a good one.
After a minute, she put the paper down.
"The Glinda bubble story is good! Start there. Then hit this point. Then this one." (read until the end for the bubble story! It's so cool)
Then, my mom taught me how to prepare.
1. Write a skeleton outline
2. Walk around the house, reciting the outline
3. Practice it in the mirror until it is fully memorized, with the slides and day-of outfit on
It worked!
The presentation went pretty well.
I was a little nervous, but once I got through the bubble story, it was all smooth sailing from there.
I thought I had a foolproof method on my hands.
But you know from my NFL blunder that the success rate was not 100%.
And my mom's method took 10+ hours each time.
What's interesting is that my mom's advice was not unique to her.
When I asked around, everyone in the Ultraspeaking community had been taught the same way.
I'm not particularly interested in becoming a public speaking historian here.
I just know there is a _more modern and faster way _to prep and nail any presentation.
With a few Ultraspeaking techniques and my slide hack (read to the end!), I now feel prepared, present, and excited in _way_ less time.
Want in? Super!
We put together a FREE masterclass for you on exactly this.
FREE MASTERCLASS
Just sit back, relax, and learn
Nail Your Next Presentation With 10x Less Prep
Ultraspeaking's lead coach Aman will teach 3 immediately actionable techniques to...
Prepare 10x faster
Speak clearly
Sound dynamic and natural
There will be live coaching with an Ultraspeaking student (don’t worry, not you!) and a Q&A at the end.
It's _free_ inside the Ultraspeaking training app.
Two different times are available on March 3
As promised...
How they made Glinda's bubble in 1939: This explains it well.
My little slide hacks
I learned this after working for an ex-McKinsey partner for 5 years.
My favorite tip
The title of the slide should tell the entire story of the slide. If I take away all the content on the slide except the title, the reader should still fully understand the point of the slide. This helps too
The agenda matches word-for-word to the divider slides: Keeps everything extremely clear and structured for you and the audience. PSA on data
Please only highlight data that matters. No one wants to read your spreadsheet-on-a-slide. 🤦♀️
Hope this helps!
P.S. Guess what?
I'm passing the mic to someone pretty special...Tristan, Ultraspeaking's co-founder. He and Michael are the masterminds behind the techniques that transformed how I present, and he's pumped to share more with you directly.
Thanks for letting me hang out in your inbox for a few weeks!
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