Monthly Archives: February 2022

TED’s secret to great public speaking | Chris Anderson

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Some people think that there’s a TED Talk formula: “Give a talk on a round, red rug.” “Share a childhood story.” “Divulge a personal secret.” “End with an inspiring call to action.” No. That’s not how to think of a TED Talk.

In fact, if you overuse those devices, you’re just going to come across as clichéd or emotionally manipulative. But there is one thing that all great TED Talks have in common, and I would like to share that thing with you, because over the past 12 years, I’ve had a ringside seat, listening to many hundreds of amazing TED speakers, like these.

I’ve helped them prepare their talks for prime time, and learned directly from them their secrets of what makes for a great talk. And even though these speakers and their topics all seem completely different, they actually do have one key common ingredient.

And it’s this: Your number one task as a speaker is to transfer into your listeners’ minds an extraordinary gift — a strange and beautiful object that we call an idea. Let me show you what I mean. Here’s Haley.

She is about to give a TED Talk and frankly, she’s terrified. (Video) Presenter: Haley Van Dyck! (Applause) Over the course of 18 minutes, 1,200 people, many of whom have never seen each other before, are finding that their brains are starting to sync with Haley’s brain and with each other.

They’re literally beginning to exhibit the same brain-wave patterns. And I don’t just mean they’re feeling the same emotions. There’s something even more startling happening. Let’s take a look inside Haley’s brain for a moment.

There are billions of interconnected neurons in an impossible tangle. But look here, right here — a few million of them are linked to each other in a way that represents a single idea. And incredibly, this exact pattern is being recreated in real-time inside the minds of everyone listening.

That’s right; in just a few minutes, a pattern involving millions of neurons is being teleported into 1,200 minds, just by people listening to a voice and watching a face. But wait — what is an idea anyway? Well, you can think of it as a pattern of information that helps you understand and navigate the world.

Ideas come in all shapes and sizes, from the complex and analytical to the simple and aesthetic. Here are just a few examples shared from the TED stage. Sir Ken Robinson — creativity is key to our kids’ future.

(Video) Sir Ken Robinson: My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status. Chris Anderson: Elora Hardy — building from bamboo is beautiful.

(Video) Elora Hardy: It is growing all around us, it’s strong, it’s elegant, it’s earthquake-resistant. CA: Chimamanda Adichie — people are more than a single identity. (Video) Chimamanda Adichie: The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.

CA: Your mind is teeming with ideas, and not just randomly. They’re carefully linked together. Collectively they form an amazingly complex structure that is your personal worldview. It’s your brain’s operating system.

It’s how you navigate the world. And it is built up out of millions of individual ideas. So, for example, if one little component of your worldview is the idea that kittens are adorable, then when you see this, you’ll react like this.

But if another component of your worldview is the idea that leopards are dangerous, then when you see this, you’ll react a little bit differently. So, it’s pretty obvious why the ideas that make up your worldview are crucial.

You need them to be as reliable as possible — a guide, to the scary but wonderful real world out there. Now, different people’s worldviews can be dramatically different. For example, how does your worldview react when you see this image: (Video) Dalia Mogahed: What do you think when you look at me? “A woman of faith,” “an expert,” maybe even “a sister”? Or “oppressed,” “brainwashed,” “a terrorist”? CA: Whatever your answer, there are millions of people out there who would react very differently.

So that’s why ideas really matter. If communicated properly, they’re capable of changing, forever, how someone thinks about the world, and shaping their actions both now and well into the future. Ideas are the most powerful force shaping human culture.

So if you accept that your number one task as a speaker is to build an idea inside the minds of your audience, here are four guidelines for how you should go about that task: One, limit your talk to just one major idea.

Ideas are complex things; you need to slash back your content so that you can focus on the single idea you’re most passionate about, and give yourself a chance to explain that one thing properly. You have to give context, share examples, make it vivid.

So pick one idea, and make it the through-line running through your entire talk, so that everything you say links back to it in some way. Two, give your listeners a reason to care. Before you can start building things inside the minds of your audience, you have to get their permission to welcome you in.

