Ok, I’m a UT Alum and a Longhorn football fan. And, I even own longhorns that look like their mascot, Bevo!
Texas’ comeback
It seemed unlikely after a MISERABLE first half. I almost went to sleep.
But…
Arch Manning, UT’s quarterback, delivered in the 4th quarter as Texas shocked Ohio State, ranked #1, in a 20-point comeback.
It marked the first time since 2004 that a top-ranked team has lost a 20-point fourth-quarter lead.
Why is this relevant to you and your next speech?
🐄 UT’s Coach Sarkisian challenged his team to forget an “abysmal” first half.
🟧 I challenge you to forget past horrible speeches, or even a botched first half of a speech you are in the middle of presenting. Move forward.
🐄 The Longhorns had to figure out a way to slow Ohio’s star wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith.
🟧 Do you need to recalibrate your delivery, or update some bad ppt visuals, or align your content to overcome your audience’s obstacles? You have to figure out a way to strategize success, even making tweaks during your presentation.
🐄 Sarkisian told Manning during halftime, “There is no such thing as a 21-point touchdown pass. It is just going to take time.”
🟧 Guess what? There is no such thing as a flawless unprepared speech. It just takes time. You improve every time you make a presentation. One at a time.
🐄 Ryan Day, Ohio’s coach, after the first powerful half, was asked, “How does it feel to have this 20-3 lead?” He responded, “A game is four quarters.”
🟧 Best advice ever. It’s not over till it’s over. Please remember, especially when you feel you’ve had a bad presentation opener, or a crummy past speech, a bad speech can be resurrected by a strong close.
🐄 About luck…
🟧 Luck favors the prepared. Thank you, Joel Litman, for one of my favorite quotes!
🟧 I’ll add that it is nice when luck lands in your lap! When the Buckeyes kicker missed a 45-yard field goal with about 4 minutes remaining in the game, that provided the perfect momentum for my Longhorns to keep on keeping on. You have to keep on keeping on too.
🐄 The Texas Longhorns took a one-point lead with 25 seconds left in the game. 🐄
Photos Copyright – all longhorn pics taken by me at our Star Ranch
🐄 Content source: “Manning delivers in 4th as Texas stuns Ohio State in 20-point comeback”, ESPN, https://apple.news/AhqX4Q1ujRceOZy6_XV5vnQ
I “memorized” my first speech. And 90 seconds into it, I completely forgot every word of it. Since then, I work from an outline and include plenty of stories and illustrations, which makes the speech easy for my audience (and me) to remember.
Val – that’s great. When you include stories, your speech is easier for you to remember and much easier for your audience to retain.
And that gets me to this particular blog. It was a lot of fun to write because of the UT vs OSU game analogy. Hook ’em horns!! 🐄
Thanks for the encouragement and the LUCK quote as well. The stories carry the day and your way of looking into our failures to overcome is always appreciated.
Thank you,
One of your many fans, Tom
Hey Tom – We can all learn from the stories that are all around us. This blog “came to me” while reading the ESPN article about MY UT Longhorns! I kept thinking, those coaches had some great strategies to move forward and keep playing the game. I’m so glad this resonated with you. Thanks for your comments. Hook ’em horns 🐄