There’s this weird phase of preparing a talk where you question everything.

Why did I pitch this?
Is there a point?
Should I flee the country?

And then, maybe 48 hours later, you’re running through it out loud, making small flow tweaks, and thinking… huh. Maybe this is a talk after all.

I hesitate to call it the “messy middle.”
It feels more like the messy first 30%…
the steep, awkward part of the hike where your legs are still remembering how to move uphill.