And the main tool to achieve that? Curiosity. Stir your audience’s curiosity. Use intriguing, provocative questions to identify why something doesn’t make sense and needs explaining. If you can reveal a disconnection in someone’s worldview, they’ll feel the need to bridge that knowledge gap.

And once you’ve sparked that desire, it will be so much easier to start building your idea. Three, build your idea, piece by piece, out of concepts that your audience already understands. You use the power of language to weave together concepts that already exist in your listeners’ minds — but not your language, their language.

You start where they are. The speakers often forget that many of the terms and concepts they live with are completely unfamiliar to their audiences. Now, metaphors can play a crucial role in showing how the pieces fit together, because they reveal the desired shape of the pattern, based on an idea that the listener already understands.

For example, when Jennifer Kahn wanted to explain the incredible new biotechnology called CRISPR, she said, “It’s as if, for the first time, you had a word processor to edit DNA. CRISPR allows you to cut and paste genetic information really easily.

” Now, a vivid explanation like that delivers a satisfying aha moment as it snaps into place in our minds. It’s important, therefore, to test your talk on trusted friends, and find out which parts they get confused by.

Four, here’s the final tip: Make your idea worth sharing. By that I mean, ask yourself the question: “Who does this idea benefit?” And I need you to be honest with the answer. If the idea only serves you or your organization, then, I’m sorry to say, it’s probably not worth sharing.

The audience will see right through you. But if you believe that the idea has the potential to brighten up someone else’s day or change someone else’s perspective for the better or inspire someone to do something differently, then you have the core ingredient to a truly great talk, one that can be a gift to them and to all of us.

Source : Youtube

How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking: 3 Tips

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Hi, I’m Daniel Kingsley. I was a professional speaker as a barrister for 17 years, and since 2012 I’ve been teaching public speaking through my company Presence Training In that time we’ve helped hundreds of people to overcome their fear of public speaking.

So, here are my top 3 tips to overcome the fear of public speaking: The first tip is instead of treating the audience as a mass, you actually speak to them one to one. So you’re actually with one member of the audience for anywhere between 3 and 5 seconds.

And you’re seeing them and allowing them to see you. Then you’re with another member of the audience, again for 3 to 5 seconds. So you’re actually turning this into a series of one-to-one relationships with the audience.

So I’m speaking to this person over here…and now I’m back speaking to you. And you don’t need to speak to every single member of the audience, provided every section of the audience is included, but you’re always speaking to people with this sense of speaking one to one.

And this is a deceptively simple technique, but an incredibly powerful technique. It was pioneered by Lee Glickstein, who invented the Speaking Circles (R) method, he was one of my teachers, and he has been using this for 30 or 40 years to help people to overcome their fear of public speaking.

It’s a small thing that makes an absolutely huge difference. So the eye contact is gentle eye contact. We’re not staring, we’re not quite even looking, it’s a bit more relaxed than that. It’s gentle eye contact.

You’re seeing the person as a human being, but with very relaxed, gentle eye contact. One way of doing that is by using your peripheral vision to soften your eye contact. So the person appears nice and sharp, but around them, you can see the periphery.

And that’s a nice way to ensure that your eye contact isn’t too intense for you and it’s not too intense for them. And so you’re with each person for anywhere between 3 and 5 seconds. So, I’m with somebody over here now, for a few seconds…and now I’m back to this person in the audience over here.

My second tip is to ride the wave of adrenaline that starts any public speaking event with the phrase “and it’s OK”, which is something you’re telling yourself on the inside, you’re coaching yourself on the inside “…and it’s OK”.

The reason this is important is that we all get adrenaline at the start of standing in front of an audience. From the most experienced speaker to the least experienced speaker, we all get that wave of adrenaline, we all get that nervousness.

The question is, does the nervousness get in the way of giving a good speech, does it send us off into a spiral of panic, or are we able to ride those nerves – ride that adrenaline. And if you can ride out those first 2 minutes, everything else tends to flow from there.

