The Art of Giving a

TED Ta lk  

This  two-­‐in-­‐one  TED  talk  bundle  contains  two  of  my  bestselling  books,  
“Captivate:  Public  Speaking  Secrets  from  TED  Talks”  and  “TED:ology”.  
Inside  the  book,  you  will  discover  tools  to  help  you  master  the  art  of  
public  speaking.  Whether  you  plan  on  giving  a  TED  talk  or  keynote  or  
just  a  business  presentations,  “The  Art  of  TED”  will  prove  to  be  an  
indispensable  resource!    
 
Let’s  get  started  with  the  first  book  in  the  series...
  
 

CAPTIVATE!
Public Speaking Secrets from TED Talks
© All rights reserved.

Akash  Karia    
#1  Bestselling  Author  of  “How  to  Deliver  a  Great  TED  Talk”    
 
Martha  Lanaghen  
President  of  Sparrow  Group    
 
Donna  Hook  
Public  Speaking  &  Leadership  Coach    
 
Note:  This  book  makes  use  of  small  portions  of  copyrighted  material  
from  TED  in  accordance  with  the  “fair  use”  rule  for  the  purposes  of  
criticism  and  commentary  of  the  speeches.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
   
  
 
INTRODUCTION  
 
CAPTIVATE!  
 
UNCOVER  THE  KEYS  TO  DELIVERING  A  CAPTIVATING  TED  
TALK  
Captivate!  Public  Speaking  Secrets  from  TED  Talks  is  a  short,  invaluable  
guide  that  uncovers  the  secrets  to  delivering  a  captivating  TED  talk  (or  
any  other  speech  or  presentation).    
 
Full  of  rich  insights  into  the  art  of  public  speaking,  the  book  breaks  
down  the  TED  talks  of  four  captivating  speakers  and  provides  a  
roadmap  that  you  can  use  to  deliver  a  powerfully  persuasive  
presentation.    
 
50+  PROVEN  TOOLS  FOR  CAPTIVATING  ANY  AUDIENCE  
After  reading  this  book,  you  will  be  able  to:  
 
• Give  a  captivating  TED  talk  (Case  study:  Kelly  McGonigal,  
“How  to  Make  Stress  Your  Friend”).  
 
• Craft  an  opening  that  makes  your  audience  lean  in  to  hear  more.  
 
• Harness  the  power  of  storytelling  to  move  your  audience  
emotionally.  
 
• Connect  with  your  audience  using  conversational  language.  
 
• Engage,  educate  and  entertain  your  audience  (Case  study:  Sir  
Ken  Robinson,  “How  Schools  Kill  Creativity”).  
 
• Put  statistics  into  context  for  your  audience.  
 
• Avoid  the  mistakes  most  speakers  make.  
 
  
 
• Create  rapport  by  referencing  common  experiences  and  beliefs.  
 
• Use  the  “magic  word”  to  keep  your  audience  engaged.  
 
• Invoke  emotions  in  your  audience  using  Power-­‐Words.  
 
• Mesmerize  your  audience  using  the  conflict  in  the  story  (Case  
study:  Jack  Andraka,  “A  Promising  Test  for  Pancreatic  Cancer  
from  a  Teenager”)  .  
 
• Create  knowledge  gaps  that  keep  your  audience  curious.  
 
• Add  organic  humor  to  your  talk.  
 
• Add  an  element  of  newness  to  your  talk.  
 
• Deliver  a  powerful  and  persuasive  presentation  (Case  study:  
Seth  Godin,  “How  to  Get  Your  Ideas  Spread”).  
 
• Go  beyond  sharing  information  to  sharing  emotion.  
 
• Focus  externally,  not  internally.  
 
• Conclude  using  the  “signal,  summarize  and  sell”  formula.  
 
• Inspire  your  audience  to  action.  
 
 
Let’s  get  started...  
 
Akash  Karia  
http://AkashKaria.com    
 
   
  
 

YOUR  FREE  GIFT  

As  a  way  of  saying  thank  you  for  your  purchase,  I’d  like  to  offer  you  a  
free  bonus  package  worth  $297.  This  bonus  package  contains  eBooks,  
videos  and  audiotapes  on  how  to  master  the  art  of  storytelling,  design  
sexy  presentations,  overcome  procrastination  and  triple  your  
productivity.  You  can  download  the  free  bonus  by  clicking  here.

 
Get  your  free  gifts  worth  $297  here:  
http://AkashKaria.com/FREE/  
 
P.S.  The  bonus  also  contains  access  to  a  FREE  47-­‐week  public  
speaking,  persuasion  and  peak  performance  course  designed  to  
help  you  achieve  twice  as  much  success  in  half  the  time!  
   
  
 

RAVE  REVIEWS  FOR  AKASH’S  BOOKS  

 
“pithy  and  perfect...his  tips  coupled  with  a  review  of  excellent  
presentations,  are  consumable  (usable  right  away)  and  valuable!”    
Eric  Laughton,  Certified  John  Maxwell  Trainer  
 
“...tips  for  energizing  not  only  your  speech,  but  also  your  audience”  
Angela  Avery  
 
“...perfect  book  for  those  who  want  to  dominate  the  art  of  
storytelling”    
Alci  Aguilera  
 
“Must-­‐read  for  time  starved  professionals!”      
Sean  P.  Graham    
 
"The  best  speaking  wisdom  I  have  had  in  years"    
Sandeep  Gupta    
 
"World  class  speaking  tips  that  you  can  start  using  today..."      
Michael  Davis,  Certified  World  Class  Speaking  Coach  
 
“Maybe  one  of  the  clearest  books  on  presentations  I've  ever  read”  
Javier,  Verified  Amazon  Reviewer  
 
   
  
 
CHAPTER  ONE  
 
HOW  TO  GIVE  A  CAPTIVATING  TED  
TALK  
 
• Case  study:  Kelly  McGonigal,  How  to  Make  Stress  Your  Friend  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Akash  Karia  
 
In  a  June  2013  TED  talk  titled  “How  to  Make  Stress  Your  Friend,”  
(http://bit.ly/1a1uggl)  Kelly  McGonigal  delivered  an  outstanding  talk  
that  captivated  her  audience.    
 

 
Source:  TED    
 
In  this  chapter,  we  will  strategically  break  down  different  parts  of  
Kelly’s  talk  so  that  we  can  uncover  the  tools  and  techniques  she  uses  to  
educate,  entertain  and  inspire  her  audience.    
 
Specifically,  Kelly’s  talk  contains  rich  insights  on:  
 
• Building  intrigue  and  curiosity  into  your  presentation.  
  
 
• Keeping  your  audience  engaged  (and  awake)  through  audience  
involvement.  
• Putting  statistics  into  perspective.  
• Using  a  you-­‐focus  to  keep  your  talk  audience-­‐centered.  
• Making  your  talk  relevant  to  your  audience.  
• Inspiring  your  audience  to  change.  
 
In  case  you  haven’t  yet  watched  Kelly’s  talk,  I  encourage  you  to  do  so  
here:  http://bit.ly/1a1uggl    
 
 
Craft  an  Opening  that  Makes  Your  Audience  Lean  In    
 
Kelly  begins  her  talk  with  this  brilliant  first  line:  
 
“I  have  a  confession  to  make”  
 
This  is  a  great  opening  because  it  instantly  creates  intrigue  and  builds  
curiosity.  The  words  “I  have  a  confession  to  make”  make  the  audience  
lean  in  to  hear  what  Kelly  has  to  say  because  the  audience  feels  that  
Kelly  is  telling  them  a  secret  and  they’re  curious  to  know  what  it  is.  
 
Kelly  goes  on  to  say:  
 
“I  fear  that  something  I've  been  teaching  for  the  last  10  years  is  
doing  more  harm  than  good.”  
 
Again,  notice  how  Kelly  is  ratcheting  up  her  audience’s  curiosity.  By  
confessing  that  she  has  been  wrong  about  something,  she  is  making  her  
audience  wonder  what  she  has  been  wrong  about.  All  of  this  serves  to  
grab  the  audience’s  attention  and  get  them  to  pay  attention  to  what  she  
has  to  say.  
 
It  is  much  easier  to  give  a  great  talk  once  the  audience  wants  to  know  
what  you  have  to  say.  As  a  speaker,  what  can  you  do  to  get  your  
audience  curious  enough  to  want  to  hear  what  you  have  to  say?  
 
  
 
You  don’t  necessarily  have  to  make  a  confession  in  order  to  get  your  
audience’s  attention.  One  possible  (and  easy)  way  to  build  curiosity  is  
by  opening  with  a  question.    
 
A  question  creates  a  knowledge  gap  in  your  audience  and  gets  them  
wanting  to  know  the  answer  to  your  question.  As  we’ll  see  later  in  the  
chapter,  Kelly  is  a  master  at  using  questions  to  keep  her  audience  
curious  and  interested  in  her  presentation.  
 
Examine  your  opening  and  ask  yourself  these  questions:  “Does  the  
opening  of  my  presentation  create  intrigue?  Does  it  make  my  audience  
curious  to  know  what  I  have  to  say?  Or  is  it  a  boring,  ‘Thank  you  for  
having  me’  opening  line  that  instantly  turns  off  my  audience  and  makes  
them  tune  out  of  my  presentation?”  
 
 
Prolong  Their  Curiosity  
 
Kelly  does  something  that  every  speaker  should  learn  from.  She  
prolongs  her  audience’s  curiosity.  
 
What  do  I  mean  by  that?  
 
Well,  let  me  demonstrate  by  giving  you  an  example.  Here’s  what  Kelly  
says:  
 
“For  years  I've  been  telling  people,  stress  makes  you  sick.  It  
increases  the  risk  of  everything  from  the  common  cold  to  
cardiovascular  disease.  Basically,  I've  turned  stress  into  the  
enemy.  But  I  have  changed  my  mind  about  stress,  and  today,  I  
want  to  change  yours.”  
 
After  hearing  the  above,  what  do  you  think  the  audience  is  thinking?  
They’re  probably  thinking,  “So  Kelly,  what  is  your  new  belief  about  
stress?”  They’re  curious  to  find  out  Kelly’s  new  conclusion  about  stress.  
 
However,  here’s  where  most  average  speakers  would  make  a  mistake.  
They  would  crush  the  audience’s  curiosity  by  giving  away  too  much  too  
early.  They  would  say  something  along  the  lines  of:  
  
 
 
“The  mistake  is  that  we  see  stress  as  a  bad  thing,  but  it’s  not.  It’s  
our  belief  about  it  that  determines  how  stress  affects  us.  If  we  
believe  that  stress  is  harmful,  then  it  will  be.  However,  if  we  do  
not  view  stress  as  harmful,  it  does  not  harm  us.”  
 
While  this  isn’t  terrible,  you  can  do  better  by  prolonging  the  audience’s  
curiosity,  as  Kelly  does.  Instead  of  immediately  giving  away  her  
conclusion  about  stress,  she  dives  into  some  research.    
 
“But  I  have  changed  my  mind  about  stress,  and  today,  I  want  to  
change  yours.  Let  me  start  with  the  study  that  made  me  rethink  
my  whole  approach  to  stress.  This  study  tracked  30,000  adults  in  
the  United  States  for  eight  years...”  
 
Sharing  the  research  before  sharing  the  conclusion  has  two  advantages:  
First,  it  prolongs  the  audience’s  curiosity.  It  teases  them  into  wanting  to  
know  the  answer.  This  is  a  much  better  approach  than  sharing  the  
conclusion  first  and  then  revealing  the  research.  
 
The  second  advantage  of  sharing  the  research  before  the  conclusion  is  
that  it  allows  Kelly’s  audience  to  naturally  and  logically  come  to  the  
conclusion  she  wants  them  to  arrive  at.  As  a  result,  they  are  more  likely  
to  buy  into  the  conclusion  because  they  were  guided  to  it  instead  of  it  
being  forced  upon  them.  
 
As  a  speaker,  you  should  always  look  for  ways  to  prolong  your  
audience’s  curiosity.  Once  their  curiosity  about  a  certain  thing  ends  (e.g.  
you  answer  one  of  the  questions  they  were  curious  about),  you  
immediately  introduce  a  second  aspect  (e.g.  another  question)  to  make  
sure  they  stay  curious,  and  therefore  engaged.  
 
 
Engage  Your  Audience  with  Rhetorical  Questions  
 
One  of  the  things  I  love  about  Kelly’s  speech  is  that  she  keeps  her  
audience  intrigued  by  asking  them  rhetorical  questions.  Here  are  some  
examples:  
 
  
 
• “Can  changing  how  you  think  about  stress  make  you  healthier?”  
 
• “But  what  if  you  viewed  them  instead  as  signs  that  your  body  was  
energized,  was  preparing  you  to  meet  this  challenge?”  
 
• “Okay,  so  how  is  knowing  this  side  of  stress  going  to  make  you  
healthier?”  
 
Using  rhetorical  questions  in  your  speech  creates  knowledge  gaps  in  
your  audience  and  makes  them  curious  enough  to  listen  to  what  you  
have  to  say  next.  Plus,  it  gives  your  talk  an  easy-­‐to-­‐follow  structure  as  
you  move  from  one  question  to  another.  Rhetorical  questions  are  a  
powerful  tool  for  gaining  your  audience’s  interest,  so  use  them!  
 
 
Involve  Your  Audience  in  Your  Presentation  
 
Less  than  fifteen  seconds  into  her  presentation,  Kelly  engages  her  
audience  by  involving  them  in  her  presentation.  She  says:  
 
“I  want  you  to  just  raise  your  hand  if  you've  experienced  relatively  
little  stress.  Anyone?  
 
How  about  a  moderate  amount  of  stress?  
 
Who  has  experienced  a  lot  of  stress?  Yeah.  Me  too.”  
 
By  asking  her  audience  you-­‐focused  questions,  Kelly  instantly  makes  the  
topic  of  her  talk  relevant  to  her  audience’s  life.  More  than  that,  she  gets  
them  physically  involved  in  her  presentation  by  getting  them  to  raise  
their  hands.  Getting  your  audience  to  raise  their  hands  is  a  very  simple  
but  effective  audience  involvement  technique  you  can  use.  It  makes  
your  audience  active  participants  rather  than  passive  listeners  in  your  
talk.  
 
Halfway  through  her  talk,  Kelly  again  gets  her  audience  involved  in  her  
presentation  with  a  short  activity.  She  says:  
 
  
 
“Okay.  I  want  you  all  to  count  backwards  from  996  in  increments  
of  seven.  You're  going  to  do  this  out  loud  as  fast  as  you  can,  
starting  with  996.  Go!  Audience:  (Counting)  Go  faster.  Faster  
please.  You're  going  too  slow.  Stop.  Stop,  stop,  stop.  That  guy  
made  a  mistake.  We  are  going  to  have  to  start  all  over  again.  
(Laughter)  You're  not  very  good  at  this,  are  you?  Okay,  so  you  get  
the  idea.  Now,  if  you  were  actually  in  this  study,  you'd  probably  be  
a  little  stressed  out.”  
 
Kelly  conducts  this  activity  to  let  her  audience  feel  what  it  would  be  like  
to  be  part  of  the  research  study  she  is  talking  about.  Instead  of  simply  
telling  the  audience  about  the  research,  she  gets  them  to  reenact  a  small  
part  of  it.  Not  only  is  this  more  powerful  than  hearing  about  the  activity,  
it  also  makes  Kelly’s  talk  fun!  The  audience  is  engaged  in  the  
presentation  and  enjoying  the  activity!  
 
Audiences  hate  sitting  passively  and  listening  to  a  speaker  drone  on  and  
on.  Using  short,  relevant  activities  breaks  up  your  talk  and  allows  your  
audience  to  experience  different  mediums  of  learning.  It  keeps  your  
audience’s  attention  levels  high  because  the  human  brain  was  not  
designed  to  passively  listen  –  it  was  designed  to  do  things.  
 
What  short,  relevant  activities  can  you  use  to  keep  entertain,  educate  
and  engage  your  audience?  
 
 
 
Add  an  Element  of  Newness  
 
One  of  the  reasons  many  speakers  struggle  with  keeping  their  
audience’s  attention  is  because  the  audience  already  knows  what  the  
speaker  is  going  to  say.    
 
Many  speakers  are  simply  giving  the  same  advice  in  the  same  manner  
that  audiences  have  already  heard  hundreds  of  times  before.  As  a  result,  
audiences  stop  paying  attention.  After  all,  if  your  audience  already  
knows  what  you  are  going  to  say,  why  should  they  bother  listening  to  
you?  
 
  
 
Kelly,  however,  adds  an  element  of  “newness”  to  her  speech.  How?  
 
