Have you wondered what makes a great TED Talk so effective? I watched some of the best presentations while exploring hundreds of TED Talks by speakers who are also authors of books for the TED Talk Book Discussion list. I’ve learned that to be compelling, the content of a speech must be clear, remarkable, engaging, authentic, tantalizing, and explanatory. There are nine ways to capture interest, and six simple steps to deliver a compelling talk.
CREATE Content that is Clear, Remarkable, Engaging, Authentic, Tantalizing, and Explanatory.
➸ Clear
• compelling promise: tell the audience what helpful insight they will discover and the benefit of doing so.
• organized structure: outline with the OPEN method below, and watch Nancy Duarte’s TED talk, The secret structure of great talks.
• right length and amount of detail
• easy to understand
➸ Remarkable – the main idea is original; a new, impactful insight that is helpful, inspiring, memorable, and exciting. Learn The surprising habits of original thinkers in Adam Grant’s TED talk.
➸ Engaging – with nine ways to capture interest…
• Quintessential quote
• Unusual statement
• Entertaining humor
• Surprising fact
• Thoughtful question
• Inviting interaction
• Original observation
• Notable visual
• Satisfying story
➸ Authentic – be yourself, use conversational language and share relatable stories from your life. Brene Brown’s TED talk The power of vulnerablity is the perfect example.
➸ Tantalizing – capture attention with the title, tell why is it important to them?
➸ Explanatory – illustrate the main points with reliable supporting statistics, data, studies, and evidence. Learn how to to present The best stats you’ve ever seen in Hans Rosling’s TED talk. Include helpful visual illustrations like drawings, photos, or video clips. Martin Epler says Want to give a great presentation? use ugly sketches in his TED talk.
All of the methods of engagement add to a compelling speech, but perhaps the two most effective (and also the most challenging) are humor and storytelling. Learn how to tell stories at the The Power of Telling Stories post, and how to develop the skill of humor with Andrew Tarvin’s TED talk. For A TED talk that has both, watch David Nihill on Standing up to fear.
KEEP THE DELIVERY SIMPLE
• Start with an attention grabber – What do you have to share that others need? Jess Ekstrom TED talk The Secret to Great Public Speaking
• Invite audience involvement with an engaging activity
• Make it memorable – Yasir Khan TED talk How to Speak so People Remember
• Perform with passion How will you share what is most significant and meaningful to you?
• Logically lead through main points, illustrating them visually How will you show what you mean?
• End with recap and a call to action. What is the big idea you want them to take away? What would you like them to do?
Remember to STREAM appeal for a memorable talk with something that is:
• Surprising
• Thought provoking
• Rare
• Emotional
• Amusing
• Meaningful
Outline with the method described by Philipp Humm in an Analysis of the Best TED Talks at power-of-storytelling.com.
• Opening hook:
• Promise: You’ll discover…
• Explain 2-3 main points. Engage interest by illustrating each point with a story, statistic, or activity.
1. Point:
Illustrated with:
2. Point:
Illustrated with:
3. Point:
Illustrated with:
• Next wrap up: recap with 2-3 takeaways, and end with a statement that inspires action.
Takeaways:
Call to action:
Learn more about communication and presentations.
Learn more about TED talks:
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