So, you’re going to get that spike of adrenaline, you’re going to get those symptoms, which will be different for everyone, for me it tends to be a bit of a dry mouth, or a fast heart rate – other people might have a shaky voice or they might feel like they’re going red.

By the way, the audience almost certainly can’t see these things, they feel much worse to you than they would to an audience. And provided you’re OK with what you’re feeling, the audience will be OK with what you’re feeling.

That’s the trick. So the way to be OK with it is actually to coach yourself on the inside – “…and it’s OK”. So, I might say, to myself on the inside: “My heart’s beating quickly, and it’s OK.

My mouth’s a little bit dry, and it’s OK”. I’m not saying I like it. But the contrast to that is somebody saying: “My heart’s beating quickly – Oh my god! My heart’s beating quickly! What am I going to do? Maybe I’ll forget my words!…OK, that’s made me feel more nervous, my heart’s beating even more quickly now”.

And you can see how that spirals into a vicious spiral of panic. So whatever’s happening, inside your body, especially if it’s stuff you don’t like, which it probably will be in the first 2 minutes, to do with that wave of adrenaline, you’re just coaching yourself on the inside, “…and it’s OK”.

This is a small thing, but it’s a small thing that when you learn how to do it for yourself, changes absolutely everything. My third tip is even simpler, but nonetheless just as powerful. And it’s to feel your feet.

Whilst you’re speaking to the audience, whilst you’re looking people in the eye, whilst you’re saying “and it’s OK” with whatever’s going on in your body, feel your feet. A lot of us get trapped in our heads, when we’re public speaking starting to worry about what an audience is thinking about us.

And a very good antidote to that is to bring ourselves out of our heads, and back more into a felt sense of our bodies. And the first and quickest way of doing that is simply by feeling your feet on the ground.

Just feeling the sensation of your feet on the ground, and you may be doing this every 3 or 4 seconds while you’re speaking. You don’t need to stop speaking in order to feel your feet. You can also be feeling anything else that’s going on inside your body.

And again the more things you can feel inside your body, if you can feel things other than just your feet, the more in your body you’re going to feel. And if you can actually feel comfortable with what’s going on in your body, even if that stuff is uncomfortable, if you can allow yourself to be OK with it, you’re going to feel comfortable in your own skin.

If you feel comfortable in your own skin, you’re going to feel confident. And if you feel confident, the audience will experience you as confident. So those are my top 3 tips to overcome fear of public speaking.

Number 1 – we’re breaking down the audience, speaking to them one by one, as individuals, seeing and allowing ourselves to be seen, with relaxed eye contact. We’re not worrying about what’s coming back from them, we’re just seeing and allowing ourselves to be seen, one person at a time.

Second tip – we’re feeling whatever’s going on, especially in those first 2 minutes, and if it’s uncomfortable, we’re telling ourselves “and it’s OK”. My third tip – feeling your feet on the floor as you’re speaking, and anything else you can feel inside your body, brings you out of your head and into a sense of potentially feeling comfortable in your own skin in front of an audience.

These three tips are 3 of the very most powerful tips that I use with my participants, and I’ve seen them make a massive, massive difference, time and time and time again. And if you practice just these 3 methods, they are going to make a massive, massive difference to your fear of public speaking.

Of course, there are many many more techniques. If you’re interested in more techniques there’s a free guide on our website you can download, there are more techniques for overcoming fear of public speaking and connecting with your audience, there are more techniques in the blog that is published on our website, and there are more videos on our YouTube channel, where you can subscribe and find out even more about authentic public speaking and how to connect as a real person with your audience.

And of course, if you’d like to come to one of our workshops, you’re extremely welcome too. So I’ll see you next time for more videos on authentic public speaking.

Source : Youtube

4 Tips To IMPROVE Your Public Speaking – How to CAPTIVATE an Audience

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So do what you can, where you are with what you have and never be satisfied. Anticipation is the ultimate advantage in business and in life. Like, you’re not 100% sure what could happen if you keep going.

