Notes from Book Talk like TEDs

Introduction Source

• the content of the presentations was novel; the speakers managed to connect emotionally to their audience; and the content was presented in a way that made it easy to remember.

Chapter 1: TED talks can help you to improve in an important area of life: your presentation skills. Source

• claiming in his book 📖 To Sell is Human that today we’re all in sales, whether or not we want to be

Chapter 2: Passion is the foundation of a persuasive and successful presentation. Source

• Passion is the intense, positive feeling you get from pursuing activities that are deeply meaningful to you
• passion is also essential in giving excellent presentations.
• one of the crucial factors aiding investors’ decisions was the passion conveyed by the presenters
• Action: put yourself in a position where you have to speak passionately on a regular basis

Chapter 3: Storytelling helps you to connect emotionally with your audience. Source

• His talks were always brimming with pathos
• Steve Jobs was one of the world’s best public speakers
• Aristotle believed that persuasion occurred only when three elements – ethos, logos and pathos
• ethos – touches on your character or values. It refers to your experiences and/or education
• logos – refers to the logical basis of your argument, which can include statistics or other data
• pathos – is concerned with the emotional connection you make with your audience.

• most popular presentations consist of 65 percent pathos, 25 percent logos and 10 percent ethos.

• more pathos into your talk? The best way is through storytelling.
• storytelling helps you to connect with your audience by making your presentation less abstract and more identifiable
• the personal story. A powerful personal story is one that answers a question such as, “What’s your earliest memory of childhood?”
• story about other people – such as a story about a friend
• third type is a story about successful brands, companies or organizations

Chapter 4: An emotional connection happens only when a speaker’s voice, gestures and body language are in sync. Source

• perfect speed for a presentation? The author found that most speakers use around 190 words per minute.
• paying attention to your body language
• a leader should stand straight, displaying confidence, at all times
• public speakers: they should stand tall in front of their audience, demonstrating confidence in their ideas.
• certain studies have associated a speaker’s gestures with the amount of confidence an audience places in that speaker.
• limit your gesturing to the area between your eyes and your belly button
• Also, save your most expansive gestures (such as spreading your arms at their widest) for emphasizing only your most important points.

Chapter 5: To make your presentation surprising and unforgettable, give your audience new information. Source

• This “Wow! Really?” moment probably caused you to pay even closer attention
• weave novel and surprising information into your presentation.
• New and interesting information makes people sit up and take notice. And the information can be remembered more easily, too.

Chapter 6: Make your presentation memorable by sharing an extreme moment or extraordinary statistic. Source

• As he held up a jar filled with live mosquitoes for his audience to see, Gates said that he saw no reason why only poor people should be at risk of being infected this way – then he opened the jar and set the mosquitoes free!
  • TED Talk
• it’s worthwhile searching for interesting facts or statistics that illustrate your argument.

Chapter 7: Adding humor to your speech makes your audience see you in a more positive light. Source

• humor was shown to reduce hostility, relieve tension and improve morale among colleagues.
• One approach is to share anecdotes. Perhaps something funny happened to you earlier in the day that you can talk about?
• Another approach is to use analogies and metaphors.

Chapter 8: Presentations should cover no more than three aspects in 15 to 20 minutes. Source

• Keep your presentation short. This makes it far easier for audiences to remember the content.
• Presentations at TED conferences usually take 18 minutes, which is considered a good length as it fits perfectly in the optimum period of 15 to 20 minutes.
• should not cover more than three separate themes.
• most people have little trouble remembering seven pieces of new information.
• revised this theory and have divided that figure into three or four basic information units – or “chunks.”
• aspects can be organized in a message map.
• “What’s the single most-important message I want my audience to take away?”
• write that message at the top of a piece of paper
• find the three (or fewer) messages which support your headline message, and list them underneath it
• outline their specific content: the “meat” of your presentation.

Chapter 9: Stimulating all of the senses during a presentation helps your audience to remember your ideas. Source

• We remember things more vividly when we experience them with all of our senses.
• multisensory environments (videos, texts and images) are better able to recall information
• you should communicate in a way that appeals to more than just one sense.
• use pictures to support your presentation

  Linking

• MOC Presentation and Public speaking

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