First,  she  shares  an  idea  that  goes  against  conventional  wisdom.  
Most  people  are  used  to  thinking  about  stress  as  being  a  bad  thing.  
Conventional  wisdom  says  that  stress  is  bad  for  your  health.  However,  
Kelly  flips  this  and  implies  that  stress  isn’t  bad:  
 
“But  I  fear  that  something  I've  been  teaching  for  the  last  10  years  
is  doing  more  harm  than  good,  and  it  has  to  do  with  stress.  For  
years  I've  been  telling  people,  stress  makes  you  sick.  It  increases  
the  risk  of  everything  from  the  common  cold  to  cardiovascular  
disease.  Basically,  I've  turned  stress  into  the  enemy.  But  I  have  
changed  my  mind  about  stress,  and  today,  I  want  to  change  
yours.”  
 
This  builds  more  curiosity  and  intrigue.  It  also  promises  the  audience  
that  they  are  going  to  learn  something  new  as  opposed  to  hearing  the  
same  old  “stress  is  bad”  argument  
 
Kelly  not  only  flips  conventional  wisdom  on  its  head,  she  also  uses  one  
of  the  coolest  presentation  structures  I  know.  I,  for  obvious  reasons,  call  
it  “The  Flip.”  This  is  a  structure  where  you  lead  your  audience  to  believe  
that  you’re  going  down  one  road,  and  then  you  flip  the  argument  around  
and  argue  the  opposite.  It’s  a  very  effective  structure  to  keep  the  
audience  on  its  toes.  As  an  example,  consider  Kelly’s  opening:  
 
“I  want  you  to  just  raise  your  hand  if  you've  experienced  relatively  
little  stress.  Anyone?  
 
How  about  a  moderate  amount  of  stress?  
 
Who  has  experienced  a  lot  of  stress?  Yeah.  Me  too.”  
 
What  does  the  opening  lead  the  audience  to  believe?  It  leads  the  
audience  to  believe  that  Kelly  is  going  to  be  talking  about  the  dangers  of  
high  stress.  However,  Kelly  then  flips  this  by  saying:  
 
“Basically,  I've  turned  stress  into  the  enemy.  But  I  have  changed  
my  mind  about  stress...”  
  
 
 
The  flip  is  a  surprise  for  the  audience  –  it  makes  them  more  attentive  –  
and  gets  them  thinking,  “Wow,  this  is  going  to  be  interesting!”  That’s  
exactly  the  kind  of  reaction  you  want  from  your  audience.  
 
The  second  way  Kelly  adds  an  element  of  “newness”  to  her  talk  is  
by  sharing  research  that  her  audience  probably  isn’t  familiar  with.    
 
“Let  me  start  with  the  study  that  made  me  rethink  my  whole  
approach  to  stress.  This  study  tracked  30,000  adults  in  the  United  
States  for  eight  years,  and  they  started  by  asking  people,  "How  
much  stress  have  you  experienced  in  the  last  year?"  They  also  
asked,  "Do  you  believe  that  stress  is  harmful  for  your  health?"  And  
then  they  used  public  death  records  to  find  out  who  died.  
(Laughter)  
 
Okay.  Some  bad  news  first.  People  who  experienced  a  lot  of  stress  
in  the  previous  year  had  a  43  percent  increased  risk  of  dying.  But  
that  was  only  true  for  the  people  who  also  believed  that  stress  is  
harmful  for  your  health.  (Laughter)  People  who  experienced  a  lot  
of  stress  but  did  not  view  stress  as  harmful  were  no  more  likely  to  
die.”  
 
Using  research  is  a  great  way  of  backing  up  and  providing  logical  
support  for  your  main  points.  Not  only  that,  it  can  also  be  a  great  way  of  
adding  an  element  of  “newness”  to  your  speech,  as  long  as  the  research  
is  not  well  known  to  your  audience.    
 
Malcolm  Gladwell,  one  of  my  favorite  speakers  and  the  bestselling  
author  of  Blink,  is  a  master  at  sharing  academic  research  in  an  easy-­‐to-­‐
understand  manner  with  audiences  who  are  not  familiar  with  the  
research.  For  example,  consider  the  “10,000  hour  rule”  he  popularized  
in  his  book  Outliers,  which  was  based  on  research  conducted  by  Dr.  
Anders  Ericsson  in  the  1990s.  The  idea  of  the  “10,000  hour  rule”  was  
new  to  many  people  outside  the  academic  community,  which  is  why  it  
became  so  popular.  
 
So,  even  though  there  may  not  be  anything  new  about  your  message,  
you  can  still  add  an  element  of  “newness”  to  your  talk  by  sharing  
  
 
research  that  your  audience  might  not  have  heard  of.  For  example,  in  
my  workshops  on  public  speaking,  even  though  my  audiences  might  
have  heard  some  of  the  tips  I  might  be  sharing,  I  add  an  element  of  
“newness”  by  sharing  research  from  the  fields  of  brain  science,  
persuasion  and  communication.  I  believe  that  this  one  of  the  reasons  my  
workshops  are  so  popular  –  because  I  use  research  to  back  up  my  points  
as  well  as  keep  my  audiences  engaged  by  giving  them  new  information.    
 
Finally,  if  you’re  unable  to  locate  research  to  add  novelty  to  your  talk,  
use  personal  stories.  Even  though  your  audience  might  have  heard  the  
same  message  before,  they  will  be  hearing  it  through  new  examples  and  
stories.  Using  personal  stories  is  a  great  way  to  add  an  element  of  
“newness”  to  your  presentation.  
 
Remember,  our  brains  seek  and  pay  attention  to  novelty.  What  are  you  
doing  to  add  “newness”  to  your  presentation?  
 
 
Put  Statistics  into  Perspective  
 
Average  speakers  throw  statistics  at  the  audience;  master  speakers  such  
as  Kelly  put  them  into  perspective.    
 
Let’s  have  a  step-­‐by-­‐step  look  at  how  Kelly  puts  statistics  into  
perspective  for  her  audience.  First,  she  shares  the  raw  statistic:  
 
“Now  the  researchers  estimated  that  over  the  eight  years  they  
were  tracking  deaths,  182,000  Americans  died  prematurely,  not  
from  stress,  but  from  the  belief  that  stress  is  bad  for  you.”  
 
However,  182,000  deaths  over  eight  years  is  hard  to  comprehend.  Of  
course,  it’s  a  lot  of  deaths,  but  it’s  hard  for  the  human  mind  to  
comprehend  the  seriousness  of  the  problem.  Thus,  Kelly  breaks  it  down  
into  the  number  of  deaths  per  year:  
 
“That  is  over  20,000  deaths  a  year.”  
 
  
 
Again,  the  audience  knows  that’s  a  lot  of  deaths,  but  it’s  difficult  for  
them  to  put  into  context.  This  is  where  Kelly  puts  the  raw  statistic  into  
context  for  her  audience:  
 
“Now,  if  that  estimate  is  correct,  that  would  make  believing  stress  
is  bad  for  you  the  15th  largest  cause  of  death  in  the  United  States  
last  year,  killing  more  people  than  skin  cancer,  HIV/AIDS  and  
homicide.”  
 
Wow,  isn’t  that  powerful?  By  putting  the  statistic  into  context  –  by  
saying  that  belief  about  stress  kills  more  people  than  HIV/AIDS  –  Kelly  
truly  hammers  home  the  importance  of  the  statistics,  whereas  the  figure  
“182,000  deaths”  fails  to  do  so.  
 
When  you  speak,  don’t  just  throw  raw  statistics  at  your  audience.  
Instead,  put  them  into  your  perspective  for  your  audience  so  that  your  
audience  can  view  them  through  the  appropriate  context.  
 
 
Keep  Your  Audience  Engaged  Using  a  You-­‐Focus  
 
As  a  speaker,  you  should  always  remember  that  your  talk  is  about  your  
audience,  not  yourself;  thus,  it’s  important  to  have  a  you-­‐focused  speech  
as  opposed  to  an  I-­‐focused  speech.  
 
Kelly  does  a  brilliant  job  of  delivering  a  you-­‐focused  talk.  Look  at  an  
example  of  you-­‐focused  speaking  from  Kelly’s  talk:  
 
“Now,  in  a  typical  stress  response,  your  heart  rate  goes  up,  and  
your  blood  vessels  constrict  like  this.  And  this  is  one  of  the  
reasons  that  chronic  stress  is  sometimes  associated  with  
cardiovascular  disease.”    
 
Consider  how  much  more  powerful  this  is  than  saying,  “Now,  in  a  typical  
stress  response,  people’s  heart  rate  goes  up...”  
 
Here’s  another  example  of  you-­‐focused  speaking  from  Kelly’s  talk:  
 
  
 
“Oxytocin  makes  you  crave  physical  contact  with  your  friends  and  
family.  It  enhances  your  empathy.  It  even  makes  you  more  willing  
to  help  and  support  the  people  you  care  about.”  
 
Again,  notice  how  much  more  powerful  this  is  than  saying,  “Oxytocin  
makes  people  crave  contact...”  
 
Using  a  you-­‐focus  engages  the  audience  because  it  makes  the  speech  
about  them.  
 
 
Make  it  Relevant  to  Your  Audience  
 
As  speakers,  one  great  tip  we  can  learn  from  Kelly  is  that  we  should  
show  our  audiences  how  our  talk  is  relevant  to  them.  Audience  
members  are  concerned  about  what  they  can  take  away  from  your  talk  –
so  it’s  important  that  we  clearly  demonstrate  to  our  audience  how  and  
why  what  we  are  saying  will  impact  them.  For  example,  consider  this  
short  portion  from  Kelly’s  talk:  
 
“But  in  the  study,  when  participants  viewed  their  stress  response  
as  helpful,  their  blood  vessels  stayed  relaxed  like  this.  Their  heart  
was  still  pounding,  but  this  is  a  much  healthier  cardiovascular  
profile.  It  actually  looks  a  lot  like  what  happens  in  moments  of  joy  
and  courage.”  
 
What  do  you  think  audience  members  are  thinking  while  listening  to  the  
above?  They’re  probably  thinking,  “What’s  in  it  for  me?  Why  does  this  
matter  to  me?  How  is  it  relevant  to  me?”  Knowing  this,  look  at  how  Kelly  
makes  the  research  study  relevant  to  her  audience’s  lives  by  saying  the  
following:  
 
“Over  a  lifetime  of  stressful  experiences,  this  one  biological  
change  could  be  the  difference  between  a  stress-­‐induced  heart  
attack  at  age  50  and  living  well  into  your  90s.”  
 
Kelly  makes  the  findings  relevant  to  her  audience  by  suggesting  that  
applying  the  results  from  this  research  could  help  them  live  longer  
  
 
(which  is  something  most  people  in  her  audience  would  be  interested  
in).  
 
How  can  you  make  your  talk  relevant  to  your  audience’s  life?    
 
Why  should  they  care  about  what  you  have  to  say?  
 
 
Tell  Your  Audience  How  to  Apply  Your  Ideas  to  Their  Life  
 
If  you  want  to  deliver  a  truly  great  speech,  you  need  to  go  one  step  
further  than  making  your  speech  relevant  to  your  audience:  you  need  to  
show  your  audience  not  just  why  your  talk  is  relevant  to  them,  but  also  
how  to  apply  the  ideas  you’re  sharing  with  them  to  their  lives.  
 
This  is  exactly  what  Kelly  does.  She  tells  her  audience  how  they  should  
apply  her  ideas  to  their  life  by  giving  them  a  clear  next  step:  
 
“...because  hopefully  the  next  time  your  heart  is  pounding  from  
stress,  you're  going  to  remember  this  talk  and  you're  going  to  
think  to  yourself,  this  is  my  body  helping  me  rise  to  this  
challenge.”  
 
The  audience  knows  exactly  what  they  should  do  differently  in  their  
lives  as  a  result  of  having  listened  to  Kelly’s  speech.    
 
What’s  the  clear  next  step  of  your  speech?  What  should  your  audience  
do  differently  as  a  result  of  having  listened  to  your  talk?  
 
 
Motivate  Your  Audience  to  Take  Action  
 
Sharing  how  your  audience  can  apply  the  ideas  from  your  talk  to  their  
life  makes  it  more  likely  that  they  will  take  action  on  your  ideas,  but  it’s  
not  enough.    
 
Apart  from  sharing  with  your  audience  how  to  apply  your  ideas  to  their  
life,  you  need  to  share  with  them  why  they  should  do  so:  in  other  words,  
  
 
you  need  to  motivate  them  to  take  action  on  your  ideas  by  sharing  with  
them  a  benefit  they  will  receive  as  a  result  of  doing  so.  This  is  exactly  
what  Kelly  is  doing  when  she  says:  
 
“...the  next  time  your  heart  is  pounding  from  stress,  you're  going  
to  remember  this  talk  and  you're  going  to  think  to  yourself,  this  is  
my  body  helping  me  rise  to  this  challenge.  And  when  you  view  
stress  in  that  way,  your  body  believes  you,  and  your  stress  
response  becomes  healthier.”  
 
Why  should  your  audience  implement  your  ideas  into  their  life?  Share  
with  them  not  only  the  how,  but  also  the  why  of  doing  so;  motivate  them  
to  take  action  on  your  ideas  by  sharing  with  them  the  major  benefit  they  
will  receive  because  of  doing  so.    
 
 
Don’t  Just  Share  Data;  Share  Your  Emotions  Too  
 
One  of  the  things  I  love  about  Kelly’s  talk  is  her  enthusiasm  and  passion  
for  her  topic.  You  can  sense  this  through  the  words  she  uses.  For  
example,  she  says:  
 
• “I  find  this  amazing,  that  your  stress  response  has  a  built-­‐in  
mechanism  for  stress  resilience,  and  that  mechanism  is  human  
connection.”  
 
• “You  can  see  why  this  study  freaked  me  out.”  
 
• “...but  the  most  fascinating  finding  to  me  was  how  their  physical  
stress  response  changed.”  
 
Using  phrases  like  these  (“the  most  fascinating  finding  to  me”  and  “I  find  
this  amazing”),  Kelly  shows  her  interest  in  her  topic.  She  doesn’t  only  
share  the  findings  of  the  research,  but  she  also  shares  her  feelings  
(“freaked  me  out”).  She  verbally  shares  her  emotions  –  her  enthusiasm,  
her  interest,  her  passion  –  about  the  topic,  which  in  turn  keeps  the  
audience  interested  in  her  presentation.    
 
  
 
As  a  speaker,  it’s  important  to  remember  that  whatever  emotion  you’re  
feeling  will  flow  to  your  audience.  Thus,  if  you’re  not  excited  about  your  
topic,  then  how  can  you  expect  your  audience  to  be?  Don’t  be  shy  about  
sharing  your  emotions  about  the  topic.  
 
 
Focus  Externally,  Not  Internally  
 
As  a  public  speaking  coach,  one  of  the  most  common  questions  I  get  
asked  is,  “How  should  I  move  my  hands?  How  should  I  gesture?”    
 
This  is  a  good  question,  and  my  answer  is  that  you  should  not  practice  
your  gestures  or  your  facial  expressions.  Why?  Because  you  want  your  
gestures  and  facial  expressions  to  appear  natural  and  authentic,  not  
rehearsed  and  robotic.    
 
When  I  used  to  participate  in  public  speaking  contests,  I  made  the  
mistake  of  rehearsing  my  gestures,  and  the  result  was  that  I  always  
appeared  robotic.  While  the  gestures  were  good,  there  was  just  
something  about  the  delivery  that  made  it  appear  inauthentic.    
 
Gestures  are  natural  –  we  use  gestures  every  day  without  even  thinking  
about  them!  You  already  know  how  to  gesture,  so  no  one  needs  to  teach  
you  how  to  use  them.  As  with  your  breathing,  you  should  never  try  to  
consciously  control  your  gestures.    
 
However,  what  you  might  need  to  be  taught  is  how  to  “forget  about  
yourself”  when  you  are  on  stage.  This  means  that  you  should  stop  
focusing  internally  and  focus  externally;  stop  focusing  on  yourself  and  
focus  on  your  audience  instead.    
 
When  you  are  on  stage,  make  a  conscious  decision  to  change  the  focus  
from  internal  to  external.  This  means  that  you  should  stop  worrying  
about  how  you  look,  how  you  sound,  whether  your  gestures  are  
appropriate.  Instead,  immerse  yourself  completely  into  your  talk  and  
your  audience.  When  you  do  this,  your  gestures  will  come  naturally.  
 
 
  
 
Signal,  Summarize  and  Sell  
 
The  ending  of  your  talk  is  crucial  because  if  your  ending  is  
disappointing,  your  audience  will  walk  out  of  your  talk  unsatisfied.  Plus,  
due  to  the  primacy  and  recency  effect,  people  most  remember  the  
beginning  and  ending  of  a  speech,  so  it’s  important  that  you  end  in  a  
powerful  and  persuasive  manner.  
 