You can do it tomorrow is going to be better. What do you tell people when they ask you you know, how can I present like you? How can I get better? The thing that really really helps is that I’ve learned about the perspective to change my perspective, so for example I show up to give and I always remind people that the most important thing about being an effective presenter, an effective speaker is you have to show up with a giving attitude, you have to show up to give, you know something, you’ve seen something, you’ve done something, you’ve tried something that someone else thinks others need to hear that’s why they invited you to speak.

The problem is the number of people who show up to take, to get and you can see it, it’s very plain to see people ask a question and they say, “You’ll have to buy my book” or you could just tell me the answer because you know the answer because you wrote the book, right! But clearly, they’re trying to drive book sales, it’s a taking mentality.

Every single slide of their PowerPoint has their Instagram, their email, their website, their Facebook. Well, clearly they want you to follow them, they want you to reach out the last slide is their website and their email.

Right? They have a taking mentality. They come up and the first thing they do is tell you their credentials “Hi, my name is, you know, Dr. Bla-de-bla I have six PhDs, I’ve worked for 55 companies, I advise CEOs and generals” and let me tell you a little something it’s about them.

It’s very easy and very quick to discern who’s the giver and who’s the taker. The best speakers 100% of them you look at all the top TED folks you know, Sir Ken Robinson, Amy Cuddy, Brene Brown. Right! Dan Pink, all of them.

All of them are there to give. None of them want anything from anybody, not even your approval. No nobody… I don’t know any great speaker that stands in the backstage that goes “I’m going to get a standing ovation” you may get one if you earn it.

if they decide that what you’ve given them is of value that’s not the reason you show up, you show up to give. How many of you guys experience fear when you speak? How many of you by a show of hands know that public speaking is fundamental to your industry, your career? By show of hands how? How many of you by show of hands honestly speaking experience a little bit of fear when we talk about public speaking? Raise your hand and over the last three years, I’ve had the opportunity to travel the country and deliver presentations like this and what I’ve picked up on is that there are certain patterns, there are certain patterns and certain skill sets that if applied can make a public speech amazing.

If you follow these principles that we’re going to talk about today I think I don’t care what industry you’re part of, I don’t care what work you’re in, I don’t care what year you are, I don’t care how old you are I believe if you apply these principles today you can literally transform where you are and take the journey to where you want to be.

Straightforward, I believe there’s three principles. Three A’s of public speaking. Three things that I wanted to leave you with today and I believe if you take action on it you’re going to be like, “Oh my god, I’m glad I came.

” So number 1, authenticity engages. November 2017, I was afforded the opportunity to give my first TEDx talk and man, can I tell you I was excited. You got to imagine, a young professional starting out ready 26 years old and I want to make this very clear so I’m thinking to myself and what I used to do is when I prepare I would give a talk at least 100 times before I give it.

Write that down. I give it mentally, I give it out, I talk to people conversationally, in the shower, I’m like, “Okay, this is okay. I’m going to do this, right?” And I think to myself PowerPoint or no PowerPoint that’s all I’m thinking.

I’m like, “Okay, if I give this presentation should I, should I use the PowerPoint behind me or should I just use me instead of using the PowerPoint. So I’m- I’m researching and I’m watching I’ve watched more TED Talks than you could possibly imagine and I’m like, “Okay, they do this, they do that.

” Okay, I’ve seen good ones with the PowerPoint, I’ve seen good ones without and what I notice is, I said, “You know what, I’m going to ask my closest friends and family I’m going to take a poll. 12 people that I love, that know me well.

I said, “Sister, should I use a PowerPoint?” she goes, “Yeah, something to back you up, use a PowerPoint.” I go “Mom, should I use a PowerPoint?” She says, “No PowerPoint, use you.” I say “Bro, should I use a PowerPoint?” He goes, “Yeah, you need the stats to back up what you’ve done.

” I said cool. I go through the entire list six – six I put the list down and I go, what was I thinking with an even number. I’m getting ready for the biggest speech of my professional life. Right? And professionals, people that I love are telling me no PowerPoint – PowerPoint and it’s six – six and I’m like how am I going to break this tie? And I’m like wait I didn’t ask one person I didn’t ask myself I did not ask myself what I would be most comfortable with to present.

