How to Deliver a Great TED Talk: Presentation Secrets of the World's Best Speakers (How to Give a TED Talk) by Akash Karia Page A
Authors: Akash Karia
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providing specific details. Take a look at the following two descriptions.
1) A while back, I met a man who told me that he was heading to Iraq soon.
2) You know, a while back, I met a young man named Seamus in a VFW hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid, 6’2”, 6’3”, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he’d joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the following week.
The second line is from Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech. Obama realizes that vivid details are more memorable than vague statements. Just like the “Stars Wars” toothbrush and the spilling and staining red of the nurse’s uniform, Obama’s description creates a specific picture in your mind and engages you visually. It involves your imagination in creating the picture of a man who is 6’2” with an easy smile, and as a result, it’s memorable. It also seems more credible than the first statement simply because it contains a lot more details.
The principle at play here is that specific details are more memorable and credible than vague statements. For example, instead of saying, “He was well-dressed,” say, “He was dressed in a black, crisp Brooks Brothers suit.” Not only will your message be more visually appealing, it will also be more memorable and be perceived as being more credible.
IN A NUTSHELL
Build internal credibility into your speech by providing specific and vivid details about characters and events.
PART 5
EMOTIONAL
In this section, you will learn how to make your messages emotional by learning how to:
Build the we-connection
Address the elephant in the room
Unite people towards a common enemy
Highlight the pain before offering a solution
Use compelling visuals to arouse audience’s emotions
Arouse curiosity - tease before you tell
Use humor to engage the audience’s emotions
Use rhetorical questions to get the audience to reflect on their own lives
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Building an Emotional Connection with Your Audience
Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech was one of the greatest speeches ever delivered.
Whether or not you agree with the message, you can pick up a few tips on public speaking, speechwriting and persuasion from it.
In this chapter, we will analyze Malcolm X’s speech to see what lessons we can learn from it about building an emotional connection with our audience:
ADDRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
The first step in building an emotional connection with your audience is to address any problematic issues up front. By addressing the elephant in the room at the beginning of your speech, you ensure that there are no barriers preventing you from connecting with your audience.
For example, in his “Ballot or Bullet” speech, Malcolm X immediately addresses the main issue concerning his religion. He knows that people are going to have questions about his faith, so he addresses those questions straight away by saying:
“Before we try and explain what is meant by the ballot or the bullet, I would like to clarify something concerning myself. I’m still a Muslim; my religion is still Islam. That’s my personal belief…Although I’m still a Muslim, I’m not here tonight to discuss my religion. I’m not here to try and change your religion.”
In your speeches and presentations, if there are any problematic issues that your audience members are going to be thinking about, then address them straight away. Unless you first address the problematic issue (“the elephant in the room”), your audience members won’t pay full attention to your speech because they will be thinking, “Yeah, but what about this other issue that you haven’t addressed?”
Dispel people’s fears and doubts by dealing first with the elephant in the room.
UNITE PEOPLE TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL
After addressing the issue of faith, Malcolm X builds an emotional connection with his audience by uniting them towards a common goal. He lets them know that they are all
1) A while back, I met a man who told me that he was heading to Iraq soon.
2) You know, a while back, I met a young man named Seamus in a VFW hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid, 6’2”, 6’3”, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he’d joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the following week.
The second line is from Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech. Obama realizes that vivid details are more memorable than vague statements. Just like the “Stars Wars” toothbrush and the spilling and staining red of the nurse’s uniform, Obama’s description creates a specific picture in your mind and engages you visually. It involves your imagination in creating the picture of a man who is 6’2” with an easy smile, and as a result, it’s memorable. It also seems more credible than the first statement simply because it contains a lot more details.
The principle at play here is that specific details are more memorable and credible than vague statements. For example, instead of saying, “He was well-dressed,” say, “He was dressed in a black, crisp Brooks Brothers suit.” Not only will your message be more visually appealing, it will also be more memorable and be perceived as being more credible.
IN A NUTSHELL
Build internal credibility into your speech by providing specific and vivid details about characters and events.
PART 5
EMOTIONAL
In this section, you will learn how to make your messages emotional by learning how to:
Build the we-connection
Address the elephant in the room
Unite people towards a common enemy
Highlight the pain before offering a solution
Use compelling visuals to arouse audience’s emotions
Arouse curiosity - tease before you tell
Use humor to engage the audience’s emotions
Use rhetorical questions to get the audience to reflect on their own lives
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Building an Emotional Connection with Your Audience
Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech was one of the greatest speeches ever delivered.
Whether or not you agree with the message, you can pick up a few tips on public speaking, speechwriting and persuasion from it.
In this chapter, we will analyze Malcolm X’s speech to see what lessons we can learn from it about building an emotional connection with our audience:
ADDRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
The first step in building an emotional connection with your audience is to address any problematic issues up front. By addressing the elephant in the room at the beginning of your speech, you ensure that there are no barriers preventing you from connecting with your audience.
For example, in his “Ballot or Bullet” speech, Malcolm X immediately addresses the main issue concerning his religion. He knows that people are going to have questions about his faith, so he addresses those questions straight away by saying:
“Before we try and explain what is meant by the ballot or the bullet, I would like to clarify something concerning myself. I’m still a Muslim; my religion is still Islam. That’s my personal belief…Although I’m still a Muslim, I’m not here tonight to discuss my religion. I’m not here to try and change your religion.”
In your speeches and presentations, if there are any problematic issues that your audience members are going to be thinking about, then address them straight away. Unless you first address the problematic issue (“the elephant in the room”), your audience members won’t pay full attention to your speech because they will be thinking, “Yeah, but what about this other issue that you haven’t addressed?”
Dispel people’s fears and doubts by dealing first with the elephant in the room.
UNITE PEOPLE TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL
After addressing the issue of faith, Malcolm X builds an emotional connection with his audience by uniting them towards a common goal. He lets them know that they are all
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