Kelly  uses  the  “signal,  summarize  and  sell  formula”  to  wrap  up  her  talk.  
First,  she  mentally  prepares  her  audience  that  the  end  is  near  by  
signaling  the  conclusion:  
 
“I  want  to  finish  by  telling  you  about  one  more  study.”  
 
It’s  important  that  you  signal  that  you  are  wrapping  up  so  that  the  
conclusion  does  not  come  as  a  surprise  to  your  audience.    
 
Next,  Kelly  succinctly  summarizes  the  essence  of  her  speech  in  a  couple  
of  sentences:  
 
“How  you  think  and  how  you  act  can  transform  your  experience  of  
stress.  When  you  choose  to  view  your  stress  response  as  helpful,  
you  create  the  biology  of  courage.  And  when  you  choose  to  
connect  with  others  under  stress,  you  can  create  resilience.”  
 
In  the  summary,  you  only  want  to  highlight  one  or  two  of  the  most  
important  points  from  your  talk.  This  reinforces  the  audience’s  memory  
and  ensures  that  they  will  remember  your  presentation.  
 
Finally,  Kelly  ends  by  selling  her  audience  on  the  benefits  of  why  they  
should  take  action  on  the  ideas  she  has  shared;  she  gives  her  audience  a  
reason  and  motivation  to  implement  her  idea:  
 
“...when  you  choose  to  view  stress  in  this  way,  you're  not  just  
getting  better  at  stress,  you're  actually  making  a  pretty  profound  
statement.  You're  saying  that  you  can  trust  yourself  to  handle  
life's  challenges,  and  you're  remembering  that  you  don't  have  to  
face  them  alone.”  
 
  
 
End  your  talk  by  reinforcing  the  why  of  your  talk  –  why  should  your  
audience  care  and  why  should  they  take  action?  This  motivates  your  
audience  to  take  action  on  your  ideas  so  that  you’re  not  just  giving  a  
speech,  but  actually  making  a  difference  in  your  audience’s  lives.    
 
 
IN  A  NUTSHELL  
 
• Craft  an  opening  that  makes  your  audience  lean  in.  
• Create  knowledge  gaps  with  questions.  
• Prolong  your  audience’s  curiosity  for  as  long  as  you  can.  
• Engage  your  audience  with  rhetorical  questions.  
• Involve  your  audience  in  your  presentation.  
• Add  an  element  of  newness  to  your  talk.  
• Put  statistics  into  perspective  for  your  audience.  
• Engage  your  audience  with  a  you-­‐focus.  
• Make  your  presentation  relevant  to  your  audience.  
• Tell  your  audience  how  to  apply  your  ideas  to  their  life.  
• Motivate  your  audience  to  take  action.  
• Don’t  just  share  information;  share  your  emotions  too.  
• Focus  externally,  not  internally.  
• Conclude  by  signaling,  summarizing  and  selling.  
 
*  
Meet  Presentation  Expert  Akash  Karia  
 
Akash  Karia  is  a  professional  speaker  who  has  trained  thousands  of  
people  worldwide,  from  bankers  in  Hong  Kong  to  yoga  teachers  in  
Thailand  to  senior  executives  in  Dubai.  He  is  an  award-­‐winning  trainer  
who  has  been  ranked  as  one  of  the  top  speakers  in  Asia-­‐Pacific.  He  is  
currently  the  Chief  Commercial  Officer  of  a  multi-­‐million  dollar  
company  in  Tanzania,  in  which  capacity  he  heads  the  sales,  relations  
and  marketing  departments  of  the  organization.    
 
If  you’re  looking  for  a  coach  to  help  you  become  a  powerful  and  
persuasive  communicator  or  a  speaker  to  unleash  the  excellence  hidden  
inside  of  your  teams,  then  contact  Akash  on  www.AkashKaria.com  (or  
email  Akash@AkashKaria.com).  
  
 
 
CHAPTER  TWO  
 
HOW  TO  ENGAGE,  ENTERTAIN  AND  
EDUCATE  YOUR  AUDIENCE  
 
• Case  study:  Ken  Robinson,  How  Schools  Kill  Creativity  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Martha  Lanaghen  
 
Sir  Ken  Robinson’s  presentation  titled  “How  Schools  Kill  Creativity”  
(http://bit.ly/1gPtXNy)  from  the  February  2006  TED  Conference  is,  as  
of  this  writing,  the  most-­‐viewed  TED  talk  in  history  (approaching  nearly  
20  million  views).      

 
Source:  TED  
Sir  Ken’s  talks  have  been  featured  around  the  world,  including  a  similar  
talk  at  the  RSA  that  was  edited  and  distributed  with  illustrations  
through  RSA  Animate  (video  titled  “RSA  Animate  –  Changing  Education  
Paradigms”  available  at  www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U).  
  
 
If  you  want  to  look  to  this  speech  to  help  you  hone  your  own  
presentation  skills,  there  are  many  examples  to  emulate,  including:  
• Creating  a  relationship  with  your  audience.  
• Entertaining  and  engaging  your  audience.  
• Making  your  audience  feel  something.  
 

Build  Around  a  Universally  Appealing  Topic  

On  its  face,  you  might  wonder  why  the  talk  is  so  popular.  After  all,  Sir  
Ken  is  not  a  saber-­‐rattling,  ground-­‐stomping,  action-­‐packed  presenter,  
and  his  message  is  profound,  but  not  necessarily  motivational.      
It  is,  however,  a  universally  appealing  topic,  built  around  a  core  
message  to  which  we  can  all  connect  –  either  because  we  were  once  in  
school,  or  because  we  now  have  children  in  school,  or  both.  
This  brings  us  to  the  first  key  takeaway  from  Sir  Ken’s  talk.  Is  your  
primary/core  topic  broadly  appealing?  Will  it  connect  with  and  interest  
most  of  the  people  in  your  audience?  
 

Begin  with  a  Callback  

Sir  Ken  chooses  a  friendly  opening  that  quickly  establishes  common  
ground  with  the  audience,  uses  humor  to  warm  up  his  audience  and  
calls  back  to  the  themes  of  the  conference.  Here’s  what  he  says:    
“Good  morning.  How  are  you?  It's  been  great,  hasn't  it?  I've  been  
blown  away  by  the  whole  thing.  In  fact,  I'm  leaving.  (Laughter)    
There  have  been  three  themes,  haven't  there,  running  through  the  
conference,  which  are  relevant  to  what  I  want  to  talk  about.  One  is  
the  extraordinary  evidence  of  human  creativity  in  all  of  the  
presentations  that  we've  had  and  in  all  of  the  people  here.  Just  the  
variety  of  it  and  the  range  of  it.  The  second  is  that  it's  put  us  in  a  
place  where  we  have  no  idea  what's  going  to  happen,  in  terms  of  
the  future.  No  idea  how  this  may  play  out.”  
The  reason  this  is  a  great  opening  is  because  it  builds  a  connection  with  
the  audience  by  establishing  commonality  with  the  audience  –  
  
 
specifically,  by  calling  back  the  previous  talks  at  the  conference  that  
both  Sir  Ken  and  the  audience  were  a  part  of.    
Furthermore,  this  gives  the  talk  a  conversational,  personalized  feel,  
showing  the  audience  that  the  talk  is  not  some  off-­‐the-­‐shelf,  memorized  
speech  but  one  that  is  specifically  tailored  for  them.  Finally,  it  also  sets  
the  theme  for  the  rest  of  Sir  Ken’s  talk.  
Sir  Ken  also  integrates  callbacks  into  the  body  of  his  speech,  saying:  
• “Following  off  from  Helen  yesterday”  (referencing  a  speech  they  
had  all  heard  together)  
 
• “Al  Gore  spoke  the  other  night  about  ecology,”  (again  referencing  
a  speech  he  had  watched  with  the  audience)  
 
Using  callbacks  is  a  great  way  of  connecting  with  your  audience  and  
personalizing  your  talk,  so  consider  integrating  them  into  your  
presentation.  
 

Use  Visual  Aids  Only  if  You  Have  Visuals  

Many  speakers  leverage  props,  illustrations,  photographs  and  other  
resources  to  reinforce  their  messages  and  create  clarity  and  common  
vision  in  the  audience’s  mind.  
However,  Sir  Ken  uses  no  props,  nor  does  he  use  a  slide  presentation.  
Why?  Because  he  doesn’t  need  it.  It  wouldn’t  have  helped  his  
presentation,  so  there  was  no  need  to  have  any  props  or  slides.  
Most  presenters  use  slide  presentations  as  crutches.  The  slides  are  for  
the  benefit  of  the  speaker  to  help  him  or  her  remember  what  to  say  
next,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  audience.  These  slides  are  boring,  text-­‐
heavy  and  distract  from  the  presentation  instead  of  adding  value  to  it.    
The  only  reason  to  use  slides  is  if  you  have  visuals,  such  as  graphs,  
charts  and  pictures  to  display  (which  is  why  slides  are  called  visual  
aids).  Otherwise,  if  your  slides  contain  text,  they’re  going  to  detract  from  
your  message  because  you’re  going  to  be  dividing  your  audience’s  
attention  between  listening  to  you  and  reading  the  slides.    
  
 
Also,  remember  that  your  audience  reads  quicker  than  you  speak,  which  
means  that  if  your  slide  says  exactly  the  same  thing  that  you’re  saying,  
then  your  audience  is  going  to  very  quickly  get  bored.  As  presentation  
coach  Craig  Valentine  puts  it,  “If  you  and  your  slides  say  the  same  thing,  
one  of  you  is  not  needed.”    
If  you’re  using  presentation  slides,  ask  yourself:  
• “Am  I  using  these  slides  as  a  crutch  or  for  the  benefit  of  the  
audience?”  
 
• “Are  my  slides  helping  my  presentation?  If  not,  what  impact  
would  it  have  if  I  eliminated  them?”  
 
Asking  yourself  these  questions  will  help  you  figure  out  whether  or  not  
you  really  need  the  slides.  Perhaps,  like  Sir  Ken,  you’ll  discover  that  your  
presentation  is  better  off  without  slides.  
 

Entertain  with  Humor  

One  of  the  most  endearing  things  about  Sir  Ken’s  speech  is  his  use  of  
humor.  Humor  not  only  lightens  the  mood  and  helps  the  audience  
members  enjoy  themselves,  it  also  increases  alertness  and  thus  helps  
the  audience  better  absorb  information.  
So,  what  is  the  secret  to  humor?  The  secret  to  humor  is  to  create  an  
expectation,  and  then  break  it.  In  comedy,  the  creation  of  the  
expectation  is  called  the  “set-­‐up.”  The  sudden  breaking  of  the  
expectation  is  called  the  “punch  line.”    
For  example,  consider  this  humorous  line  from  Sir  Ken’s  talk:  
“If  my  wife  is  cooking  a  meal  at  home,  which  is  not  often...  
thankfully.”  (audience  laughs)  
What’s  the  set-­‐up  portion  of  the  line?  It  is  “If  my  wife  is  cooking  a  meal  
at  home,  which  is  not  often...”  This  creates  the  expectation  that  Sir  Ken  is  
going  to  continue  the  statement  with  “unfortunately.”    
  
 
However,  the  punch  line  is  the  word  “thankfully.”  This  breaks  the  
audience’s  expectations,  and  thus  results  in  laughter.    
Self-­‐deprecation  is  another  great  form  of  humor.  Consider  this  piece  of  
self-­‐deprecating  humor  from  Sir  Ken’s  talk:  
“I  used  to  be  on  the  board  of  the  Royal  Ballet  in  England  ...  as  you  
can  see.”  (laughter)  
The  audience  laughs  at  this  piece  of  self-­‐deprecating  humor  because  it’s  
obvious  that  Sir  Ken  hasn’t  done  ballet  (he  looks  out  of  shape  and  walks  
with  a  limp  because  he  contracted  polio  at  age  4).  
What  self-­‐deprecating  humor  can  you  use  in  your  talk  to  lighten  up  the  
mood?  
The  final  technique  Sir  Ken  uses  to  add  humor  to  his  talk  is  over-­‐
exaggeration.  People  laugh  at  obvious  over-­‐exaggerations,  such  as  how  
Sir  Ken  over-­‐exaggerates  his  wife’s  ability  to  multi-­‐task:  
“If  she's  cooking,  you  know,  she's  dealing  with  people  on  the  
phone,  she's  talking  to  the  kids,  she's  painting  the  ceiling,  she's  
doing  open-­‐heart  surgery  over  here”  (laughter)  
Here’s  another  example  of  over-­‐exaggeration  from  the  same  talk  by  Sir  
Ken:  
[If  you  are  at  a  party  and  someone  asks]  “What  do  you  do?”  and  
you  say  you  work  in  education,  you  can  see  the  blood  run  from  
their  face.  They’re  like,  “Oh  my  God,”  you  know,  “Why  me?  My  one  
night  out  all  week!”  (laughter)  
 

Tread  Carefully  when  Using  Humor  

Although  we  cannot  know  how  much  of  Sir  Ken’s  speech  was  scripted,  
and  how  much  was  spoken  “off  the  cuff,”  he  does  insert  a  joke  about  the  
Bible  and  Mel  Gibson  that  treads  dangerously  close  to  two  areas  of  
caution:  
1) Don’t  tell  “insider”  jokes.  When  only  part  of  the  audience  can  
relate  to  the  humor,  you  run  the  risk  of  alienating  a  significant  
  
 
percent  of  the  audience.  Even  though  Mel  Gibson’s  unfortunate  
rantings  were  very  public,  Sir  Ken’s  reference  was  off-­‐topic,  and  
not  necessary.  
 
2) Because  Gibson’s  rantings  were  so  controversial  and  distasteful  to  
most,  Sir  Ken  ran  the  risk  of  offending  or  distracting  his  audience  
with  the  casual  reference.  
 
Later,  Sir  Ken  tells  a  joke  about  a  funny  T-­‐shirt  that  he  saw  a  man  
wearing  that  said,  “If  a  man  speaks  his  mind  in  a  forest,  and  no  woman  
hears  him,  is  he  still  wrong?”  This  joke  can  be  carried  by  a  man  without  
seeming  bitter  or  cynical  –  that  said,  it  doesn’t  further  his  point  about  
our  brains,  nor  does  it  contribute  to  his  overall  presentation  about  
creativity  and  our  schools.  
Review  the  humor  and  the  examples  that  you  use  in  your  presentation.    
Are  any  of  them  “insider”  stories?  Could  any  of  them  evoke  negative  
emotions  in  your  audience  that  would  be  distracting  or  hurt  your  
credibility?  
 

Connect  by  Speaking  Conversationally  

Listening  to  Sir  Ken’s  speech,  it  feels  more  like  you  and  him  are  sitting  in  
a  coffee  shop  having  a  talk,  as  opposed  to  him  presenting  to  an  audience  
of  hundreds.  He  uses  very  natural  and  conversational  language,  which  
makes  his  talk  seem  authentic.  For  example,  consider  when  Sir  Ken  
says:  
“He  was  in  the  nativity  play.  Do  you  remember  the  story?”  
The  above  sentence  uses  the  singular  you-­‐focus  (“Do  you  remember”),  
which  creates  the  feeling  that  Sir  Ken  is  having  a  one-­‐on-­‐one  
conversation  with  his  audience.  Here’s  another  example  where  Sir  Ken  
uses  the  singular  you-­‐focus  to  create  the  feel  of  a  one-­‐on-­‐one  
conversation  with  the  audience:  
“But  if  you  are,  and  you  say  to  somebody,  you  know,  they  say,  
"What  do  you  do?"  and  you  say  you  work  in  education,  you  can  
see  the  blood  run  from  their  face.  They're  like,  "Oh  my  God,"  you  
  
 
know,  "Why  me?  My  one  night  out  all  week."  (Laughter)  But  if  you  
ask  about  their  education,  they  pin  you  to  the  wall.”  
Sir  Ken  also  seems  genuinely  tickled  by  some  of  his  own  jokes  (“You’re  
not  often  at  dinner  parties,  frankly,  if  you  work  in  education.  You’re  not  
asked.  And  you’re  never  asked  back,  curiously.”)  and  appears  to  ad-­‐lib  
occasionally,  just  as  if  you  were  chatting  casually  (“When  my  son  was  4  
in  England  –  actually,  he  was  4  everywhere,  to  be  honest.”).  If  you’re  not  
amused  by  your  own  presentation,  you  can’t  expect  your  audience  to  be!  
Next  time  you  are  giving  a  presentation,  don’t  aim  to  impress  –  aim  to  
connect  by  speaking  conversationally.  
 