When we talk about public speaking and why I say authenticity engages listen to me here you have to know yourself before you go and seek advice. You have to speak from the gut before you go and ask because when you’re talking to an audience, an audience can feel realness and you have to be yourself.

If you can’t be yourself you will never engage in the way in which you want to that I have to listen to me first in order to really deliver a message that informs and inspires. Number 2, awareness Awareness connects the speaker to the audience and this is what I mean.

And so one of the speaking events comes- comes about and… I get the opportunity to- to speak in- in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. And before the event you know, you want to be early, you want to be ready, know your audience, know your crowd I hear like all this partying type thing going on and I’m like, what’s going on? And I go down and they have.

.. they have an open bar and they had the open bar for hours they were lit guys, they were lit. Right? And so listen, I go to the event I’m in my mind, I’m thinking it’s going to be a professional motivational this is what you need to do and I walk into a party and so as a speaker I’m thinking, “Oh my goodness” like I was prepared to do one thing, I flew all the way here and there’s literally a party in the audience like.

.. the wave, the energy is like, Hey, I hope this guy’s cool I hope he’s going to, you know, have a joke and I’m like… that’s not the content that I deliver so I get up they call me up and I walk up just like this and they’re as quiet as you guys are.

They’re literally staring at me like, what’s this guy about? Right? And at that moment, I decided right before I got up I said you know what, I’m going to tell a story and I said before I begin I just want let you guys know I’m.

.. I’m coming from Sacramento and I hopped on the plane and I met an individual and we were chatting it up and he thought I was going to give a presentation in Colorado and I told him, “No, I’m actually giving a presentation in Sioux Falls” and the look on his face was blank and he said, “Excuse me, where?” and I said, “Sioux Falls” then he said these three words and I’ll never forget it.

He said, “Are you sure?” and I said that and there was a man sitting right where you’re sitting. And he literally laughed like he was at a Kevin Hart special. He lost it. I’m talking chair went back. He’s laughing so hard, it’s about a crowd of 200 that everybody.

.. you guys ever caught this, when somebody laughs so hard that you have to laugh the whole crowd literally just starts busting laughing. And I start laughing from the stage I’m like, man if this is how it’s going to be let’s have a good time.

And at that moment I realized something because the old me would have been so stuck on the preparation part that I would have never had the audacity, I would have never had the awareness situational awareness is what I mean.

When you speak or present sometimes things will not go as planned and there’s no way to plan for it. And what you have to do is be fluid and malleable and ready to rock with the situation. And if you have situational awareness what often can happen is you can play on what is happening I said huh, open bar, alcohol, social event, I’m coming with motivation if I switch it just like this and tell a joke and let them know I’m not all serious up here the audience will be on my side.

Number 3, audacity Audacity informs and inspires. You have to be bold in order to give a speech that’s going to last. How many you guys experience fear when you speak? Fear of an opinion of other, fear of being criticized, fear of not being good enough, fear of tripping up on a word, fear of what you look like.

We know that fear drives most of us and I’m here to tell you that audacity is what you need, boldness is what you need. If you want to deliver something and absolutely be transformative I’m passionate about this, I believe this because I live this.

I’m telling you, you have to be bold. You can’t half-step into your presentation you have to be bold you cannot half-step into your presentation and one of the ways in which we do that is we deliver a story.

Story includes power. Stories are powerful, they’re the most powerful thing that you can do when you open your mouth because the brain operates in pictures and a story has the ability to paint the picture in the mind of another individual.

They did a study about TED Talks, in the top TED Talks I’m talking the million, the million hits. The top TED Talks, 85% of them were story centric. Stories can be crossed over to any industry at any time whether you’re telling your personal story, whether it’s Martin Luther King delivering a speech, whether it’s a president of a country.

A story is the thing that allows- has time sit and let’s you go like this Huh. A story is powerful right? Never tell a story without making a point but never make a point without telling a story. Like use the story to drive home what you’re trying to do.

It crosses every industry, every… anything that you want to do a story will get you there.

Source : Youtube