Tim Leberecht: 3 Ways to (Usefully) Lose Control of Your Brand

In his TED Global talk filmed earlier this year, Tim Leberecht tells us that companies are losing control. And in just over six minutes, he gives us three useful ways brands can embrace that fact. Let’s see what we can learn about delivering an effective presentation from this short talk.

Design

Most of Leberecht’s slides are well designed, as they employ large visuals and few words. However, some of the slides fell into the trap of having too many words on them. For several of the slides, Leberecht simply reads exactly what’s on the slide. He would have done better to just put one or two words on the slide, or remove the type altogether. Simply tell your audience what you want them to know. Don’t be needlessly repetitive by placing the exact words you say aloud on the slide accompanying you.

Content

A notable strength of Leberecht’s talk is his content. He does a great job of organizing his information into three objectives, and he also excels at keeping the objectives short and sweet. The main point of his talk (“companies are losing control”) is clear from the beginning, and he reinforces that point by repeating it more than once. We marvel at any TED talk that’s close to the six-minute mark, and Leberecht doesn’t sacrifice any power or memorability by keeping his talk short. He cites a plethora of examples in support of his main points, and he does well to use recognizable, admired brands (Hulu, Microsoft, Patagonia) to connect with his audience.

Delivery

Leberecht also excels in his delivery. He’s a good speaker: calm, cool and collected. And he speaks at a relaxed, borderline slow, pace throughout the talk. While we appreciate his chill demeanor, we would have liked to see a little more enthusiasm from him. At one point, he asks, “But are they really?” which is a question that should be asked in an incredulous tone. Leberecht fails to add inflection to his voice, though, so the question falls flat. Make sure you add emotion and enthusiasm to your voice when appropriate. Be colloquial and conversational. You’d add an incredulous tone to a question in everyday conversation, so make sure you do it in your presentation.

 

What do you think of Leberecht’s talk? Watch the entire talk here.





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