Your  Passion  is  Key  

Although  it  is  difficult  to  point  to  specific  places  in  the  speech  where  he  
illustrates  his  passion  for  the  topic  of  creativity  and  the  schools  –  you  
are  left  to  understand  that  this  is  a  deeply  important  topic  for  Sir  Ken,  
and  you  know  by  his  body  of  work,  that  he  is  influencing  change  related  
to  this  topic.      
He  doesn’t  convey  this  passion  through  hand  waving,  or  foot  stomping,  
or  even  raising  his  voice  –  but  you  understand  throughout  that  this  is  
his  passion.  How?  It  resonates  from  his  very  being.  When  you  are  
passionate  about  your  topic,  audience  members  can  unconsciously  
sense  it.  
Are  you  passionate  about  the  topic  you  are  speaking  on?  If  so,  your  
audience  members  will  feel  it  in  their  guts,  and  as  a  result,  they’ll  
connect  with  you  and  your  message.  
 

Creating  Rapport  by  Referencing  Common  Experiences  

and  Beliefs  
Sir  Ken  Robinson  establishes  a  relationship  with  his  audience  within  the  
first  10  seconds  of  his  speech  when  he  says,  “It’s  been  great,  hasn’t  it?”  
Immediately,  he  has  established  that  he  and  the  audience  have  been  
having  a  common  experience  –  that  he  and  his  audience  are  alike.      
  
 
He  goes  on  to  reinforce  their  common  experiences  and  beliefs  at  these  
points  in  the  presentation,  where  he  says:  
• “We’ve  all  agreed,  nonetheless,  on  the  really  extraordinary  
capacities  that  children  have  –  their  capacities  for  innovation.”  (It  
is  particularly  smart  to  say,  “we’ve  all  agreed,”  because  this  puts  
Sir  Ken  and  the  audience  on  the  figurative  same  side  of  the  table  
for  the  discussion  that  follows.)  
 
• “And  it’s  the  combination  of  all  the  things  we’ve  talked  about.”  
(This  reference  reinforces  the  feeling  that  Sir  Ken  is  having  a  
personal  conversation  with  the  individuals,  making  it  
conversational,  and  communal.)  
 
• “That  goes  deep  with  people.  Am  I  right?”  (This  is  particularly  
smart  because  he  takes  a  rhetorical  question  that  he  knows  
everyone  agrees  with,  and  asks  his  audience  to  agree.  Again,  he  is  
establishing  the  audience  as  sharing  a  common  belief  with  him,  
and  for  many  audience  members  you  would  see  a  physical  
reaction  that  would  include  them  nodding  their  heads.)  
 

Make  Your  Audience  Feel  Something  

Sir  Ken  tells  rich  and  compelling  stories  that  evoke  the  audience’s  
emotions  throughout  the  presentation.  Furthermore,  these  stories  
reinforce  his  core  concepts.      
Perhaps  the  most  effective  and  emotional  moment  in  Sir  Ken’s  talk  is  the  
story  of  Gillian  Lynne  which  is  artfully  told  to  an  emotional  conclusion.    
Below  is  the  story  from  Sir  Ken’s  talk,  broken  down  into  the  elements  of  
what  makes  a  story  compelling  and  emotive  (Credit:  I  learned  these  
elements  from  Craig  Valentine,  the  1999  World  Champion  of  Public  
Speaking):  
 
 
 
  
 
Element  1:  The  Characters  
Every  story  must  have  characters.  In  this  story,  Sir  Ken  introduces  us  to  
the  main  characters:  
‘Anyway,  Gillian  and  I  had  lunch  one  day  and  I  said,  "Gillian,  how'd  
you  get  to  be  a  dancer?"  And  she  said  it  was  interesting;  when  she  
was  at  school,  she  was  really  hopeless.  And  the  school,  in  the  '30s,  
wrote  to  her  parents  and  said,  "We  think  Gillian  has  a  learning  
disorder."  She  couldn't  concentrate;  she  was  fidgeting.  I  think  now  
they'd  say  she  had  ADHD.  Wouldn't  you?  But  this  was  the  1930s,  
and  ADHD  hadn't  been  invented  at  this  point.  It  wasn't  an  
available  condition.  (Laughter)  People  weren't  aware  they  could  
have  that.”’  
 

Element  #2:  The  Conflict/Challenge  

The  hook  of  any  great  story  is  the  conflict  –  the  challenge  that  the  main  
character  faces.  The  conflict  is  what  keeps  us  hooked  to  the  story.  It’s  
what  causes  us  to  ask,  “I  wonder  what  happens  next?”  The  struggles  and  
the  challenges  the  character  faces  arouse  our  emotions  and  get  us  
emotionally  invested  in  the  story.  
In  this  story,  the  main  challenge  is  that  Gillian  seems  to  be  having  a  
learning  disorder:  
‘Anyway,  she  went  to  see  this  specialist.  So,  this  oak-­‐paneled  
room,  and  she  was  there  with  her  mother,  and  she  was  led  and  sat  
on  this  chair  at  the  end,  and  she  sat  on  her  hands  for  20  minutes  
while  this  man  talked  to  her  mother  about  all  the  problems  Gillian  
was  having  at  school.  And  at  the  end  of  it  -­‐-­‐  because  she  was  
disturbing  people;  her  homework  was  always  late;  and  so  on,  little  
kid  of  eight  -­‐-­‐  in  the  end,  the  doctor  went  and  sat  next  to  Gillian  
and  said,  "Gillian,  I've  listened  to  all  these  things  that  your  
mother's  told  me,  and  I  need  to  speak  to  her  privately."  He  said,  
"Wait  here.  We'll  be  back;  we  won't  be  very  long,"  and  they  went  
and  left  her.’  
 
  
 
Element  #3:  The  Cure  
The  “Cure”  refers  to  the  person  or  idea  –  or  anything  for  that  matter  –  
that  helps  the  character  overcome  the  challenge/conflict  they  were  
facing.  The  Cure  is  what  allows  the  audience  to  breathe  a  sigh  of  relief  
when  the  character  overcomes  the  conflict.  In  this  case,  the  Cure  is  
when  the  specialist  advises  Gillian’s  mother  to  take  Gillian  to  a  dance  
school:  
‘But  as  they  went  out  the  room,  he  turned  on  the  radio  that  was  
sitting  on  his  desk.  And  when  they  got  out  the  room,  he  said  to  her  
mother,  "Just  stand  and  watch  her."  And  the  minute  they  left  the  
room,  she  said,  she  was  on  her  feet,  moving  to  the  music.  And  they  
watched  for  a  few  minutes  and  he  turned  to  her  mother  and  said,  
"Mrs.  Lynne,  Gillian  isn't  sick;  she's  a  dancer.  Take  her  to  a  dance  
school."  
I  said,  "What  happened?"  She  said,  "She  did.  I  can't  tell  you  how  
wonderful  it  was.  We  walked  in  this  room  and  it  was  full  of  people  
like  me.  People  who  couldn't  sit  still.  People  who  had  to  move  to  
think."  Who  had  to  move  to  think.  They  did  ballet;  they  did  tap;  
they  did  jazz;  they  did  modern;  they  did  contemporary.’  
 

Element  #4:  Change  in  Character  

The  final  element  of  a  great  story  is  that  there  must  be  a  change  in  the  
character  as  a  result  of  having  overcome  the  conflict.  In  this  case,  Gillian  
goes  on  to  dance  school  and  eventually  becomes  very  successful  in  her  
dance  career:  
‘She  was  eventually  auditioned  for  the  Royal  Ballet  School;  she  
became  a  soloist;  she  had  a  wonderful  career  at  the  Royal  Ballet.  
She  eventually  graduated  from  the  Royal  Ballet  School  and  
founded  her  own  company  -­‐-­‐  the  Gillian  Lynne  Dance  Company  -­‐-­‐  
met  Andrew  Lloyd  Weber.  She's  been  responsible  for  some  of  the  
most  successful  musical  theater  productions  in  history;  she's  
given  pleasure  to  millions;  and  she's  a  multi-­‐millionaire.  
Somebody  else  might  have  put  her  on  medication  and  told  her  to  
calm  down.’  
  
 
Great  stories,  such  as  the  one  about  Gillian,  get  the  audience  emotionally  
invested  in  the  story.  This  is  why  stories  are  such  a  powerful  tool  for  
speakers  –  by  getting  the  audience  emotionally  invested  in  the  story,  
you  ensure  that  they  will  hang  onto  every  word.  
What  stories  are  you  telling?  Do  they  complement  your  argument  and  
move  it  along?  Are  they  relatable?      
 

Use  Words  that  Invoke  Emotions  

Another  way  to  enrich  an  experience  and  evoke  emotion  is  to  use  “juicy”  
words  and  emotive  words  –  words  and  statements  that  elicit  a  response.    
Sir  Ken  uses  this  technique  throughout:  
• “…  and  we  squander  them,  pretty  ruthlessly.”  
 
• “I  believe  this  passionately…”  
 
• “…they’re  disembodied  in  a  way…”  
 
• “We  need  to  radically  rethink  our  view  of  intelligence.”  
 
• “I  believe  our  only  hope  for  the  future  is…”  
 
•  “…  all  forms  of  life  would  flourish.”  
 
Aim  to  sound  conversational,  but  don’t  be  afraid  to  use  power-­‐words  
that  elicit  your  audience’s  emotions.  
Are  you  using  “juicy”  words  and  phrases  to  elicit  response  and  evoke  
emotion?  
 

Inspire  Action  
If  you  want  to  make  an  impact  on  your  audience,  it’s  important  that  you  
end  your  talk  with  a  call  to  action.  It’s  important  that  you  let  your  
audience  know  exactly  what  you’d  like  them  to  do  differently  as  a  result  
of  listening  to  your  talk.    
  
 
Sir  Ken  ends  his  talk  with  a  compelling  call  to  action  that  hammers  his  
message  home.  Furthermore,  he  also  cleverly  links  his  message  to  the  
TED  conference,  hence  using  the  conference  as  an  anchor  that  will  help  
the  audience  remember  his  main  message:  
“What  TED  celebrates  is  the  gift  of  the  human  imagination.  We  
have  to  be  careful  now  that  we  use  this  gift  wisely  and  that  we  
avert  some  of  the  scenarios  that  we’ve  talked  about.  And  the  only  
way  we’ll  do  it  is  by  seeing  our  creative  capacities  for  the  richness  
they  are  and  seeing  our  children  for  the  hope  that  they  are.  And  
our  task  is  to  educate  their  whole  being,  so  they  can  face  this  
future.  By  the  way  —  we  may  not  see  this  future,  but  they  will.  
And  our  job  is  to  help  them  make  something  of  it.  Thank  you  very  
much.”  
What’s  the  call  to  action  for  your  talk?    
Make  an  impact  on  your  audience  by  inspiring  them  to  act  on  your  
message.  
 
IN  A  NUTSHELL  
 
• Build  your  talk  around  a  universally  appealing  topic.  
• Integrate  callbacks  into  your  presentation.  
• Use  visual  aids  only  if  you  have  visuals.  
• Use  self-­‐deprecation  and  over-­‐exaggeration  to  add  humor  to  your  
talk.  
• Tread  carefully  when  using  humor.  
• Connect  with  your  audience  by  speaking  conversationally.  
• Create  rapport  by  referencing  common  experiences  and  beliefs.  
• Use  stories  to  make  your  audience  feel  something.  
• Remember  the  four  elements  of  a  great  story:  Characters,  
Conflict/Challenge,  Cure  and  Change  in  character.  
• Use  words  that  invoke  emotions  in  your  audience.  
• Inspire  your  audience  to  action.  
 
*  
 
  
 
Meet  Presentation  Expert  Martha  Lanaghen:  
 
Martha  Lanaghen  is  passionate  about  Ken  Robinson’s  concepts  and  puts  
them  to  work  in  her  successful  consulting  practice  at  The  Sparrow  
Group  where  she  focuses  on  improving  student  success  in  partnership  
with  her  higher  education  clients.    Her  firm  serves  companies  and  
colleges  that  are  shaping  the  future  of  higher  education  innovation.    
 
Martha  is  an  entrepreneur,  highly-­‐rated  speaker  and  author,  and  the  
proud  parent  of  six  creative  children.    She  believes,  as  does  Ken  
Robinson,  in  the  profoundly  creative  capabilities  within  us  all.      
You  can  find  Martha  at  www.linkedin.com/in/MarthaLanaghen,  contact  
her  directly  at  Martha@sparrowgroup.biz,  or  visit  her  firm’s  website  at  
www.SparrowGroup.biz.    
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
CHAPTER  THREE  
 
TED  TALK  TIPS...FROM  A  TEENAGER  
 
• Case  study:  Jack  Andraka,  A  Promising  Test  for  Pancreatic  Cancer  
from  a  Teenager  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Donna  Hook  
 
Jack  Andraka’s  TED  speech  titled  “A  Promising  Test  for  Pancreatic  
Cancer...from  a  Teenager,”  (http://bit.ly/JVfmm4)  delivered  in  February  
2013,  is  full  of  lessons  for  speakers.  His  profound  research,  fueled  by  the  
loss  of  a  close  family  friend,  may  just  be  the  best  example  of  channeled  
grief  you’ll  find.    
 

 
Source:  TED  
 
Even  though  he  is  very  young,  Jack  demonstrates  several  strong  speech  
techniques  worthy  of  sharing.    These  include:  
 
• A  thought-­‐provoking  opening  from  which  the  remainder  of  the  
speech  is  built.  
• Putting  statistics  into  context.  
  
 
• Simple  expression  of  complex  ideas.  
• Using  personal  stories  with  strong  conflicts  to  keep  an  audience  
engaged.  
   
I  encourage  you  to  watch  the  video  of  the  speech  here:  
http://bit.ly/JVfmm4    
 
 
Open  with  a  Thought-­‐Provoking  Question  
 
While  a  speech  title  often  provides  clues  into  the  topic  of  a  presentation,  
a  speech  opener  is  what  truly  sets  the  stage  for  an  audience  to  gain  
an  understanding  of  the  frame  of  reference  of  the  speaker.    
 
In  the  case  of  Jack’s  TED  talk  entitled  “A  Promising  Test  for  Pancreatic  
Cancer  from  a  Teenager”  you  may  correctly  deduce  the  speech  is  
delivered  by  a  teenager,  includes  pancreatic  cancer  as  the  basis  for  the  
discussion,  and  details  a  promising  test  for  this  type  of  cancer.  
 
Yet,  watching  Jack  deliver  his  thought-­‐provoking  opening  question  –  
and  realizing  that  this  young  man  of  16  is  standing  on  a  stage  before  a  
rather  large  TED  audience  –  you  might  get  a  sense  of  the  power  of  the  
question  Jack  asks  in  his  opening  line:  
 
“Have  you  ever  experienced  a  moment  in  your  life  that  was  so  
painful  and  confusing  that  all  you  wanted  to  do  was  learn  as  much  
as  you  could  to  make  sense  of  it  all?”  
 
An  opening  question  of  this  type  both  engages  an  audience  and  
piques  their  curiosity  enough  so  they  want  to  learn  more.  The  you-­‐
focused  question  gets  the  audience  to  reflect  on  their  lives,  creating  a  
connection  between  Jack’s  speech  and  the  audience’s  lives.    
 
Jack  further  clarifies  his  frame  of  reference  and  the  significance  of  his  
question  as  he  states:  
 
“When  I  was  13,  a  close  family  friend  who  was  like  an  uncle  to  me  
passed  away  from  pancreatic  cancer.  When  the  disease  hit  so  
close  to  home,  I  knew  I  needed  to  learn  more,  so  I  went  online  to  
  
 
find  answers.”  
 
This  opening  emotionally  draws  the  audience  in,  giving  them  a  sense  
of  the  heartfelt  love  young  Jack  had  for  the  “uncle”  who  passed,  
and  offers  a  glimpse  into  the  starting  point  for  his  talk.  
 
Next  time  you’re  giving  a  presentation,  consider  opening  with  a  you-­‐
focused  question.  This  creates  curiosity  and  gets  your  audience  to  
reflect  on  their  lives.  Next,  transition  into  sharing  a  short  I-­‐focused  story  
that  puts  your  question  into  context  for  your  listeners.    
 
 
Put  Statistics  in  Context  through  Comparison  
 
As  speakers,  we  can  learn  a  great  lesson  from  Jack  on  how  to  use  
statistics  in  a  speech.  Jack  doesn’t  just  give  raw  statistics,  but  puts  them  
into  context  for  his  audience  through  comparison.  For  example,  when  
describing  carbon  nanotubes,  Jack  says:  
 
“...and  that's  just  a  long,  thin  pipe  of  carbon  that's  an  atom  thick  
and  one  50  thousandth  the  diameter  of  your  hair.”  
 
