In his book Talk like TED, Carmine Gallo describes the success formula behind the famous TED talks. With 1.5 million viewers per day, TED is one of the most visited websites worldwide, which makes it an honor to be invited to talk at TED.
What is it that makes TED talks so interesting? What makes some video´s so great, that they are watched over 18 million times? Gallo dived into this topic and describes 9 secrets of presenting for an audience.
The first three of these secrets are tactics to connect to your audience on an EMOTIONAL LEVEL. These secrets are releasing the master within, the art of storytelling and having a conversation.
The first secret of connecting to your audience is to unchain the master within. This secret is about being enthusiastic about the topic you speak about. If you do not believe yourself, that your topic will make anyone’s life better, it is impossible to convince other people about it (quote by Melissa Cardon).
The second trick is to tell a story. Aristoteles already wrote that you need to win over people on three different levels: Ethos (credibility), Logos (logic) and Pathos (Emotion). Gallo describes that up to 65% of a TED talk is about telling a story to connect the audience to the topic, hence Pathos. The story takes the audience through the different topics of the presentation. There are three types of stories to be told: personal experiences, stories about someone else in your environment or stories of organizations that can be linked to the topic.
The third secret in emotionally connecting to your audience is to talk to your audience as if it were a regular conversation instead of simply dictating the content of your presentation. By this, Gallo means that you should use your body language and use of your voice as if you were in a regular conversation. Using hands and facial expressions is an important part of that. One should keep the movements of your hands within the so called power zone: from the top of your eyes, to the stretched arm, to the navel and back to your eyes.
In terms of voice, the speed of the talking is important, as well as volume, but mainly the way in which a story is told. An interesting note is that the stories in most presentations are told in a slower pace than a usual conversation, the most successful presentations however, are the ones in which a story is told in the same speed as a regular conversation.
The second set of three secrets of talking like TED are about DOING SOMETHING NEW, in which the audience experience something unexpected, which helps them remember what they hear better. The three secrets are saying something unexpected, creating jaw-dropping moments and cheering up your audience.
The best way to have people remember something you said is by saying something unexpected. Whenever you hear something unexpected, the brain produces dopamine, which makes the topic stick more easily. Old and well known one-liners do not help engaging with your audience. It is better to think of you own unexpected punchline, the so called twitter headline, that summarizes your message to the word short and to the point.
Next to saying something unexpected, you can create jaw-dropping moments by doing something unexpected. One famous example is from Bill Gates his TED talk in 2009, where he set a bunch of mosquito’s free in the room while saying that everybody has the right to experience malaria.
Finally, use humor to cheer up your audience. Use funny anecdotes, new metaphors, a quote, video or pictures to entertain your crowd.
The final set of three tips make your presentation MEMORABLE. These secrets are sticking to the 18 minute rule, painting a picture and sticking to your specialty.
The 18 minute rule means you should keep a presentation on a single topic within 18 minutes. Having this maximum requires you to think about the message you would like to send and how to boil down the content into this timeframe, which is extra challenging considering 65% of your presentation should be about Pathos. Gallo´s trick is to start with the twitter headline, which is explained by three topics which are in turn also split into three parts. Gallo calls this the rule of three.
Painting a picture refers to the use of slides in your presentation. When you do, try to use as little text as possible, let´s say 40 words in 10 slides combined. A second method of painting a picture is using an anaphora, a part of a sentence that comes back a few times within your 18 minute talk. Examples are Kings ´I have a dream´ and Irelands Panti Bliss her ´and I check myself´.
The final tip in delivering a memorable presentation is to stay true to yourself. Be open and honest, because your audience will automatically loose interest when they realize you are not being authentic.
Talk like TED is an easy to read book that can help anyone in improving the quality of trainings and presentations. The 9 tips Gallo describes are easy to include in every speech and only require a proper preparation. As a tenth tip, Gallo would describe practice. Practice, practice, practice. The best TED talks are the ones that are planned to the word, in which every sentence is crafted to create the most emotional, renewing and memorable version of your message.
Continue to:
High Five! - K.Blanchard & S.Bowles
REFERENCE:
Gallo, C., 2014, Talk Like TED – The 9 Speaking Secrets of the Worlds Top Minds, London: Pan Macmillan (order this book)
