Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #2: How Great Leaders Inspire Action (Simon Sinek)

TEDTalk Countdown: the #2 most-watched video on TED. Video and Transcript The Big Idea: People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. The overall construct of the speech: Persuasive, using logic, research and anecdotes Not perfect: His opening rhetorical question took me off-track at the start. “How do you explain when things […]
Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #3: The Power of Vulnerability (Brenè Brown)

TEDTalk Countdown: the #3 most-watched video on TED. Video and Transcript The Big Idea: To be fully alive is to be vulnerable. Embrace vulnerability. The overall construct of the speech: A somewhat chronological retelling of events leading to insight. Not perfect: Honestly, I was so engaged by this talk that I found it difficult to find fault. […]
Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #6: The Thrilling Potential of SixthSense Technology (Pranav Mistry)

Video and transcript The Big Idea: We can better enable our physical world to interact with the world of data, which ultimately will help us to stay human. The Overall Construct of the speech: A demonstration, mostly via video. Some of the demonstration video appears in the #9 TEDTalk, The SixthSense Interaction, which was presented […]
Preview: Public Speaking Tips from the Top 10 TEDTalks

Short, but powerful talks. Although typically fewer than 18 minutes long, TEDTalks pack a punch: unique ideas presented with passion. Inspired by a recent NSA-MN Chapter meeting speaker, Hayley Foster, who spoke about creating TED-style talks (post here), I decided that I (and you) could probably learn some public speaking tips from TEDTalks. For the […]
How to Create a TED-Style Talk: Advice from an Expert

Imagine standing on a TED stage, sharing your passion with the world. Maybe that’s not your dream. But, wouldn’t you like to have a powerful, TED-like presentation? TED-style talks aren’t just for TED events. They are becoming more popular at conferences, too. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Chapter of the National Speakers Association hosted a presentation […]
How to Deliver a TEDTalk: The Catchphrase

Would you like to know the secrets of the world’s most inspiring presentations? In his book, How to Deliver a TEDTalk, Jeremey Donovan shares nuggets of wisdom mined from studying the most popular TED Talks. Just in case you are somehow unaware of TED Talks, TED is a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading worthy ideas […]