By  comparing  a  carbon  nanotube  to  the  size  of  a  string  of  hair,  Jack  
conveys  the  size  of  a  carbon  nanotube  in  terms  that  his  audience  
understands.  
   
Furthermore,  towards  the  end  of  his  presentation  Jack  talks  about  the  
effectiveness  of  his  paper  sensor  to  the  current  solution  by  saying:  
 
“This  makes  it  168  times  faster,  over  26,000  times  less  expensive,  
and  over  400  times  more  sensitive  than  our  current  standard  for  
pancreatic  cancer  detection.”  
 
Again,  using  comparison,  Jack  puts  his  point  across  to  his  audience  in  a  
way  that  allows  them  to  comprehend  the  significance  of  it.  
 
Next  time  you’re  delivering  a  statistic  or  talking  about  the  effectiveness  
of  a  product  or  idea,  use  comparison  to  put  it  into  perspective  for  your  
audience  so  that  they  can  grasp  the  significance  of  it.  
  
 
 
 
 Express  Complex  Ideas  in  a  Simple  Manner  
 
Jack's  heartfelt  triad  of  death,  curiosity  and  liberation  provided  the  
foundation  for  one  truly  incredible  story  –  a  story  we  learn  also  takes  
root  as  a  technical  presentation.    
   
Inherent  in  all  technical  presentations  are  three  main  challenges  for  the  
speaker:  
 
First  is  understanding  the  knowledge  level  of  the  audience.  Too  often  
technical  speeches  alienate  audiences,  in  part  because  the  level  of  
speech  detail  is  out  of  sync  with  the  audience.  Out  of  sync  can  span  the  
spectrum  from  too  simple  for  an  audience  through  too  complex  for  
them.  Only  from  the  vantage  point  of  knowing  your  audience  can  a  
meaningful  presentation  be  built.  
 
A  second  challenge  of  technical  presentations  is  ensuring  the  speech  
content  is  relevant  to  the  target  audience.  It’s  not  enough  just  to  sync  
the  level  of  detail  for  the  audience.  You  must  also  find  a  topic  relevant  to  
your  audience.      
 
The  final  challenge  in  presenting  a  technical  speech  is  keeping  the  
audience  engaged  as  the  speaker  delves  deeper  and  deeper  into  
complex  technical  topics.  As  speakers  begin  to  include  language  and  
terms  specific  to  a  narrower  and  narrower  community,  they  run  a  
higher  risk  of  audience  isolation  and  disengagement.    
 
Jack  navigated  through  the  three  challenges  of  a  technical  speech  
beautifully.        
   
First,  while  the  academic  composite  of  the  TED  audience  may  not  have  
been  crystal  clear  to  Jack,  it’s  public  knowledge  that  the  TED  audience  is  
well  educated  and,  according  to  the  TED.com  website,  “made  up  of  
extraordinary  thought-­‐leaders  in  an  environment  where  they  are  open  to  
new  ideas.”  This  public  information  was  available  for  Jack  to  
uncover.  Thus,  Jack  confidently  delivered  a  well  thought-­‐out  
presentation  appropriate  for  a  TED  audience.      
  
 
   
Next,  the  topic  of  Jack's  speech,  pancreatic  cancer  detection,  with  
subcategories  of  the  loss  of  a  loved  one  and  of  general  disease  detection,  
certainly  had  mass  appeal  for  a  large  audience.  For  example,  consider  
how  Jack  made  his  topic  relevant  to  his  audience  when  he  said  in  his  
closing  statement:  
 
“And  so  hopefully  one  day  we  can  all  have  that  one  extra  uncle,  
that  one  mother,  that  one  brother,  sister,  we  can  have  that  one  
more  family  member  to  love,  and  that  our  hearts  will  be  rid  of  that  
one  disease  burden  that  comes  from  pancreatic,  ovarian  and  lung  
cancer,  and  potentially  any  disease...”  
 
Finally,  Jack  does  an  exceptional  job  of  keeping  the  audience  engaged  in  
the  technical  aspects  of  his  speech.  In  fact,  the  part  in  his  speech  that  
could  have  been  an  audience-­‐isolating  technical  moment  (setting  up  
scientific  criteria  for  the  sensor)  was  handled  with  a  simple  graph  and  a  
list  of  simple  word-­‐triggers:  
   
“So  I  set  up  a  scientific  criteria  as  to  what  a  sensor  would  have  to  
look  like  in  order  to  effectively  diagnose  pancreatic  cancer.  The  
sensor  would  have  to  be  inexpensive,  rapid,  simple,  sensitive,  
selective,  and  minimally  invasive.”  
Another  great  technique  Jack  uses  to  make  his  presentation  easy  to  
understand  as  well  as  memorable  is  that  he  uses  similes.  According  to  
http://www.merriam-­‐webster.com:    
 
“A  similie  is  a  figure  of  speech  comparing  two  unlike  things  that  is  
often  introduced  by  like  or  as  (as  in  cheeks  like  roses)”  
 
Using  a  simile,  Jack  highlights  the  significance  of  a  key  ingredient  in  his  
pancreatic  cancer  detection  solution,  carbon  nanotubes:  
   
“And  despite  their  extremely  small  sizes,  they  have  these  
incredible  properties.  They're  kind  of  like  the  superheroes  of  
material  science.”  
 
Here’s  another  example  where  Jack  successfully  arouses  audience  
interest  by  comparing  the  complexities  of  making  a  cancer  sensor  using  
  
 
carbon  nanotubes  and  antibodies  to  making  a  familiar  homemade  treat:  
 
“Making  a  cancer  sensor  out  of  paper  is  about  as  simple  as  making  
chocolate  chip  cookies,  which  I  love.  You  start  with  some  water,  
pour  in  some  nanotubes,  add  antibodies,  mix  it  up,  take  some  
paper,  dip  it,  dry  it,  and  you  can  detect  cancer.”  
   
Whenever  possible,  use  similes  to  simplify  complex  topics.  Not  only  do  
similes  make  it  easier  for  your  audience  to  digest  the  information  you’re  
giving  them,  they  also  add  variety  and  excitement  to  your  presentation.  
 
 
Use  Conflict  to  Keep  Your  Audience  Hooked  

Jack  is  a  great  storyteller  and  keeps  his  audience  hooked  onto  his  every  
word.  Stories  are  a  powerful  tool  for  keeping  audiences  engaged  
because  people  love  listening  to  stories.  We’re  hardwired  to  listen  to  
stories,  so  consider  using  personal  stories  in  your  presentation  to  add  
excitement  to  your  talk.  
 
So,  what  is  it  about  a  story  that  keeps  us  riveted?    
 
As  you  read  in  the  previous  chapter,  it’s  the  conflict  in  the  story  that  
keeps  the  audience  engaged.  We’re  captivated  by  books  and  movies  that  
have  strong  conflicts  –  where  characters  have  to  overcome  difficult  
obstacles.  The  conflicts  and  difficulties  in  a  story  are  the  hook  of  the  
story  –  they’re  what  keep  the  audience  curious  to  find  out  what  happens  
next.    
 
In  his  TED  talk,  Jack  keeps  his  audience  engaged  by  sharing  the  
obstacles  and  the  conflicts  he  faced.  For  example,  consider  this  story  
Jack  shares  about  how,  after  reaching  out  to  200  different  professors  at  
Johns  Hopkins  and  the  National  Institutes  of  Health,  Jack’s  expectations  
of  wide  acceptance  for  his  idea  took  a  turn  for  the  worst:  
 
“And  I  sat  back  waiting  for  these  positive  emails  to  be  pouring  in,  
saying,  "You're  a  genius!  You're  going  to  save  us  all!"  
 
  
 
And  —  (Laughter)  
 
Then  reality  took  hold,  and  over  the  course  of  a  month,  I  got  199  
rejections  out  of  those  200  emails.  One  professor  even  went  
through  my  entire  procedure,  painstakingly  -­‐-­‐  I'm  not  really  sure  
where  he  got  all  this  time  -­‐-­‐  and  he  went  through  and  said  why  
each  and  every  step  was  like  the  worst  mistake  I  could  ever  
make.”  
 
After  being  subjected  to  an  interrogation  by  PhD’s  and  finally  landing  
the  lab  space  he  needed,  Jack  shares  another  difficulty  he  faced:  
 
“But  it  was  shortly  afterwards  that  I  discovered  my  once  brilliant  
procedure  had  something  like  a  million  holes  in  it...”  
 
By  sharing  the  difficulties  and  challenges  he  encounters,  Jack  causes  
audience  members  to  ask,  “I  wonder  how  this  conflict  will  be  solved?”  
As  a  result,  Jack’s  audience  stays  curious  and  hooked  to  his  talk.    
 
What  stories  can  you  share  with  your  audience?    
 
What  is  the  conflict  in  your  story  that  will  keep  your  audience  hooked  to  
your  presentation?  
 
 
IN  A  NUTSHELL  
 
• Open  with  a  thought-­‐provoking  question.  
• Put  statistics  into  context  through  comparison.  
• Focus  on  expressing  complex  ideas  in  a  simple  manner.  
• Use  similes,  analogies  and  metaphors  to  simplify  complex  
concepts.  
• Use  conflict  to  keep  your  audience  hooked.  

*  
 
 
 
  
 
Meet  Presentation  Expert  Dr.  Donna  Hook:  
As  a  well  respected  presentations  coach,  Donna  Hook  empowers  her  
clients  to  quickly  gain  the  right  mindset  and  practice  tools  to  succeed.    
She’s  been  an  active  member  of  Toastmasters  International  since  1999,  
earned  their  highest  designation  as  Distinguished  Toastmaster,  and  was  
voted  one  of  her  Districts  top  ten  impromptu  speakers.    Professionally,  
before  shifting  her  practice  to  Management  and  Leadership  consulting,  
Donna  worked  as  a  Sr.  IT  Manager  for  a  Fortune  100  company.    For  
more  information  email  Donna  at  area01gov@yahoo.com.    
 
   
  
 
 
CHAPTER  FOUR  
 
THE  KEYS  TO  A  POWERFUL  AND  
PERSUASIVE  PRESENTATION  
 
• Case  study:  Seth  Godin,  How  to  Get  Your  Ideas  Spread  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Akash  Karia  
 
Seth  Godin  is  one  of  my  favorite  authors  and  speakers.  He  is  a  master  
storyteller  who  knows  how  to  keep  his  readers  and  listeners  glued  to  
his  books  and  his  talks.    
 
In  2007,  Seth  Godin  delivered  a  TED  talk  titled  “How  to  get  your  ideas  to  
spread”  (http://bit.ly/1cnNp21).  The  talk  is  one  of  the  most-­‐viewed  TED  
talks  to  date  with  over  half  a  million  views  on  YouTube.  It  is  a  great  TED  
talk  with  rich  insights  for  speakers.    
 

 
Source:  TED  
 
  
 
In  this  chapter,  we  will  dissect  Seth’s  talk  so  that  you  can  discover  the  
tools  and  techniques  Seth  uses  to  keep  his  audience  hooked  to  his  
presentation.  His  talk  contains  great  lessons  on:  
 
• Keeping  your  audience  curious.  
• Using  stories  to  keep  your  audience  engaged  in  your  presentation.  
• Building  rapport  through  conversational  language.  
• Using  of  you-­‐focused  and  we-­‐focused  language.  
• Effectively  utilizing  the  problem/solution  structure.  
• Offering  anecdotal  evidence  to  back  up  your  ideas.  
 
In  case  you  haven’t  yet  watched  Seth’s  talk,  I  encourage  you  to  do  so  
here:  http://bit.ly/1cnNp21    
 
 
Build  Curiosity  with  Your  Opening  
 
If  you  fail  to  connect  with  your  audience  during  your  opening,  they  will  
mentally  tune  out  of  your  speech  and  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  bring  
them  back.    
 
Seth  doesn’t  waste  any  time  and  instead  dives  immediately  into  the  
essence  of  his  speech.  He  begins  with  the  following  words:  
 
“I'm  going  to  give  you  four  specific  examples  -­‐-­‐  and  I'm  going  to  
cover  at  the  end  -­‐-­‐  about  how  a  company  called  Silk  tripled  their  
sales  by  doing  one  thing,  how  an  artist  named  Jeff  Koons  went  
from  being  a  nobody  to  making  a  whole  bunch  of  money  and  
having  a  lot  of  impact,  to  how  Frank  Gehry  redefined  what  it  
meant  to  be  an  architect.”  
 
So,  what  makes  this  opening  such  an  effective  one?  
 
One  of  the  most  important  things  Seth  does  with  this  technique  is  that  
he  hooks  his  audience  into  his  talk  by  building  their  curiosity.  He  
promises  that  he  is  going  to  share  valuable  tools  with  the  audience,  but  
doesn’t  tell  them  what  they  are.  As  a  result,  audience  members  are  left  
  
 
asking  themselves  these  questions:  
 
• “What  one  thing  did  Silk  do  that  tripled  their  sales?”  
 
• “How  did  Jeff  Koons  go  from  being  a  nobody  to  making  a  whole  
bunch  of  money?”  
 
• “How  did  this  man  named  Frank  Gehry  redefine  what  it  meant  to  
be  an  architect?”  
 
As  soon  as  audience  members  start  asking  themselves  these  questions,  
they’re  hooked.  They  are  hooked  into  the  presentation  because  they  
want  to  know  the  answers  to  the  questions  that  have  been  raised.    
 
When  crafting  your  presentation  opening,  ask  yourself,  “What  questions  
am  I  raising  in  my  audience’s  minds?”  If  you’re  not  creating  any  
questions  in  your  audience’s  minds,  your  audience  has  no  reason  to  pay  
attention  and  they’re  quickly  going  to  tune  out.    
 
 
Implicitly  Promise  Value  
 
Another  reason  Seth’s  opening  is  so  powerful  is  because  it  promises  the  
audience  value.  Let’s  examine  part  of  the  opening  again:  
 
“...how  a  company  called  Silk  tripled  their  sales  by  doing  one  
thing,  how  an  artist  named  Jeff  Koons  went  from  being  a  nobody  
to  making  a  whole  bunch  of  money.”  
 
If  you’re  an  audience  member  listening  to  this  presentation,  what  would  
you  probably  be  thinking?  You’d  probably  be  thinking,  “How  did  Silk  
triple  their  sales  and  how  can  I  do  the  same?  How  did  Jeff  Koons  go  from  
being  a  nobody  to  making  a  lot  of  money?  If  I  learn  how  he  did  it,  
perhaps  I  can  do  the  same!”  
 
What  value  (implicit  or  explicit)  are  you  promising  your  audience?  
 
 
  
 
Keep  Your  Audience  Engaged  with  Stories  
 
Anyone  who  wants  to  master  the  art  of  public  speaking  must  master  
storytelling  skills.  Stories  are  powerful  because:  
 
• They  are  hardwired  into  our  brains.  It’s  how  knowledge  was  
passed  down  for  millions  of  years  before  the  written  word.  As  
children,  we  make  sense  of  the  world  through  stories.  
 
• They  are  inherently  interesting.  Stories  contain  characters,  
conflicts  and  they  involve  the  imagination.  We  cannot  help  but  be  
caught  up  in  a  well-­‐told  story.  
 
• They  are  memorable.  Because  stories  activate  our  imaginations,  
they  are  easy  to  remember.  When  we  remember  the  story,  we  also  
remember  the  point  associated  with  it.  
 
• They  are  relatable.  We  associate  with  characters  and  situations  
in  the  story,  which  is  why  stories  engage  us  emotionally.  As  a  
result,  stories  are  a  powerful  tool  available  to  speakers  to  help  
them  deepen  the  connection  with  their  audience.    
 
Seth  Godin  is  a  master  storyteller,  and  in  this  TED  talk  he  weaves  in  lots  
of  stories  and  anecdotes  to  keep  his  audience’s  interest  levels  high.  For  
example,  consider  this  short  story  about  Otto  Rohwedder:  
 
“But  this  guy  named  Otto  Rohwedder  invented  sliced  bread,  and  
he  focused,  like  most  inventors  did,  on  the  patent  part  and  the  
making  part.  And  the  thing  about  the  invention  of  sliced  bread  is  
this  -­‐-­‐  that  for  the  first  15  years  after  sliced  bread  was  available  no  
one  bought  it;  no  one  knew  about  it;  it  was  a  complete  and  total  
failure.”  
 
Here’s  another  short  anecdote  that  Seth  uses  to  help  prove  his  point:  
 
“This  guy,  Lionel  Poilane,  the  most  famous  baker  in  the  world  -­‐-­‐  he  
died  two  and  a  half  months  ago,  and  he  was  a  hero  of  mine  and  a  
  
 
dear  friend.  He  lived  in  Paris.  Last  year  he  sold  10  million  dollars'  
worth  of  French  bread.”  
 
