#30 How to Speak Like Yourself Under Pressure — The Skill That Changed His Life

I met Michael Gendler this summer at the Interesting People event. We never sat in each other’s sessions — instead, in the in-between moments between talks, he told me the story of how he quit his job and devoted his life to helping people communicate with confidence, clarity, and conviction.

That conversation stayed with me.

And recording this episode felt less like an interview and more like self-discovery.

Michael shares his journey from freezing mid-sentence in a meeting… to showing up for 100 Thursdays in a row… to building Ultraspeaking into one of the most innovative communication training platforms today.

We talk about:

Overcoming fear and turning it into a craft
Why intentions matter more than rigid goals
The role of enjoyment in learning to speak
How to unlock your authentic voice under pressure
What “aliveness” means in communication
Building conviction and confidence from the inside out
The early days of Ultraspeaking — no clients, no certainty, just belief

I left this conversation with a different understanding of speaking — not as performance, but as accessing a part of yourself that was always there.

I hope you feel the same spark of possibility when you listen

ABOUT MICHAEL GENDLER

Michael is the co-founder of Ultraspeaking, where he teaches creators, leaders, and teams how to communicate with confidence and authenticity — especially under pressure. His work blends psychology, performance, and deliberate practice to help people unlock the voice they already have.