In this podcast episode, Sally Koering Zimney introduces Chapter 38 of her book Speaking Story, focusing on a preparation strategy she calls “Get on Your Feet at 80%.” She argues that speakers often get stuck in a “preparation purgatory” by obsessing over perfecting content before it’s ever spoken. Instead, she advises speakers to rehearse while standing once the material is about 80% complete, allowing the body to reveal issues such as awkward phrasing, length, or logical gaps. This kinesthetic rehearsal saves time, reduces anxiety, and leads to a more authentic, connected delivery. The episode includes brief testimonials from leaders (Kari, Tony, Todd) who credit Sally’s coaching with increased confidence, presence, and ROI for their organizations. It also promotes the Be Moved Institute’s corporate training program and the $49 Unspeaker Simple Storytelling course, providing URLs for listeners to join the waitlist or enroll. Throughout, the tone is conversational and instructional, with enthusiastic support for the 80% approach.
Chapters
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Okay, we're back and we are moving now into Chapter 38 of your Speaking Story Adventure. Hey everybody, my name is Sally Koering Zimney. I am the author of Speaking Story and the host of This Moved Me, the show that you are listening to right now, whether you're on YouTube, YouTube or on your podcast feed, it's awesome that you're here. We're on part 6, the final big part, and this is the longest part of all of them because there's a lot of bits about this. We started this part by talking about mindset, and then we started talking about how the— your thinking and your mind impact your body and how you show up. And we started talking about the stage and intentional movement. And now we are talking about preparation. So what, what, what kind of preparation do you use? I like to ask this question: how do you prepare? What does preparation look like for you? For most people, preparation is sitting at your desk and going through your Slack and you might write and then rewrite and think about it and maybe talk about it in a meeting. Are you doing the two important things that we talk about in this chapter? Two things. And what isn't in this chapter is being 100% ready, because the pursuit of 100% ready is what keeps a lot of speakers in what we'll just call preparation purgatory forever. It's like just tweaking things at midnight and, um, you know, worrying and obsessing over that last little bit, waiting for that feeling of, okay, I'm ready, when the truth is you don't even know what you really have until you put it on its feet and share it with a quote-unquote audience of some kind. It has to live on your feet. And so at some point in your preparation, and I'm not saying you do this, like you present it or perform it when it's not quote-unquote ready or done, but you have to, as part of your preparation process, get on your feet. So we'll talk more about that in this chapter. It's, it's a super short chapter, but I think if more of us did this one little thing, well, two things. Okay, let's say if more of us did these two things, we, it would save us so much time, so much worry. And it would help us get to a more integrated, authentic, connected presentation and performance once we got there, right? So I, I really hope that you grab onto this and add this into your process for yourself, that you don't have to be 100% ready before you speak, but to get to a place of integrated, clear, connected communication, you've got to do these two things. Okay.
I can't wait.
I can't wait. I can't wait. All right, let's do this. Here we go.
Hey everybody, and welcome to This Moved Me, a podcast about creating talks that move the world. With me, your host, Sally Koering Zimney.
This complimentary listening of the Speaking Story audiobook is brought to you in part by the Be Moved Institute, or as I like to call it, Be Me.
I'm going to let a few people speak for me here.
First, Kari, a senior leader who brought this work inside her organization.
As a leader in my organization, I am often in a position to be in front of people. Presenting to clients, running meetings, being asked to speak at a conference, moderate a panel. And working with Sally has really helped me hone my skills, specifically presence, my confidence, my warmth and competence on stage, and really has set me up for success to be a more confident representative for my company. So the ROI is incredible and really sets her apart. It's a repeatable system. Working with Sally has really changed our game.
And then there's Tony, a former Fortune 500 executive.
Regular speaking coaches is giving you, you know, here's how you package the message and here, be sure to stand over here. You know, Sally's brand is all about move, right? So be moved. And so she helps you to, to communicate from human to human and back.
And Todd.
She really focuses on each individual and what they need to get to the next place. She's so in tune with the moment and what you need at that moment that she individualizes everyone's journey. She calls herself a professional nudger. That is what she does. She keeps pushing in the most loving way possible.
The Be Moved Institute exists to bring this work into organizations at scale. The real work of helping your leaders communicate with clarity, courage, and genuine human connection. If that's something your organization needs, I want to talk to you. Join the waitlist at sally-z.com/institute. And if you want to start right now, today, for $49, the Unspeaker Simple Storytelling course is at sally-z.com/unspeaker. And that'll get you started. Now let's get into the chapter.
Chapter 38: Preparation. Get on your feet at 80%, aka stop obsessing over your content before it's done. As we round the corner to the end of this book, we can't just talk about delivery. We also need to talk about how to prepare and and practice this delivery. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make for their speaking is preparing their content or slides and talking through it while sitting down. Even if you end up speaking your story while sitting down, preparing to speak requires you to get on your feet. We start this by doing a really important strategy that I call, very cleverly, Getting on Your Feet at 80%. Now, I'm not talking about the 80% mindset. That is a different 80%. Just from a few chapters ago. This is about stopping you from obsessing over your content when it is 80% done and instead shifting into delivery before you feel ready. There are some things that we can only learn when we get them into our bodies, and the sooner we can learn them, the better. So even if you think the script is perfect and there's nothing you're going to want to change, I guarantee you that once you get up and say it out loud and it lives in your body, you're going to be like, "Oh, that sounds weird now," or, "Oh my gosh, it's way longer than I thought it was going to be," or, "That doesn't make sense now that I say it out loud." All of these things bubble up only when we let them live in our bodies, which is awesome. It is a magical part of the rehearsal and preparation process. And we want to get on our feet sooner rather than later. This will save you time and heartache if you can shift into this part of the preparation before you think you're finished. Now here's the deal: either you get up onto your feet when it's 80% done and then finish it from the information you learn by doing it in your body, or you get up on your feet at what you think is 100% done and then realize all that time you wasted finessing and finalizing between 80 and 100% was for not, because you're going to make all those changes anyway. So save yourself some time and heartache and get it into your body faster. Remember, we are not writers, we are speakers. Move it into your body sooner so that you can learn what you need to learn. It's kinesthetic learning, and for some people, it's how they figure out things that have been eluding them in the process so far. Remember, the body is the tool, and we have to lean into its wisdom.
That is the end of this chapter of Speaking the Story. If you want to find the full audiobook ad-free, you can go grab that over on Audible, or you can subscribe right where you're at right now so you never miss the next episode. And if what Carrie, Tony, Todd described earlier sounds like something your leaders need, that ability to get clear, to connect, and actually move the people they're leading, that's exactly what the Be Moved Institute is built for. It is not a one-and-done workshop. It's a system. So join the waitlist over at sally-z.com/institute, or if you want to start right now, go grab that Unspeaker course for $49 at sally-z.com/unspeaker. All right, movers. This moved me. What is moving you? See you next time.
