The Accordion Method
Prepare a talk by speaking it down to its essence and back out, so it's internalized not memorized
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 95%
Instead of writing a script and memorizing it, you rehearse a talk aloud under shrinking time constraints (e.g. 3 min → 2 → 1 → 30 sec) to strip it to its essential pillars, then rebuild it back up (30 sec → 1 → 2 → 3 min), intentionally re-adding only what belongs. By the top of the accordion the talk is internalized rather than memorized, so it stays fluid and mistake-resistant across any time frame.
Origin
Developed by Tristan de Montebello and co-founder Michael Gendler at Ultraspeaking as a reaction to the traditional write-script-then-memorize approach; de Montebello calls it 'maybe one of the thing I'm the most proud of in my entire life.'
Core principles
- 01Prepare by speaking, not by writing
- 02Memorization is brittle (a chain that breaks if one link is lost); internalization is plastic
- 03Compression forces clarity — cutting a minute of content reveals what's essential
- 04Works at macro (whole talk) and micro (one struggling section) level
How to run it
- 1
Dump ideas (optional), then close the script
Optionally write all your ideas on paper just to empty your head, but from this point on there is no script — everything happens out loud.
Pro tip Time to fit it in depends on familiarity: for well-known content do a rough pass a week ahead, then one or two reps the day before or morning of.
- 2
Go DOWN the accordion with shrinking timers
Set a timer and give the talk in 3 minutes, then 2, then 1, then 30 seconds. Two rules each rep: stay in character the whole time and make it to the end, no matter how rough it sounds. After each rep note what you liked and didn't.
Pro tip Be strict with the timer — each rep is only trying to learn something, it doesn't need to be perfect.
Watch out Shaving a whole minute out forces you to cut the noise; resist keeping content that doesn't feel right.
- 3
Find the essence at 30 seconds
At 30 seconds you're left with only the essential pieces — 'like that couch and that lamp in the living room.' You now have a clear sense of what the talk is really about, which may have changed as you compressed.
- 4
Go BACK UP the accordion, re-adding intentionally
Do another 30-second rep, then expand to 1, 2, and 3 minutes. Each step gives you double the time you just had, so you deliberately bring back in only pieces aligned with the talk you want to give.
Pro tip One client said the return to three minutes 'felt like he had a football field in his mind' — vast space and total clarity.
In the wild
Lenny recounts doing the method in the Ultraspeaking class: compressing down concentrates the talk to its most important nuggets, then expanding back up gives room to build on those nuggets while cutting the long introduction nobody cares about.
→ He described it as 'a really Illuminating experience' and now uses it to prepare real talks, including an upcoming summit.
Common mistakes
Writing 10-15 pages then memorizing a script
The 'old way' creates a written speech you then have to memorize and pretend to deliver conversationally; memorization is a fragile linear chain — miss one verse and you're a deer in the headlights.
Letting reps be perfect instead of rough
The point of each rep is to learn and cut, not to sound good; insisting on a clean rep defeats the compression.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone with a known deadline talk — job interview, all-hands, keynote — who wants a fluid, internalized delivery instead of a memorized script
Not ideal for
Pure spontaneous speaking with no prep window (de Montebello estimates ~80% of speaking), where the games and mindset tools matter more
From the transcript
“instead of preparing our talk by writing we're going to prepare our talk by speaking”
“we're going down the accordion to create extreme Clarity and to understand what the essence of our talk is and then back up the accordion…”
“it's already completely internalized not even memorized it's internalized because you have these pillars you know where you're going”
“by the time you make it to 30 seconds you're going to have only the essential pieces like that couch and that lamp in the…”
From the episode
Why most public speaking advice is wrong—and how to finally overcome your speaking anxiety
Tristan de Montebello (CEO & co-founder of Ultraspeaking)