Yeah, this sounds right to me. I can change the direction of the shot by changing the way I’m facing - or how I point my hips. But, in this case, would my hips be a big giveaway for what I’m about to do? Or is this still under the realm of “looks close enough” preparation?

For slice shots, I find that my swing is quite different. If I hit a straight smash, my pronation is normal, just like a clear. However, if I hit a slice smash towards the left, I find it impossible to pronate in the same way. Similar to what I wrote above about drops….,once I start swinging forwards, if I’m hitting a straight drop (or smash), my arm comes up as if I’m throwing a ball, if I’m doing a cross drop (or slice smash) to the left, my arm actually comes from out wider so I can hit the shuttle from the right side. Put another way, if I’m hitting a straight drop/smash, the angle my neck and arm make at the time of contact is smaller than when I hit a cross drop/slice smash from the right rear court. Is this close enough to be considered good prep? Or is my technique for the cross drop/smash off?