Eduardo Paes says he has the best job in the world, and we believe him. If being governor of Rio de Janeiro means you get to frolic on Brazilian beaches, have VIP status during Carnival, the biggest party in the world, and get a front row ticket to the 2016 Summer Olympics, then it’s safe to say the job’s pretty awesome (you know, aside from all those pesky responsibilities…). Paes shines in his TED 2012 talk on the 4 commandments of cities, combining visual slides, a clear organization and an affable demeanor.
Paes begins his talk with a short clip of Rio being awarded the 2016 Olympic bid. He says, “You don’t have to be rich and powerful to get things done,” a statement that functions as something of a thesis for Paes, after showing the richer, more developed countries that Brazil beat to win the Games. He also shows the audience a glimpse of the beautiful Rio in animated form through a short clip from the movie of the same name. His entire talk is very visual, more so than other TED talks, which is as refreshing as it is beneficial; it’s important to get a clear idea of what Rio looks like in order to visualize Paes’s four commandments of future cities.
Paes takes an interesting approach to divulging his four main points. Rather than present the point and then speak to it, he talks about the point and then presents the official ‘commandment’ on a slide. This is a less common way of presenting, but it works. Essentially, he presents the information in a Cliff Notes sort of way: he gives us all the information first, and then boils that information down into one concise talking point. It’s effectiveness lies in the final summary of the point revealed by one clean slide with minimal text (i.e. Commandment #1: A city of the future has to be environmentally friendly). We found this approach to be spot on: leading with content of the commandments held our attention and kept us waiting for the point itself, allowing the objective slide to hammer home its significance.
Paes begins talking about his third point with a controversial statement. He says that favelas (slums) are not always a problem, that in fact, they can be a solution. The coverage of Rio’s favelas has not been positive. It’s been rather negative in fact, and with good reason, so it was interesting to hear the governor of Rio take an unexpected view on the subject. And it was encouraging to hear his reasons for that statement, reasons that were supported well by images and statistics. His third commandment is that a city of the future needs to be socially integrated, which for Rio means that favelas need to be given access to the public services that the rest of the city enjoys. He explained earnestly that while the favelas have their problems, there is hope for them as well.
Lastly, Paes discusses some of the other problems Rio faces, like heavy rains and landslides. An operational center was recently opened in Rio, and Paes speaks to the organizer there during his TED talk, showing how he can easily manage the city while abroad. The organizer at the center pulls up traffic maps, a live feed of a bus on its route, the weather, and more, showing how easy it is for Paes to be fully debriefed on all happenings in Rio while abroad. This interactive part of the talk was one of the most effective; it embodied his fourth commandment in a concrete, vibrant way. There was no question about what his fourth commandment (use technology to be present) meant. He spelled it out for the audience in real time.
Take inspiration for your next presentation from Paes’s talk. Think outside of the box when deciding how to organize your presentation, be counterintuitive and unexpected in your statements, and be as real as possible with your audience. Show, don’t tell. Also, remember that English is Paes’s second or even third language. If he can rock a presentation this well, you can too.