Here’s  a  personal  story  that  Seth  entertains  and  educates  his  audience  
with:  
 
“I  go  to  the  deli;  I'm  sick;  I  need  to  buy  some  medicine.  The  brand  
manager  for  that  blue  product  spent  100  million  dollars  trying  to  
interrupt  me  in  one  year...”  
 
Whether  you’re  using  personal  stories  or  stories  about  other  people,  the  
point  is  that  stories  are  a  fantastic  tool  to  entertain  as  well  as  educate  
your  audience  members.    
 
 
Use  Conversational  Language    
 
Notice  how  Seth  speaks  in  a  very  conversational  manner:  
 
“And  it  doesn't  matter  to  me  whether  you're  running  a  coffee  shop  
or  you're  an  intellectual,  or  you're  in  business,  or  you're  flying  hot  
air  balloons.  I  think  that  all  this  stuff  applies  to  everybody  
regardless  of  what  we  do.”  
 
When  you  listen  to  Seth  speak,  you  do  not  feel  as  though  he  is  lecturing  
you.  Nor  does  he  seem  like  someone  who  is  trying  to  impress  you  with  
the  size  of  his  vocabulary.  He  speaks  naturally,  and  that  comes  off  as  
authentic  and  helps  him  connect  with  his  audience.  Connect  with  your  
audience  by  speaking  conversationally.  
 
 
Make  Your  Talk  Relevant  to  Your  Audience  
 
I  once  attended  a  presentation  where  the  speaker  made  some  great  
points,  but  he  failed  to  show  me  how  the  points  he  made  were  relevant  
to  me.  As  a  speaker,  you  should  be  aware  that  audience  members  are  
always  going  to  be  asking  themselves,  “How  is  this  relevant  to  me?”  It  is  
  
 
your  job  to  show  your  audience  how  your  points  affect  and  impact  your  
audience.  
 
For  example,  in  this  TED  talk,  Seth  begins  by  talking  about  the  invention  
of  sliced  bread.  He  says:  
 
“...for  the  first  15  years  after  sliced  bread  was  available  no  one  
bought  it;  no  one  knew  about  it;  it  was  a  complete  and  total  
failure.”  
 
Had  Seth  carried  on  talking  about  sliced  bread  and  not  shown  the  
audience  how  the  story  was  relevant  to  them,  he  would  have  lost  them.  
However,  being  the  master  speaker  that  he  is,  Seth  showed  his  audience  
how  the  story  was  relevant  and  applicable  to  them:  
 
“That  the  success  of  sliced  bread,  like  the  success  of  almost  
everything  we've  been  talking  about  at  this  conference,  is  not  
always  about  what  the  patent  is  like,  or  what  the  factory  is  like  -­‐-­‐  
it's  about  can  you  get  your  idea  to  spread,  or  not.    
 
And  I  think  that  the  way  you're  going  to  get  what  you  want,  or  
cause  the  change  that  you  want  to  change,  to  happen,  is  that  
you've  got  to  figure  out  a  way  to  get  your  ideas  to  spread.”  
 
No  matter  what  stories  or  examples  you  share,  always  make  sure  that  
you  tie  them  back  to  your  audience  by  showing  your  audience  how  the  
stories  and  the  examples  are  relevant  to  them.    
 
 
Use  the  Magic  Word:  You  
 
In  public  speaking,  the  magic  word  that  helps  you  connect  with  your  
audience  is  the  word  “you.”  The  word  “you”  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  
most  powerful  words  in  the  English  language.  Why?  Because  you  are  
interested  in  you!  People  are  interested  in  themselves.  
 
Notice  that  in  order  to  make  the  story  of  sliced  bread  relevant  to  his  
audience,  Seth  had  to  turn  the  focus  from  sliced  bread  (i.e.  “other-­‐
focused)  to  audience-­‐focused  (i.e.  “you-­‐focused”):  
  
 
 
“And  I  think  that  the  way  you're  going  to  get  what  you  want,  or  
cause  the  change  that  you  want  to  change,  to  happen,  is  that  you've  
got  to  figure  out  a  way  to  get  your  ideas  to  spread.”  
 
Here’s  another  example  of  you-­‐focused  speaking  from  Seth’s  talk:  
 
“The  way  the  TV-­‐industrial  complex  works,  is  you  buy  some  ads  -­‐-­‐  
interrupt  some  people  -­‐-­‐  that  gets  you  distribution.  You  use  the  
distribution  you  get  to  sell  more  products.  You  take  the  profit  
from  that  to  buy  more  ads.”  
 
Whenever  you  speak,  remember  that  your  presentation  is  never  about  
you  (the  speaker).  It’s  always  about  the  audience.  Keep  your  
presentation  audience-­‐centered  by  using  you-­‐focused  language.  Avoid  
the  mistake  of  being  speaker-­‐centered  and  talking  about  yourself  using  
I-­‐focused  language.  
 
For  example,  in  one  of  the  presentations  I  gave,  I  could  have  used  the  
following  I-­‐focused  description  to  tell  my  story:  
 
“I  could  sense  the  excitement.  Over  four-­‐hundred  people  sat  
squashed  together  at  the  Hong  Kong  Convention  and  Exhibition  
Center.”  
 
While  this  would  have  been  a  good  opening,  I  made  it  even  better.  I  
made  it  you-­‐focused.  Here’s  how  I  started:  
 
“You  could  sense  the  excitement.  Over  four-­‐hundred  people  sat  
squashed  together  at  the  Hong  Kong  Convention  and  Exhibition  
Center.”  
 
Do  you  feel  the  difference  between  the  two?  The  first  one  is  speaker-­‐
focused.  The  second  one  is  audience-­‐focused.  It  engages  the  audience  
members  by  placing  them  in  my  situation  –  they  become  a  part  of  my  
story  and  become  mentally  engaged  in  my  presentation.    
 
Whenever  you  can,  look  for  ways  to  turn  I-­‐focused  sections  of  your  
presentation  into  audience-­‐focused  sections  (“you-­‐focused”).    
  
 
 
 
The  Power  of  “We”  
 
There  is  one  particular  situation  in  which  it  is  better  to  use  a  “we-­‐focus”  
than  it  is  to  use  a  “you-­‐focus.”    
 
For  example,  as  an  audience  member,  which  one  would  you  react  more  
positively  to?  
 
(A) “You  are  sometimes  so  afraid  of  failing  that  you  never  take  
actions  towards  your  goals.”  
 
or  
 
(B) “We  are  sometimes  so  afraid  of  failing  that  we  never  take  
action  towards  our  goals.”  
 
I  personally  would  react  more  favorably  to  (B).  Why?  Because  if  you  tell  
the  audience  something  “negative”  about  themselves,  they  will  resist  
listening  to  you.  They  will  also  perceive  you  as  being  arrogant  because  
you  seem  to  be  shoving  advice  down  their  throats.  
 
However,  if  you  use  a  “we-­‐focus”  when  sharing  “negative”  ideas,  you  are  
including  yourself  as  part  of  the  group.  You  are  not  placing  yourself  
“above”  them,  and  instead  connecting  with  them  on  a  “we”  level.  
 
Consider  this  section  of  Seth’s  presentation  where  he  uses  a  we-­‐focus:  
 
“We're  now  in  the  fashion  business,  no  matter  what  we  do  for  a  
living,  we're  in  the  fashion  business.  And  the  thing  is,  people  in  the  
fashion  business  know  what  it's  like  to  be  in  the  fashion  business  -­‐
-­‐  they're  used  to  it.  The  rest  of  us  have  to  figure  out  how  to  think  
that  way.”  
 
However,  imagine  if  Seth  had  said  this  instead:  
 
  
 
“...people  in  the  fashion  business  know  what  it’s  like  to  be  in  the  
fashion  business  –  they’re  used  to  it.  You  however  have  to  figure  
out  how  to  think  that  way.”  
 
The  latter  statement  would  have  caused  psychological  reactance  from  
the  audience.  They  would  have  perceived  Seth  as  being  too  “pushy,”  
“aggressive”  and  “arrogant.”  
 
Whenever  you’re  telling  the  audience  something  negative  (e.g.  telling  
them  what  mistake  they  are  making,  what  they  should  stop  doing  or  
how  they  should  change),  use  a  “we-­‐focus”  to  show  your  humility  and  
avoid  coming  across  as  a  pushy  and  arrogant  speaker.  
 
 
 
Highlight  the  Problem  before  You  Offer  the  Solution  
 
Seth  makes  brilliant  use  of  the  problem/solution  structure.  This  is  a  
very  simple  yet  effective  presentation  structure  where  you  first  
highlight  the  problem  before  you  offer  the  solution.  Why  is  this  such  an  
effective  structure  to  use?  Because  –  as  Seth  knows  –  people  don’t  care  
about  the  solution  unless  you  first  highlight  the  problem.  
 
During  the  first  half  of  the  talk,  Seth  talks  about  the  problem.  He  
intensifies  the  problem  and  the  pain  for  the  audience  members  until  
they’re  desperate  for  a  solution.  Look  at  just  some  of  the  examples  Seth  
uses  to  highlight  and  magnify  the  pain:  
 
• “The  brand  manager  for  that  blue  product  spent  100  million  
dollars  trying  to  interrupt  me  in  one  year.  100  million  dollars  
interrupting  me  with  TV  commercials  and  magazine  ads  and  spam  
and  coupons  and  shelving  allowances  and  spiff  -­‐-­‐  all  so  I  could  
ignore  every  single  message.”  
 
• “Arby's  is  going  to  spend  85  million  dollars  promoting  an  oven  
mitt  with  the  voice  of  Tom  Arnold,  hoping  that  that  will  get  people  
to  go  to  Arby's  and  buy  a  roast  beef  sandwich.  Now,  I  had  tried  to  
imagine  what  could  possibly  be  in  an  animated  TV  commercial  
  
 
featuring  Tom  Arnold,  that  would  get  you  to  get  in  your  car,  drive  
across  town  and  buy  a  roast  beef  sandwich.”  
 
• “Consumers  don't  care  about  you  at  all;  they  just  don't  care.  Part  
of  the  reason  is  -­‐-­‐  they've  got  way  more  choices  than  they  used  to,  
and  way  less  time.  And  in  a  world  where  we  have  too  many  
choices  and  too  little  time,  the  obvious  thing  to  do  is  just  ignore  
stuff.”  
 
 
All  the  examples  above  highlight  the  problem  that  the  old  way  of  
spreading  ideas  via  interruption  marketing  just  isn’t  working.  By  
highlighting  the  magnitude  of  the  problem,  Seth  gets  his  audience  
members  wanting  to  desperately  know  the  solution.    
 
So,  what  is  the  solution?  According  to  Seth,  it  is  to  be  remarkable.  Look  
at  how  he  subtly  and  smoothly  transitions  from  the  problem  into  the  
solution  using  the  purple  cow  analogy:  
 
“Cows  are  boring.  Who's  going  to  stop  and  pull  over  and  say  -­‐-­‐  oh,  
look,  a  cow.  Nobody.  But  if  the  cow  was  purple  -­‐-­‐  isn't  that  a  great  
special  effect?  I  could  do  that  again  if  you  want  it.  If  the  cow  was  
purple,  you'd  notice  it  for  a  while.  I  mean,  if  all  cows  were  purple  
you'd  get  bored  with  those,  too.  The  thing  that's  going  to  decide  
what  gets  talked  about,  what  gets  done,  what  gets  changed,  what  
gets  purchased,  what  gets  built,  is:  is  it  remarkable?  And  
"remarkable"  is  a  really  cool  word  because  we  think  it  just  means  
neat,  but  it  also  means  -­‐-­‐  worth  making  a  remark  about.”  
 
After  transitioning  into  the  solution  part  of  the  presentation,  Seth  then  
spends  the  rest  of  the  time  highlighting  the  solution  (the  benefits  of  
being  remarkable).  All  the  stories  shift  from  being  “problem  stories”  to  
being  “success  stories”  such  as  below:  
 
“They  didn't  want  to  buy  his  bread.  It  didn't  look  like  "French  
bread."  It  wasn't  what  they  expected.  It  was  neat;  it  was  
remarkable;  and  slowly  it  spread  from  one  person  to  another  
person  until  finally,  it  became  the  official  bread  of  three-­‐star  
  
 
restaurants  in  Paris.  Now  he's  in  London,  and  he  ships  by  FedEx  
all  around  the  world.”  
 
So,  what  can  we  learn  from  Seth  regarding  the  use  of  a  problem-­‐solution  
structure  for  a  presentation?  
 
First,  present,  highlight  and  intensify  the  problem  for  your  audience.  
Audiences  don’t  care  about  the  solution  until  they  feel  the  pain  of  the  
problem.  Use  stories  and  examples  to  highlight  the  problem.  
 
Second,  ensure  a  smooth  a  natural  transition  from  the  Problem  phase  of  
the  presentation  to  the  Solution  phase  of  the  presentation.  
 
Finally,  only  share  the  solution  after  your  audience  is  desperate  to  hear  
it.  Use  plenty  of  success  stories  to  demonstrate  the  benefits  of  the  
solution.  
 
Experiment  with  the  problem-­‐solution  structure  for  your  next  
presentation.  It  is  an  incredibly  simple  yet  stunningly  effective  structure  
for  winning  your  audience  over  to  your  way  of  thinking.  
 
 
Use  an  Analogy,  Metaphor  or  Simile    
 
Analogies,  metaphors  and  similes  make  it  easier  for  your  audience  to  
understand  your  arguments.  In  this  TED  talk,  Seth  uses  the  analogy  of  a  
purple  cow  to  explain  the  idea  of  being  remarkable  to  his  audience:  
 
“Cows  are  invisible.  Cows  are  boring.  Who's  going  to  stop  and  pull  
over  and  say  -­‐-­‐  oh,  look,  a  cow.  Nobody.  
 
But  if  the  cow  was  purple  -­‐-­‐  isn't  that  a  great  special  effect?  I  could  
do  that  again  if  you  want  it.  If  the  cow  was  purple,  you'd  notice  it  
for  a  while.  I  mean,  if  all  cows  were  purple  you'd  get  bored  with  
those,  too.  The  thing  that's  going  to  decide  what  gets  talked  about,  
what  gets  done,  what  gets  changed,  what  gets  purchased,  what  
gets  built,  is:  is  it  remarkable?”  
 
  
 
Analogies,  metaphors  and  similes  not  only  help  your  audience  better  
understand  your  idea,  they  also  help  the  audience  remember  the  idea.  
Analogies,  metaphors  and  similes  activate  your  imagination  and  paint  
pictures  in  your  mind,  which  helps  you  understand  as  well  as  better  
recall  the  idea  in  the  future.  
 
What  metaphors,  analogies  and  similes  can  you  use  in  your  
presentation?  
 
 
Have  as  Many  Stories  as  You  Need,  but  Have  Only  One  Key  
Takeaway  Message  
 
In  his  talk,  Seth  offers  lots  of  anecdotal  proof  that  being  remarkable  
works  –  that  it  makes  business  sense!  Here  are  just  some  of  the  many  
anecdotes  and  examples  Seth  shares  in  order  to  back  up  his  argument:  
 
• “This  yoyo  right  here  cost  112  dollars,  but  it  sleeps  for  12  minutes.  
Not  everybody  wants  it  but  they  don't  care.  They  want  to  talk  to  
the  people  who  do,  and  maybe  it'll  spread.”  
 
• “These  guys  make  the  loudest  car  stereo  in  the  world.  It's  as  loud  
as  a  747  jet.  You  can't  get  in  the  car;  it's  got  bulletproof  glass  on  
the  windows  because  they'll  blow  out  the  windshield  otherwise.”  
 
• “Hard  Candy  nail  polish,  doesn't  appeal  to  everybody,  but  to  the  
people  who  love  it,  they  talk  about  it  like  crazy.”  
 
• “AmIHotOrNot.com  -­‐-­‐  everyday  250,000  people  go  to  this  site,  run  
by  two  volunteers,  and  I  can  tell  you  they  are  hard  graders.  They  
didn't  get  this  way  by  advertising  a  lot.  They  got  this  way  by  being  
remarkable...”  
 
As  you  can  see,  Seth’s  talk  is  based  on  anecdotal  evidence.  In  order  to  
win  his  audience  over  to  his  way  of  thinking  –  of  getting  them  to  buy  
into  the  idea  that  being  remarkable,  even  if  it  means  targeting  a  smaller  
market,  is  a  good  strategy  –  Seth  shares  lots  and  lots  of  stories  of  
companies  that  have  been  successful  by  being  remarkable.    
  
