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Language is a
01. Our shared language enables us to share
ideas in a powerful way.

powerful took.

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02. With the right words, you can create
incredible images in the minds of your
audience.

03. Every public speaker can tap into the power

of language.

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CREATE IMAGES
When you and the audience share a
common language, you can create
Begin where any image.

the
TELL A STORY
audience is
We all love to hear a good story; the
right words make it possible.
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SHARE AN INSIGHT
Enlighten your audience with a
unique insight that they haven’t
heard before.

Words matter.
With the right words, you can take your audience on a journey to any destination. The whole
substance of any talk depends crucially on the words to tell the story.

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If you think you MIGHT have an idea, but you

really dive into the subject and see what you

aren’t really sure, then this is your chance to

Learning Wednesdays at TED

HQ.
can find.

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01 02 03

Everyone working at These Learning The only requirement is

TED HQ gets an extra Wednesdays are that the team member
day off every second devoted to studying gives a talk on what
Giving a public talk is your chance to

week something. they have learned, at

some point in the year
research a topic.

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THE SALES PITCH THE RAMBLE THE ORGANIZATION BORE THE EMPTY STYLE 4

Common traps to avoid when

building your talk.

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Greedy

Your audience is

The sales
giving their time;
they deserve to get
something in return.

pitch is
Boring about
No-one wants to sit
and listen to an ask
taking, 5
or a sales pitch.
not
giving.
Bad
Reputation

Don’t be known as a
tiresome self-
promoter..

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// Take the time to A
actually structure rambling
your talk
list of
thoughts 6
An unfocused ramble is tedious
to listen to, and it tells your
audience that you don’t value is
insulting.
them enough to actually spend
some time in planning your
talk.

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THE ORG BORE

NOT JUST THE TEAM FIND THE IDEA SHOW THE BIG PICTURE TELL THE STORY
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Beware the inspiration trap

a b
Power>
There is great power in being
able to inspire others; but that
power must be used carefully.
Do Not Copy >
It’s tempting to study other
inspiring talks and try to copy
what those speakers did. The
result will be cliched and
uninspiring.
d (
Performance > Substance
Matters >
An audience can quickly
Focus on your idea, not on
tell if you are only on stage
a self-serving
to delight yourself with
performance.
your own performance.

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Some talks are just
plain ugly.

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As you start to build your talk, make sure you stay
away from the four ugly traps: the sales pitch, the
ramble, ,the org bore, or the style-over-substance
performance.

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Have a Clear The Whole Point
8

The throughline is not the same as the topic;

Plan rather, it’s the whole point of your talk
03

Throughline
O

As in movies or novels, the talk must have a

throughline
02

Say Something Clarity

S

Building a successful talk starts with a moment of

Meaningful clarity
01
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g
3

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ANGLE

U Your throughline should have an unexpected angle

or twist: “How I learned to trust strangers.”

UP FRONT

b The throughline doesn’t have to be stated up front,

but it should at least be hinted at, so the audience 12
knows where you are going.

NOT THE TOPIC

0 The throughline is not the same as the topic; it’s

the connecting thread that links the talk together.

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Find out about
your audience

What do they care about?

Think about your audience’s likely interests

What can you say in 18

How knowledgeable?
13
minutes?
Interested generalists or
knowledgeable professionals?

Audience expectations.
Are they expecting an entertaining
chat or a thought-provoking challenge?

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Build the structure of your talk
our own
ion Cut back the range of topics you want to cover, so that there is a single, clear thread that can be developed.
Now you can take that thread and build the structure of your talk around it.

rvice.
unc fusce tincidunt eget

. 14
hy.
sed urna laoreet

e.
unc fusce tincidunt eget

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Connecting branches Circle back to the start Step-by-step Whatever the structure:

Tree Loop Sequence Keep it Focused

Talk structure 15

01 02 03 04

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Avoid the problem:

Focus on an Idea How do we solve this?

Instead of this is awful:

Puzzle
This is interesting Don’t demand, instead:

How to tackle a Challenge

challenging topic.

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There are ways to talk about something like the
refugee crisis or a major health problem, without
01
giving your audience compassion fatigue.
03
02
04

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TOOLS
CRAFTING THE TALK

Choose from the following tools 17

Imagine you are delivering this talk to a close friend, and use some—or all—of these
five techniques to craft your talk. Think of them as tools; mix-and-match to find the
ones that will work best for you.

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Connect with individuals

Eye contact

CONNECT

1. Connect. It goes a long way!

Smile
Build a bond
with your
audience
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Walk on stage with

Confidence

Description

Entertainment

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Connection
Knowledge has to be pulled in by your
audience; it cannot be pushed at them.
Building a connection will allow this process
to happen,

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Ways to build connection.

Humor Builds
Off-color

Offensive

Connection Political

Types of humor to avoid

Everyone likes to laugh 20
Humor is a great way to build a connection with
your audience; but be careful. Not everyone can Limericks
pull this off—better no jokes that a bad one!
Puns

Sarcasm

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Keep it real.

