Your #1 TED Talk
TED speakers have a formula that works. Here’s how you can use it in your own presentations.
Hey storytellers.
Let’s talk about TED bay-bee…
( ❤️ 🧂 & 🌶 If you know, you know. )
Why is a TED talk so compelling? How can someone stand in one place, talking for up to 18 minutes, often with few to no slides, and captivate an audience? Well, I know this is going to come as a shock, but it’s all about the storytelling (and you can do it, too).
I’m a speaker coach for TEDxPortland — the largest indoor TEDx in the world with an audience of 7000+ people. Yep, 7000. Most TEDx events are fewer than 100 people. We, in Portland, like to over-achieve so we rent out the Moda Center where the Portland Trail Blazers play.
Here’s the thing…how I coach a speaker for an audience of 7000 is the same as for an audience of 100, and is the same as an audience of 1. To hold an audience in the palm of your hand, TED-style, here’s what you need:
- Laser-focus
- Be Human
- Map the Journey
- Talk Like a Person
- Tell ’em What To Do Next
Laser-focus
When you’re an expert in something, your natural inclination is to share everything you know. After all, the more people know the more likely they are to get onboard, right?
Well, no. It’s not about the quantity of what they know. It’s about the quality and how easily they can recall to take action and make an impact.
In practical terms, let’s say you sell software that solves many business challenges. You can present everything it does and all the problems it solves or you can pick the one problem/solution that will make the greatest impact to that audience/person.
But, wait — what about all the other great stuff the software does? You have to show them how feature-rich and powerful it is, right? Nope. All that does is dilute the impact of each individual problem/solution. Pick the one that will have the greatest impact and go deep on that. Then, pick one or two more that are next in line and use those to show that the software isn’t just a one-trick pony.
Former Nike CEO Mark Parker calls it, “edit and amplify.”
Be Human
There are few things more compelling than a personal story. People need to know why they should be listening to you. Sure, you know what you may have learned through job training, or a course, or from research, but anyone can do that.
Why you? Whether you’re on a stage or in a meeting room, linking the topic to you personally will create an instant connection.
Back to that software you sell…you could describe how you use it yourself to solve the very challenge you’re there to discuss. Or, how another client recently sent you an email with the results of their improved performance. Something that elevates you from someone selling software to someone who embodies the very solution you’re offering.
Map the Journey
Many presentations are “one-note.” The speaker knows their stuff, but it feels like they’re trying to bore you into submission. With attention spans seemingly shorter than ever, people need to be taken on a journey that will vary their emotions and hold their attention.
Maybe you start with empathy for the challenge they’re facing. Then you tie it to something personal to you to draw them in. Then you make a joke to get their endorphins flowing. Then you list the few key ways they’ll receive the most benefit. Then you drop another funny line. Then you wrap up.
The journeymap isn’t a roller coaster, it’s an EKG. Steady, steady, steady, blip. Steady, steady, steady, blip.
Talk Like a Person
The simple advice here is, present as you normally talk. Don’t use big, fancy words when simple, everyday words will do.
Replace jargon with common descriptive words. You’re not trying to win at Scrabble or prove how smart you are. You’re trying to connect with another human being on the most basic level. ‘Nuff said.
Tell ’em What To Do Next
You can get all of the above right and if you have no call-to-action you should have just stayed home.
Whether they realize it or not, people are constantly asking themselves, “so what, and what now?”
In your presentations and meetings, you’re not there to educate. You’re there to make something happen. Everything up until now is you setting the table. Now’s the time to deliver the plate.
The call-to-action will be different for everyone and every situation. Just know that what you must leave people with is the answer to, “so what, and what now?”
So what, and what now?
That’s what you’re probably asking. Will those five things alone make you a world-class TED-style speaker/presenter? No. This is an email newsletter after all and I had to edit and amplify.
However, implementing these five things will significantly separate you from just about everyone else. I’ve seen it happen time and again and my speakers have the standing ovations to prove it!
Make sure to grab your free R.S.P.C.T. framework guide to help you craft stories based on how people process information and make decisions.
If you’d like some help with that, I’ve got something new for when my free content isn’t enough and a full engagement’s too much. If you’re keen to learn more, check it out.
Thanks for reading.
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If I can be of any help to you, please reach out.
Cheers and remember, success finds those who tell compelling stories.
