9 public-speaking lessons from the world’s greatest TED talks
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Stick to the 18-minute
Stick to the 18-minute rule.
A TED presentation can be no longer than 18 minutes.
Eighteen minutes is the ideal length of time to get your point across. Researchers have discovered that “cognitive backlog,” too much information, prevents the successful transmission of ideas.
TED curator Chris Anderson has been quoted as saying that 18 minutes is “long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people’s attention.”
Practice relentlessly. Harvard brain researcher
Practice relentlessly.
Harvard brain researcher Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor had this “stroke of insight” that has been viewed 15 million times on TED.com. Dr. Jill rehearsed her presentation 200 times before she delivered it live.
Practice relentlessly and internalize your content so that you can deliver the presentation as comfortably as having a conversation with a close friend.
Deliver jaw-dropping moments. The jaw-dropping
Deliver jaw-dropping moments.
The jaw-dropping moment—scientists call it an ‘emotionally competent stimulus’— is anything in a presentation that elicits a strong emotional response such as joy, fear, shock, or surprise.
Bill Gates radically transformed his public-speaking skills by incorporating a jaw-dropping moment into many of his public presentations, including his now famous TED talks.
Favor pictures over text. Regardless
Favor pictures over text.
Regardless of the software, there are no bullet points on the slides of the best TED presentations. There are pictures, animations, and limited amounts of text—but no slides cluttered with line after line of bullet points. This technique is called “picture superiority.”
It simply means we are much more likely to recall an idea when a picture complements it.
Unleash the master within.
Unleash the master within.
Passion leads to mastery and mastery forms the foundation of an extraordinary presentation. You cannot inspire others unless you are inspired yourself.
You stand a much greater chance of persuading and inspiring your listeners if you express an enthusiastic, passionate, and meaningful connection to your topic.
Stay in your lane.
Stay in your lane.
The most inspiring TED speakers are open, authentic, and, at times, vulnerable.
Researcher Brené Brown gave a TED talk on the topic of vulnerability and how her own research led to her personal journey to know herself.
Opening up paid off for Brown in a big way. Oprah discovered Brown on TED, invited Brown to be on her show, and today Brown is a bestselling author and regular contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine.
Tell three stories. Tell
Tell three stories.
Tell stories to reach people’s hearts and minds. Brain scans reveal that stories stimulate and engage the human brain, helping the speaker connect with the audience and making it much more likely that the audience will agree with the speaker’s point of view.
Stories connect us. Tell more of them.
Teach your audience something
Teach your audience something new.
The human brain loves novelty.
An unfamiliar, unusual, or unexpected element in a presentation jolts the audience out of their preconceived notions, and quickly gives them a new way of looking at the world.
In 2006, the famous
In 2006, the famous TED conference began streaming 18-minute presentations from the world’s top minds for free!
Today TED talks are viewed more than two million times a day and have become the gold standard in public speaking and presentation skills.
The human brain is wired to love the TED style. People simply can’t get enough of TED talks because they are truly addictive.
Having to raise your
Having to raise your game to the TED style is not a bad thing. Adopting the techniques that have brought some TED speakers global acclaim will make it much more likely that you will persuade your audience to act on your ideas.
Here are 9 common elements to all TED talks and each of these are scientifically proven to increase the likelihood that your pitch or presentation will be successful.
Use humor without telling
Use humor without telling a joke.
Humor lowers defenses, making your audience more receptive to your message. It also makes you seem more likable, and people are more willing to do business with or support someone they like. The funny thing about humor is that you don’t need to tell a joke to get a laugh.
Educator Sir Ken Robinson educated and amused his audience in the most popular TED talk of all time: How Schools Kill Creativity. He makes humorous, often self-deprecating, observations about his chosen field, education.
Lighten up. Don’t take yourself (or your topic) too seriously.