Pretax financial income

Don’t be a faker
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Your audience will quickly spot a faker, so make sure you speak as yourself.

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Ways to build a connection.

No name dropping

Not about you

No boasting
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Name dropping is annoying and Self-aggrandizement will quickly YOU are not the focus of your talk—
boring lose your audience’s interest its’ the IDEA that counts

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AVOID TRIBAL THINKING.

Divisions Connected Tr i b a l i s m Politics Religion

Avoid the kinds of You want to Certain topics will You want people Religious
stories that evoke connect with your make your to receive your references can
tribal us-and-them audience, not audience divide idea, not be divide people—
sentiments alienate some of into separate turned off by keep your
them. tribes—handle overt political approach as
with care. ideology general as
possible.

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2. TELL A STORY
E v e r y o n e l o v e s a g o o d s t o r y. Te l l i n g a s t o r y i s a g r e a t t a l k t o o l .

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Humans are natural
STORYTELLERS
INHERENT

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A story is a powerful
tool.
By telling a story, you can take your audience with

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you on the journey of your idea

TELL A STORY

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The Best Stories
ARE TRUE
Make sure it is a story with a core idea, not just a personal anecdote with no
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wider application.

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Satisfying conclusion

Resolution
#Character, #Tension, #Detail, #Resolution

Telling

Just enough detail

a good
story

Vivid, not tedious

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Curiostity, danger
A good story has four major

Tension
components. A central character
that the audience can empathize
with. Some tension, either intrigue
or actual danger.

Just enough detail to keep it vivid,

Someone to empathize with

but not so much that it gets boring.

Character
And, a conclusion, a satisfying
resolution that ties it all together.

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 Explain something

01
Complex

02 Explain something

Challenging

Explain something
03

Completely new
AN IDEA
3. EXPLAIN

Explain something
04

Specialized

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Spark curiosity
Stories
Another tool to use in building your talk is to

Use stories
focus on explaining something—a new idea, a

Reveal insights
complex theory, an invention or piece of
machinery. Even very technical explanations can
and
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Stories
be made interesting for your audience if you
keep some key points in mind.
metaphors

Build understading
Stories

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 Explain Explain Explain

Using metaphors Using examples In small steps

time
your
Take

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Bear these five points in mind
Even highly complex and technical ideas can be explained effectively in an 18-
minute talk, if you bear in mind these five points

b
1 b
2 3 b
4 b
5

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Start with the audience Spark their curiosity Step-by-step Use metaphors Use stories
Don’t assume any prior They’ll follow your explanation Introduce your ideas one at a Metaphors can make it clear Little illustrative stories can lock
knowledge better time what you’re talking about your explanation into place

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Use family and friends to practice your explanation
Practice on non-specialists, people outside your field who are not knowledgeable
about the idea you are trying to explain

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Does it make sense? Do the points connect? Are there any gaps?
Can your audience understand The explanation should flow Are there places where the
your points? easily from one point to the next audience got lost?

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b Remember the throughline
Make it work for you

As you go through your explanation talk, make sure that each point and idea connects to
your throughline in a way that is clear to your audience.

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F L k 1 2

Read more >>

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Spark curiosity about your explanation
One tactic is to start by telling your audience what the idea ISN’T before launching
into your explanation of what the idea IS

L L L

2 2 2

1 1 1

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Tell us more

Journey
Curiosity

Curiosity Tell us more! Come on the journey

As with the connection tool, sparking Once you arouse their curiosity, your Curiosity is a powerful motivator to
curiosity in your explanation is a great way audience will be eager to know more about encourage your audience to follow along on
to connect with your audience your idea. Their minds will be open to your explanatory journey
hearing it.

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One step at a time
Persuading an audience requires a series of

4. Persuade your
careful steps to prime them for your main
argument

audience.
CSS

HTML

Where explanation is building a new idea in

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someone’s head, PERSUASION means tearing down

Replace a worldview an existing idea and replacing it with something

new.
With persuasion, you have to gradually
convince the audience that their existing
worldview is somehow mistaken, then give
them a better one
CSS

HTML

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Reason Humor
This is a powerful way to persuade someone Use humor to get your audience to feel
to your point of view, but it may not be more comfortable about changing their
enough worldview

CSS CSS

HTML HTML

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Anecdotes Third party validation
Phrases like “As every parent of a toddler
Use anecdotes and little stories to help get knows...” will help to build the connection
your point across with your audience and persuade them to
your worldview
CSS CSS

HTML HTML

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Try the tactic of
Reduction to absurdity reductio ad
This can be an effective way to tear down
the audience’s preconceived ideas and allow
absurdum.
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you to build up new ones

CSS

Take the counter position to what you are arguing

HTML
and show how it leads to an absurd conclusion.
Now, your audience is ready to hear YOUR
persuasive argument.

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