Tristan de Montebello: Why public speaking advice fails you

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

October 13, 2024

Duration

1h 56m

Channel

Lenny's Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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. Sign up here: https://ultraspeaking.com/ → $500 off an Unlimited Membership with code UNLIMITEDLENNY500 → $200 off a Rapid Tier pass for a single cohort with code RAPIDLENNY200 — Brought to you by:

• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments: https://www.geteppo.com/
• Command AI—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users: https://www.command.ai/lenny
• Brave Search—A smarter way to search: https://brave.com/lenny

Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-public-speaking-tristan-de-montebello Where to find Tristan de Montebello:

• X: https://x.com/Montebello
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristandemontebello/
• Website: https://ultraspeaking.com
• Free email course: https://ultraspeaking.com/lenny/

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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 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

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Tristan de Montebello

  guest

• Lenny Rachitsky

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring Tristan de Montebello and Lenny Rachitsky, Tristan de Montebello: Why public speaking advice fails you explores transform Public Speaking: Flow, Games, And Ditching Bad Advice Forever Tristan de Montebello, co‑creator of UltraSpeaking, argues that public speaking is a meta-skill that, once improved, upgrades nearly every area of life—from work to relationships and self-confidence.

🔗 RELATED EPISODES

How to build a company that withstands any era | Eric Ries, Lean Startup author

Head of Claude Code: What happens after coding is solved | Boris Cherny

Building product at Stripe: craft, metrics, and customer obsession | Jeff Weinstein (Product lead)

Building a world-class data org | Jessica Lachs (VP of Analytics and Data Science at DoorDash)

What most people miss about marketing | Rory Sutherland (Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, author)

5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker)