The Advice I Give To All TEDx Speakers

When people asked me as a child, what do you want to be when you grow up? I typically said I wanted to be a marine biologist. I had dreams of a life filled with dolphins, whales, waves, and sunshine.

I never once said I wanted to coach public speakers. I did not dream of a life filled with presentation outlines and slide design tutorials.

However as an adult, coaching speakers is my passion and something that I do for a good time. As a TEDxNashville board member I have the honor of being one of the few coaches for TEDxNashville speakers.

While I might not be living like a mermaid as I once imagined I would be, I get to collaborate with some of the world’s brightest minds on talks that have the potential to change the world, or at least change a few lives for the better.

The coaching process varies from speaker to speaker. Some speakers are able to quickly and effectively prepare for their TEDxNashville talk with very little help from a coach. Other speakers however need more assistance as they develop their content and slides.

Regardless of skill level, every speaker I coach receives the following two pieces of advice from me. Even if you are not giving your talk on a TED stage, these two pieces of advice will still help you create a powerful presentation.

1. Describe your presentation in one sentence.

I require all TEDxNashville speakers to submit a one sentence summary for their talks. I made this short summary a mandatory step for TEDxNashville speakers because TED talks are only 18 minutes or less in length and therefore they need to be extremely focused.

The short format of TED talks leaves no room for tangential comments. If TED speakers want to include a story, stat, or side note in their presentation, the content must reinforce their main point or else their entire talk could fall apart. Every minute counts in TED talks.

No matter where you are delivering your presentation, you need to make every minute of your presentation count. Thus, even if the time allotted for your presentation exceeds 18 minutes, this one sentence summary exercise should still be a part of your presentation process.

ted talks how to

Out of respect for your audience you should force yourself to focus the topic of your talk into a one sentence summary. Most audience members don’t have extra time to listen to unrelated comments during your presentation, and even if your audience does have unlimited time to listen to all of your various thoughts, irrelevant additions to your presentation content will dilute your message and potentially leave your audience wondering about the main takeaway of your presentation.

Think of your one sentence summary as your elevator pitch for your presentation. If you were riding an elevator to go up only one floor, how would you explain your presentation to someone during that quick ride? That brief explanation is your one sentence statement, and the heart of your presentation.

As you move through the development of your presentation, keep your one sentence in front of you, and reference it regularly. The one sentence description is your compass, keeping you from getting lost in the land of possibilities for your presentation. Your to-the-point summary will help you stay on track to deliver a powerful message, with an easy to remember main point.

To inspire you to develop presentations that are simply focused on one clear idea, check out our Slideshare presentation, The Art of Simplicity.

2. Tell a tale.

I encourage all TEDx speakers to weave at least one story into their talk. The most successful presentations are about 65% stories and 25% figures, with the remainder an explanation of your credibility, Drake Baer reports in his article 9 Proven Ways To Get People To Take You Seriously.

ted talks story

Storytelling is an important part of all presentations because many credible sources claim stories are easier to recall than facts. Studies also prove that stories activate parts of the brain that will otherwise sleep through your presentation if you only share stats and other facts that lack sensory descriptions.

In addition, if your story is effectively crafted to trigger an emotional response, you are in a better position to inspire audience members to take actions after they leave your presentation.

According to PsychologyToday, fMRI neuro-imagery shows that when evaluating brands, consumers primarily use emotions (personal feelings and experiences) rather than information (brand attributes, features, and facts).

TED talks are not intended to build a connection between brands and consumers, however igniting the emotions of the audience is still important for TED speakers, as well as all other speakers.

Thus, even if you are not representing a brand during your presentation and your audience is not comprised of consumers, you should still tap into the emotions of your audience.

If you don’t spark an emotional response from your audience, you will have an uphill battle when you try to inspire them to take the steps required to complete your call-to-action. (No matter what type of presentation you are delivering, your presentation material should conclude with some type of call-to-action.)

For example, your presentation might be part of an educational campaign to encourage people to change their habits. If so, your call-to-action might be a motivational call to live a healthier life. If that’s the case, you can harness the power of an emotional tale to help people take the next step towards changing their lives.

The bottom line: For all of your presentations, find at least one relevant story that you can weave into your content.

To help you to develop compelling stories, check out our Slideshare presentation, 3 Storytelling Tips – From Acclaimed Writer Burt Helm.

To get the full scoop on these storytelling tips, check out the blog post, 3 Storytelling Tips – From Acclaimed Writer Burt Helm

Conclusion

Whether you are giving a talk on a TED stage or presenting to your staff at a routine meeting, you should include these two steps in your presentation preparation process. By writing a one sentence summary of your presentation, you are more likely to deliver a clear, focused presentation with a hard-hitting message that your audience will remember. Including a story in your presentation will make your material more memorable and also help you motivate your audience to take action inspired by the knowledge they gained from you.

Additional Resources:

The TED staff answers: What Makes A Great TED Talk?

The Importance of Emotions In Presentations

3 Storytelling Tips from Acclaimed Writer Burt Helm

The Science of Storytelling For Presentations (Infographic)

For more presentation tips, Follow Ethos3 on Twitter: @Ethos3





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