 
 
However,  even  though  Seth  shares  a  lot  of  stories,  notice  that  he  only  
has  one  key  message.  Each  and  every  story  in  the  talk  is  meant  to  
reinforce  his  one  key  takeaway  message.    
 
As  a  speaker,  you  should  ensure  that  you  do  not  overwhelm  your  
audience  with  too  many  messages.  If  you  try  to  squeeze  too  much  
information  into  your  talk,  your  audience  won’t  remember  much  of  it.  
For  an  eighteen-­‐minute  TED  talk,  you  can  use  as  many  stories,  
examples,  analogies  and  activities  as  you  need,  but  you  should  have  only  
one  key  takeaway  message.    
 
The  takeaway  message  of  Seth’s  talk  was,  “To  spread  your  ideas,  you  
need  to  be  remarkable.”  What  is  the  key  takeaway  message  of  your  talk?  
 
 
End  with  a  Clear  Call  to  Action  
 
Seth  concludes  his  inspiring  TED  talk  with  a  final  example  to  back  up  his  
main  point.  He  even  refers  back  to  the  purple  cow  analogy,  which  is  a  
great  callback  to  earlier  on  in  the  speech.  He  says:  
 
“The  last  example  I  want  to  give  you.  This  is  a  map  of  Soap  Lake,  
Washington.  As  you  can  see,  if  that's  nowhere,  it's  in  the  middle  of  
it.    
 
But  they  do  have  a  lake.  And  people  used  to  come  from  miles  
around  to  swim  in  the  lake.  They  don't  anymore.  So  the  founding  
fathers  said,  "We've  got  some  money  to  spend.  What  can  we  build  
here?"    
 
And  like  most  committees,  they  were  going  to  build  something  
pretty  safe.  And  then  an  artist  came  to  them  -­‐-­‐  this  is  a  true  artist's  
rendering  -­‐-­‐  he  wants  to  build  a  55-­‐foot  tall  lava  lamp  in  the  
center  of  town.  That's  a  purple  cow;  that's  something  worth  
noticing.  I  don't  know  about  you  but  if  they  build  it,  that's  where  
I'm  going  to  go.”  
 
  
 
While  this  is  a  pretty  good  conclusion,  I  believe  that  it  could  be  
improved  by  having  a  stronger  call  to  action.  A  call  to  action  is  a  
statement  that  lets  your  audience  members  know  exactly  what  you  
would  like  them  to  do  next  as  a  result  of  listening  to  you.  It’s  the  next  
step  that  you  want  your  audience  members  to  take.  Unfortunately,  Seth  
misses  out  on  this  and  as  a  result  the  conclusion  is  not  as  powerful  and  
inspiring  as  it  could  be.  
 
As  an  example  of  a  call  to  action,  check  out  this  wonderful  TED  talk  by  
Amy  Cuddy  (http://bit.ly/13KIm7h).  Amy  wraps  up  her  speech  by  
encouraging  her  audience  to  try  power-­‐posing.  She  also  gives  her  
audience  a  clear  next  step,  which  is  to  “spread  the  science”:  
 
“So  I  want  to  ask  you  first,  you  know,  both  to  try  power  posing,  
and  also  I  want  to  ask  you  to  share  the  science,  because  this  is  
simple.  I  don't  have  ego  involved  in  this.  (Laughter)  Give  it  away.  
Share  it  with  people,  because  the  people  who  can  use  it  the  most  
are  the  ones  with  no  resources  and  no  technology  and  no  status  
and  no  power.  Give  it  to  them  because  they  can  do  it  in  private.  
They  need  their  bodies,  privacy  and  two  minutes,  and  it  can  
significantly  change  the  outcomes  of  their  life.  Thank  you.”  
 
This  is  a  clear  and  compelling  call  to  action  –  it  drives  the  audience  
members  to  take  action  and  make  a  change,  which  is  the  point  of  any  
presentation.  
 
How  will  you  end  your  talk?  What’s  the  clear  next  step  of  your  speech?  
What’s  your  call  to  action?  
 
 
IN  A  NUTSHELL  
 
• Build  curiosity  with  your  opening.  
• Create  questions  in  your  audience’s  minds.  
• Promise  value  from  your  talk.  
• Keep  your  audience  engaged  with  stories.  
• Connect  with  conversational  language.  
• Make  your  talk  relevant  to  your  audience.  
  
 
• Use  the  magic  word:  “You”.  
• Use  a  “we-­‐focus”  when  sharing  negative  ideas.  
• Highlight  the  problem  before  you  offer  the  solution.  
• Use  an  analogy,  metaphor  or  simile.  
• Include  as  many  stories  as  you  need,  but  have  only  one  key  
takeaway  message.  
• End  with  a  clear  call  to  action.  
 
   
  
 
CHAPTER  FIVE  
 
WRAP  UP  
 
We’ve  covered  a  lot  of  tools  and  techniques  in  this  short  book,  and  I  
hope  that  having  analyzed  the  TED  talks  in  this  book  has  inspired  you  to  
create  powerful  and  persuasive  presentations.  I  believe  that  anyone  can  
become  a  powerful  speaker  –  that  public  speaking  is  not  a  talent  that  
you’re  born  with,  but  a  skill  you  develop.    
 
Use  the  following  tools  and  techniques  to  help  you  give  a  great  TED  talk:  
 
• Build  your  talk  around  a  universally  appealing  topic.  
• Craft  an  opening  that  makes  your  audience  lean  in.  
• Create  knowledge  gaps  with  questions.  
• Prolong  your  audience’s  curiosity  for  as  long  as  you  can.  
• Promise  value  from  your  talk.  
• Engage  your  audience  with  rhetorical  questions.  
• Highlight  the  problem  before  you  offer  the  solution.  
• Connect  with  your  audience  by  speaking  conversationally.  
• Create  rapport  by  referencing  common  experiences  and  beliefs.  
• Use  a  “we-­‐focus”  when  sharing  negative  ideas.  
• Use  stories  that  make  your  audience  feel  something.  
• Remember  the  four  elements  of  a  great  story:  Characters,  
Conflict/Challenge,  Cure  and  Change  in  character.  
• Include  as  many  stories  as  you  need,  but  have  only  one  key  
takeaway  message.  
• Make  your  presentation  relevant  to  your  audience.  
• Involve  your  audience  in  your  presentation.  
• Engage  the  audience  with  a  you-­‐focus.  
• Add  an  element  of  newness  to  your  talk.  
• Use  self-­‐deprecation  and  over-­‐exaggeration  to  add  humor  to  your  
talk.  
• Tread  carefully  when  using  humor.  
• Put  statistics  into  perspective  for  your  audience.  
• Tell  your  audience  how  to  apply  your  ideas  to  their  life.  
• Don’t  just  share  information;  share  your  emotions  too.  
  
 
• Use  words  that  invoke  emotions  in  your  audience.  
• Focus  externally,  not  internally.  
• Use  visual  aids  only  if  you  have  visuals.  
• Let  your  passion  shine  through.  
• Focus  on  expressing  complex  ideas  in  a  simple  manner.  
• Use  similes,  analogies  and  metaphors  to  simplify  complex  
concepts.  
• Conclude  by  “signaling,  summarizing  and  selling”.  
• Motive  your  audience  to  take  action.  
• End  with  a  clear  call  to  action.  
 

One  Final  Tool  

I’m  going  to  end  this  book  by  giving  you  one  more  tool.  Use  this  tool  
before  any  speech  or  presentation  because  it  will  put  you  into  a  
confident  mind-­‐set.    
 
I  want  you  to  relax,  sit  back  and  imagine  yourself  up  on  stage,  sharing  
your  message  with  your  audience.  Imagine  your  audience  smiling  and  
enthusiastic.  Imagine  them  being  hooked  onto  your  every  word.  
Imagine  them  totally  engaged  in  your  speech.  Imagine  them  laughing  at  
the  humor  in  your  speech.  Imagine  them  spellbound  by  your  stories.  
Imagine  yourself  enthusiastic,  confident  and  enjoying  the  moment.    
 
To  your  speaking  success,  
 
Akash  Karia  |  Martha  Lanaghen  |  Donna  Hook    
   
  
 

TED:ology
Presentation secrets from TED Talks
© All rights reserved.

Akash  Karia    
#1  Bestselling  Author  of  “How  to  Deliver  a  Great  TED  Talk”  
 
Dana  Rubin    
 Founder  &  Director  of  NY  Speechwriter’s  Roundtable  
 
Marion  Grobb  Finkelstein  
Renowned  Communication  Skills  Consultant  
   
 Dr.  Michelle  Mazur  
PhD  in  Communication  
 
*  
Note:  This  book  makes  use  of  small  portions  of  coprighted  material  
from  TED  in  accordance  with  the  “fair  use”  rule  for  the  purposes  of  
criticism  and  commentary  of  the  speeches.  
 
*  
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  
I  am  heavily  indebted  to  my  parents,  my  sister  and  my  friends,  without  
whom  this  book  would  not  have  been  possible.  I  am  also  indebted  to  the  
work  of  experts  such  as  Craig  Valentine,  Darren  LaCroix,  Robert  Cialdini,  
Anthony  Robbins,  Amanda  Palmer,  Jinsop  Lee  and  Hans  Rosling.  Finally,  
I  owe  a  huge  thank  you  to  TED  for  the  work  they  do.  I  am  inspired  by  the  
speakers  at  TED  and  I  or  any  of  the  authors  in  this  book  are  affiliated  
this  great  organization,  I  hope  that  this  book  will  serve  as  an  educational  
tool  and  help  more  people  discover  the  magic  of  TED.  
-­‐-­‐  from  Akash  Karia  
 
  
 

TED:OLOGY  –  PRESENTATION  SECRETS  

FROM  TED  TALKS  
 
 
TED:ology  –  Presentation  Secrets  from  TED  Talks  is  a  short,  clear  and  
straightforward  guide  that  reveals  the  secrets  to  delivering  a  
mesmerizing  TED  talk.    
 
Written  by  four  presentation  experts,  this  book  systematically  dissects  
the  TED  talks  of  four  great  speakers.  By  the  end  of  the  book,  you’ll  have  
received  new  insights  into  the  art  of  public  speaking  and  discovered  the  
techniques  that  you  can  use  to  inspire,  educate  and  entertain  any  
audience.  
 
Whether  you’re  a  CEO,  manager,  entrepreneur  or  educator,  as  long  as  
you’ve  got  a  message  to  share,  TED:ology  will  become  an  indispensible  
resource  in  your  speaking  toolkit.  
 
By  the  end  of  the  book,  you’ll  be  able  to:  
 
• Harness  the  power  of  storytelling  and  move  your  audience  
emotionally.  
 
• Connect  with  your  audience  by  appealing  to  a  universal  
experience  or  idea.  
 
• Create  an  experience  for  your  audience  (Case  Study:  Amanda  
Palmer,  The  Art  of  Asking).  
 
• Start  with  a  startle  (and  avoid  “shocks  that  block”)  
 
• Keep  your  audience  engaged  and  interested  (Case  study:  
Jinsop  Lee,  Design  for  All  Five  Senses).  
 
• Deliver  a  memorable  presentation  by  repeating  a  hook  line.  
 
  
 
• Share  the  message  out  of  the  mess.  
 
• Surprise  your  audience  with  twists  and  turns.  
 
• Deliver  a  dynamic  TED  talk  or  any  other  speech  or  
presentation  (Case  study:  Anthony  Robbins,  Why  We  Do  What  
We  Do).  
 
• Build  rapport  using  you-­‐focused  speaking.  
 
• Instantly  connect  with  your  audience  using  the  energy-­‐
matching  principle.  
 
• Gesture  powerfully  and  confidently  by  putting  your  body  behind  
your  gestures.  
 
• Deepen  the  connection  with  your  audience  by  verbalizing  
their  thoughts.  
 
• Personalize  your  talk  using  callbacks.  
 
• Keep  your  audience  curious  using  knowledge  gaps.  
 
• Have  fun  on  stage.  
 
• Make  your  statistics  come  alive  (Case  study:  Hans  Rosling,  
The  Best  Stats  You’ve  Ever  Seen).  
 
• Give  life  and  meaning  to  your  data.  
 
• Engage  seamlessly  with  your  visuals.  
 
• End  your  talk  powerfully  and  persuasively.  
 
• Share  a  message  that  is  remembered  and  repeated.  
 
Let’s  get  started...  
 
  
 
Akash  Karia  
http://AkashKaria.com    
 
 
   
  
 
CHAPTER  ONE  
 
HOW  TO  CREATE  AN  EXPERIENCE  FOR  
YOUR  AUDIENCE  
 
• Case  study:  Amanda  Palmer,  The  Art  of  Asking  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Michelle  Mazur  
 
A  good  TED  talk  piques  our  interests,  teaches  us  something  new  and  
perhaps  inspires  us  to  see  the  world  from  a  different  perspective.  A  
great  TED  talk  does  all  of  that  and  evokes  emotion.  Perhaps  your  eyes  
well  with  tears,  or  you  just  feel  deeply  understood.  It’s  the  “Yes,  I’ve  
been  there  too”  thought  that  washes  across  your  mind.  
 
Punk-­‐rock/cabaret  musician  Amanda  Palmer’s  The  Art  of  Asking  
(http://bit.ly/I5qNGe)  is  one  of  those  rare  talks  that  goes  beyond  just  
giving  information  or  persuading  the  audience  to  do  something  
differently.  She  makes  you  feel  –  sad  at  times,  entertained  at  other  times  
–  but  ultimately  leaves  you  feeling  like  an  unstoppable  force  who  can  
ask  for  anything.  Amanda  doesn’t  just  speak,  she  creates  an  experience  
for  the  audience  and  the  nearly  3  million  viewers  of  her  TED  talk.    

 
  
 
Image:  TED  
 
Amanda’s  talk  provides  rich  insights  for  speakers  about  how  to  move  
beyond  the  presentation  of  information,  and  how  to  create  an  
experience  using  aspects  of  performance  and  storytelling  combined  
with  a  rich  takeaway.  Her  talk  includes  lessons  on:  
 
• Commanding  the  room  and  creating  intrigue.  
• Using  stories  that  evoke  a  range  of  emotions.  
• Anchoring  repetition  with  gestures.  
• Creating  a  rich  conclusion  with  a  takeaway  message.  
 
I  highly  encourage  you  to  go  watch  the  talk  here:  http://bit.ly/I5qNGe.    
You  won’t  regret  it!    
 
 
Command  the  Room  and  Create  Intrigue  
 
The  opening  of  Amanda’s  talk  immediately  accomplishes  three  things:  
setting  the  stage  for  her  entire  presentation,  commanding  the  room  and  
creating  intrigue  and  interest.    
 
Amanda  saunters  on  stage  with  a  milk  crate,  a  hat,  a  swath  of  crinoline  
and  a  flower.  She  places  the  hat  at  her  feet,  wraps  herself  in  the  fabric  
and  stands  on  top  of  the  crate  as  she  holds  the  flower.  
 
She  scans  the  audience  and  breathes  deeply.  
 
A  lesson  for  speakers  is  that  when  you  take  an  influential  stage  –  don’t  
just  walk  on  stage,  command  the  room.  Setting  up  the  stage,  taking  the  
long  pause  while  connecting  with  the  audience  via  eye  contact,  shows  
confidence  and  moxie.  Don’t  be  afraid  to  set  the  stage  the  way  you  want  
it,  to  stop,  breathe  and  make  a  connection  before  starting  a  talk.    
 
You  know  there  is  something  attention  worthy  coming  because  of  the  
time  well  spent  to  create  an  experience.  As  an  audience  member,  you  
can’t  help  but  lean  forward  and  wonder  what  this  woman  is  doing.  Your  
brain  is  dying  to  find  out  what  happens  next.  From  the  time  Amanda  
  
 
takes  the  stage  she  creates  intrigue  about  why  she  has  the  props  and  
how  she  is  going  to  use  them.  
 
 
Appeal  to  a  Universal  Experience  or  Idea  
 
Amanda  starts  off  her  talk  with  the  following  line:  
 
“So  I  didn't  always  make  my  living  from  music.  For  about  the  five  
years  after  graduating  from  an  upstanding  liberal  arts  university,  
this  was  my  day  job.  I  was  a  self-­‐employed  living  statue  called  the  
8-­‐Foot  Bride,  and  I  love  telling  people  l  did  this  for  a  job,  because  
everybody  always  wants  to  know,  who  are  these  freaks  in  real  
life?”  
 
Although  Amanda  is  talking  about  her  own  experience,  there’s  
something  universal  in  her  opening  line.  We’ve  all  seen  the  performance  
artists  standing  on  crates  as  statues  in  busy  tourist  areas.  We’ve  
wondered,  as  Amanda  puts  it,  “Who  are  these  freaks  are  in  real  life?”  
Now,  we  know.  
 
The  key  to  a  strong  opening  that  draws  in  the  audience  is  to  appeal  to  an  
idea,  concept  or  experience  that  is  universal.  It  makes  Amanda’s  
experience  relatable  to  our  own.  Instantly,  the  audience  is  hooked  
because  they  are  a  part  of  the  presentation  and  the  story.  
 
Bonus  tip:  Amanda’s  use  of  the  props  is  masterful.  She  stays  on  the  crate  
until  she  says  that  her  band  “started  making  enough  money  that  I  could  
quit  being  a  statue”  and  she  steps  off  the  crate.  Use  the  prop  until  it  
makes  sense  in  the  story  to  transition  away  from  it.  
 
 
Choose  Stories  that  Show  a  Range  of  Emotion  
 
When  creating  a  talk  –  especially  a  talk  of  your  life  –  like  a  TED  talk,  it  
can  be  challenging  for  speakers  to  choose  the  right  story.    The  key  is  to  
choose  stories  that  evoke  a  range  of  emotion  from  struggle  to  laughter.  
  
 
Amanda  juxtaposes  two  stories  about  couch  surfing  that  illustrate  a  
spectrum  of  emotions.  
 
The  most  emotional  story  of  Amanda’s  talk  (and  the  one  that  caused  her  
own  voice  to  crack)  is  about  the  family  of  an  18-­‐year-­‐old  girl  that  her  
band  crashed  with  in  Miami:  
 
“My  crew  once  pulled  our  van  up  to  a  really  poor  Miami  
neighborhood  and  we  found  out  that  our  couchsurfing  host  for  the  
night  was  an  18-­‐year-­‐old  girl,  still  living  at  home,  and  her  family  
were  all  undocumented  immigrants  from  Honduras.  And  that  
night,  her  whole  family  took  the  couches  and  she  slept  together  
with  her  mom  so  that  we  could  take  their  beds.  And  I  lay  there  
thinking,  these  people  have  so  little.  Is  this  fair?  And  in  the  
morning,  her  mom  taught  us  how  to  try  to  make  tortillas  and  
wanted  to  give  me  a  Bible,  and  she  took  me  aside  and  she  said  to  
me  in  her  broken  English,  "Your  music  has  helped  my  daughter  so  
much.  Thank  you  for  staying  here.  We're  all  so  grateful."  And  I  
thought,  this  is  fair.  This  is  this.”  
 
The  next  morning  she  gets  her  answer  when  the  family  expresses  
gratitude  for  her  music  because  “it  helped  their  daughter  so  much.”  It’s  
about  giving  and  being  open  to  receiving.    
 
After  this  heartfelt  story,  Amanda  talks  about  tweeting  for  a  place  to  
stay  in  NYC  and  walking  up  to  a  stranger’s  door  alone  and  wondering,  
“Is  this  how  stupid  people  die?”  The  audience  laughs.    
 
In  a  minute,  Amanda  takes  the  audience  from  struggle  and  sadness  to  
laugher  and  craziness.  For  speakers,  this  illustrates  how  to  choose  
stories  that  create  an  emotional  roller  coaster  ride.  If  you  take  the  
audience  to  a  melancholy  place,  you  must  bring  them  back  to  laughter.  
Use  emotions  to  engage  the  audience.    
 
 
Anchor  Repetition  with  Gestures  
 
Repetition  is  an  excellent  way  to  make  your  message  memorable  long  
after  the  talk  has  ended.  However,  Amanda  takes  it  one  step  further  and  
  
 
anchors  her  repetition  with  gestures.  Now,  her  use  of  repetition  is  
something  the  audience  can  see  and  hear.  
 
The  two  phrases  Amanda  repeats  in  her  speech  are  “Get  a  job?”  and  “Is  
this  fair?”  These  phrases  illustrate  the  fear  and  the  struggle  you  have  
when  asking  for  what  you  need.  There’s  an  emotion  connected  with  the  
words.  When  she  utters  those  phrases  in  her  talk,  she  anchors  them  
with  the  gesture  of  her  hand  behind  her  head  as  if  her  inner  critic  is  
blurting  out  those  words.  
 

 
Image:  TED  
 
The  repeated  phrases  paired  with  the  gestures  reminds  us  of  the  
emotion  that  we  had  when  she  told  us  about  standing  on  the  crate  as  
statue  with  a  hat  at  her  feet  –  asking  for  money.    
 
As  a  speaker,  can  you  pair  a  gesture  with  your  phrase  to  reinforce  the  
message,  and  to  evoke  the  same  emotional  response  from  the  audience  
as  the  first  time  you  spoke  the  repeated  phrase?  Anchoring  repeated  
phrases  with  a  gesture  is  a  powerful  way  to  recall  emotion,  and  
transport  the  audience  back  to  how  they  felt  when  you  first  uttered  the  
words.  
 
 
  
 
Craft  a  Compelling  Conclusion  
 
The  one  flaw  in  Amanda’s  talk  is  that  the  ending  is  abrupt.  Additionally,  
the  last  sentence  she  utters  is  specific  to  her  industry  instead  of  
appealing  to  the  universal  message  of  asking.    
 
She  does  an  excellent  job  of  referring  to  the  introduction  of  the  speech  
when  she  says,  “My  music  career  has  been  spent  trying  to  encounter  
people  on  the  Internet  the  way  I  could  on  the  box…”  This  reference  ties  
the  conclusion  back  to  the  introduction.  It’s  a  great  way  to  signal  the  end  
of  a  talk  without  using  the  dreaded  phrase  “in  conclusion.”  
 
She  does  give  a  rich  takeaway  message  about  the  power  of  asking:  that  
despite  all  of  our  flaws,  fears  and  mistakes,  “when  we  really  see  each  
other,  we  want  to  help  each  other.”  This  would  have  been  an  excellent  
universal  takeaway  message  to  end  on.  
 
Instead  she  goes  on  to  say,  “I  think  people  have  been  obsessed  with  the  
wrong  question,  which  is,  ‘How  do  we  make  people  play  for  music?’  
What  if  we  started  asking,  ‘How  do  we  let  people  pay  for  music?’”  
 
Communication  theory  teaches  us  that  people  remember  most  what  
they  hear  first  (primacy  effect)  and  what  they  hear  last  (recency  effect)  
in  a  presentation.  For  this  reason,  it’s  important  that  the  closing  thought  
be  one  that  resonates  with  the  entire  audience  and  not  just  those  in  the  
music  industry.  
 
For  speakers,  it’s  better  to  conclude  with  a  universal  takeaway  message  
than  with  a  very  specific  one.    
 
 
Don’t  Just  Speak  –  Create  an  Experience  
 
The  biggest  speaking  insight  from  this  masterful  TED  talk  is  that  when  
you  combine  the  elements  of  performance  with  public  speaking,  you  
create  a  memorable  experience  for  the  audience.  An  experience  that  has  
them  talking  (and  sharing  your  talk)  long  after  it  ends.    
 
  
 
As  a  speaker,  take  these  lessons  to  challenge  yourself  to  command  the  
room  and  set  the  stage  for  an  experience  of  your  speech.  Remember,  it’s  
important  to  use  story  to  evoke  a  wide  range  of  emotions  in  the  
audience,  and  to  end  with  a  universal  takeaway  message.  If  you  create  a  
great  experience  for  your  audience,  you  move  beyond  the  transfer  of  
knowledge  and  create  emotional  bonds  with  the  audience.    
 

In  a  Nutshell  
• Don’t  just  walk  on  stage  –  command  the  room.  Don’t  be  afraid  to  
take  a  long  pause  while  connecting  with  the  audience  via  eye  
contact.    
• Appeal  to  a  universal  experience  or  idea.  
• Choose  stories  to  create  a  range  of  emotions  in  your  audience.  
• Anchor  repetition  with  gestures.  
• Conclude  with  a  universal  takeaway  message  that  your  audience  
members  can  apply  to  their  lives.  
• Don’t  just  speak.  Aim  to  create  an  experience  for  your  audience.  
 
*  
 
Meet  Presentation  Expert  Michelle  Mazur:  
 
Speech  coach,  presentation  strategist,  and  author  of  the  upcoming  book,  
Speak  Up  for  Your  Business,  Dr.  Michelle  Mazur  guides  driven-­‐to-­‐
succeed  business  professional  and  entrepreneurs  to  ignite  the  
smoldering  fire  within  to  speak  up,  speak  out  and  make  their  impact  –  
one  compelling  presentation  at  a  time.    
 
Michelle  earned  a  Ph.D.  in  communication  and  her  writing  has  appeared  
in  12  Most,  PR  Daily,  Ragan.com,  SOLD  Magazine  for  Sales  Professional,  
PR  Europe  and  Business2Community.  Her  blog,  Relationally  Speaking,  
was  listed  at  #11  of  the  101  best  online  resources  for  public  speaking.  
She  resides  in  Seattle,  WA  with  her  loving  fiancé,  two  obsessive  felines  
and  huge  collection  of  Duran  Duran  memorabilia.  Check  out  her  blog  at:  
http://drmichellemazur.com  
 
  
 
 
CHAPTER  TWO  
 
KEEPING  YOUR  AUDIENCE  ENGAGED  
AND  INTERESTED  
 
• Case  study:  Jinsop  Lee,  Design  for  All  Five  Senses  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Marion  Grobb  Finkelstein  

In  February  2013,  Jinsop  Lee  stood  on  a  stage  in  Long  Beach,  California,  
in  front  of  1,500  people  to  present  his  TED  talk  about  how  good  
industrial  design  appeals  to  all  five  senses  (http://bit.ly/1bZCppv).        

Speakers  are  chosen  for  TED  talks  for  a  reason  –  they  have  both  great  
content  AND  delivery.  Jinsop  Lee  is  no  exception  and  has  many  strong  
points  in  his  speech.  In  a  mere  nine  minutes  and  four  seconds,  he  packs  
in  a  lot  of  information  that  has  the  potential  to  be  somewhat  dry  and  
boring  –  yet  he  delivers  it  in  an  entertaining  and  polished  manner.  You  
can  watch  Jinsop’s  speech  here:  http://bit.ly/1bZCppv  

 
  
 
Source:  TED  

There  are  many  ways  to  slice,  dice  and  analyze  a  speech.  These  are  the  
ones  we’ll  use  to  review  Jinsop’s  speech.  I  encourage  you  to  take  away  
the  lessons  and  use  them  in  your  next  presentation:    

• Starting  with  a  startle  (WARNING:  shock  may  block)  

• Using  personal  stories  
• Surprising  your  audience  
• Making  it  relevant  

Start  with  a  Startle  (Warning:  Shock  May  Block)  

In  any  presentation,  you  have  a  matter  of  seconds  to  give  a  first  and  
lasting  impression  that  will  color  your  audience’s  perception  of  
everything  else  that  follows.  Shock  value  may  work  –  or  it  may  block  the  
connection  with  your  audience.  Jinsop’s  intro  may  do  a  bit  of  both.  He  
begins  his  speech  by  asking  a  provocative  question:  

“In  an  age  of  global  strife  and  climate  change,  I'm  here  to  answer  
the  all  important  question  -­‐-­‐  why  is  sex  so  damn  good?  (audience  
chuckles)  If  you’re  laughing,  you  know  what  I  mean.”  
 

Don’t  Walk  Over  the  Laughter  

Listen  to  this  clip  and  you’ll  hear  a  polite  titter  of  laughter  begin  after  
the  “why  is  sex  so  damn  good?”  question.  We’ll  never  know  if  this  bud  of  
chuckles  would  have  blossomed  into  full  bloom  audience  response  
because  Jinsop  allowed  less  than  one  second  before  starting  to  speak  
again.  He  squished  the  laughter  he’d  worked  so  hard  to  get!    

Perhaps  he  didn’t  realize  that  the  bigger  the  audience,  the  more  time  the  
ripple  of  laughter  requires  to  work  its  way  through  the  crowd.  Or  maybe  
it  was  nerves  that  hurried  his  pace  and  removed  the  power  of  the  pause.  
Either  way,  the  end  result  was  that  the  audience  didn’t  get  a  chance  to  
laugh  as  much  as  they  might  have,  and  the  weak  laughter  that  resulted  
  
 
gives  the  impression  that  his  opening  line  fell  flat.  It  didn’t  quite  hit  the  
mark  for  a  couple  reasons,  one  of  them  being  that  he  didn’t  allow  
enough  time  for  the  laughter.    

Use  the  Callback  Technique  

The  other  reason  why  this  intro  may  have  gotten  a  less  than  impressive  
response  from  the  audience  is  due  to  the  content.  Some  audience  
members  may  have  been  surprised  and  made  uncomfortable  by  Jinsop’s  
reference  to  “sex”  –  typically  a  taboo  and  socially  awkward  subject.    

Jinsop  mentions  this  topic  again  at  a  couple  other  points  during  his  
presentation:  

• “Why  is  sex  so  damn  good?”  

 
• “All  right,  let's  get  back  to  the  question  of  why  sex  is  so  
good.”  
 
• “In  fact,  in  the  years  that  I  gathered  data,  only  one  
experience  came  close  to  being  the  perfect  one.  That  is,  of  
course,  sex.  Great  sex.”  

This  callback  technique  is  used  quite  commonly  by  comedians  and  
professional  speakers.  It  allows  the  speaker  to  hook  each  consequent  
story  and  point  made  to  this  foundational  message.  It  also  enables  the  
audience  to  remember  the  key  message.    

The  approach  goes  like  this:  a  hook  phrase  is  offered  near  the  beginning  
of  the  presentation  and  echoed  at  a  later  point,  sometimes  several  times  
and  very  often  at  the  end,  in  summary.  It’s  a  very  effective  and  witty  way  
to  remind  the  audience  of  the  key  message.  

Repeat  a  Hook  Line  

  
 
Jinsop  has  masterfully  woven  this  hook  line  into  his  speech  using  the  
“sex”  reference.  Did  Jinsop  really  want  his  key  message  to  be  about  sex?  
Or  was  it  used  simply  for  shock  value  at  the  risk  of  missing  the  real  key  
message  about  using  all  five  senses  in  industrial  design?  

Perhaps  it  would  have  been  more  effective  to  use  a  skillful  phrase  about  
the  five  senses  in  some  everyday  function  –  like  eating  –  that  would  not  
embarrass  or  distance  anyone.  For  example,  the  statement  “We  eat  with  
all  five  senses”  could  be  followed  by  an  explanation  demonstrating  this  
point.  He  could  have  described  the  sensual  experience  of  eating  a  salty  
pickle,  dripping  in  brine,  ice-­‐cold,  bumpy  skin  and  snapping  into  two.    

An  example  of  a  hook  phrase  he  could  use  is  “Does  that  make  sense?”  
This  play  on  words  has  a  double  entendre,  is  short,  memorable,  witty,  
and  has  no  risk  of  offending  a  segment  of  his  audience.    

Trust  before  Taboo  –  Build  Trust  from  the  Audience  before  

Touching  on  Personal  or  Typically  Taboo  Subjects  
At  a  later  point  in  the  speech,  Jinsop  uses  more  innocuous  subject  
matter  for  a  punch  line  story.  The  laughter  response  is  much  greater,  
likely  due  to  the  subject  matter  having  little  risk  of  being  offensive  or  
uncomfortable.  In  addition,  perhaps  because  by  this  time  he  was  less  
nervous  and  hurried,  Jinsop  allows  several  seconds  for  the  punch  line  to  
ripple  through  the  significantly  sized  audience  and  swell  to  full  laughter.  

“Now,  I  don't  play  the  flute  to  the  clarinet  so  I  decided  to  combine  
these  keys  with  instrument  I  do  play  -­‐-­‐  the  television  remote  
control.”  (Audience  Laughter)  
 
In  this  example,  Jinsop  gives  time  for  the  punch  line  to  sink  in  and  the  
audience  to  respond.  It  was  also  several  minutes  into  the  speech  where  
he’d  had  time  to  share  stories,  build  rapport,  and  could  risk  humor  a  
little  more.      
 
A  caution  on  humor  –  use  it  tastefully.  You  don’t  want  to  exclude  anyone  
in  the  room.  If  there’s  a  chance  of  offending,  trust  me  –  you  will.  With  
  
 
the  edgy  question  of  “Why  is  sex  so  damn  good?”  at  a  mere  22  seconds  
into  his  presentation,  Jinsop  runs  a  risk  of  shocking  and  disconnecting  
with  his  audience.    
 
His  question  certainly  has  the  element  of  surprise  and  humor,  and  that’s  
a  good  thing.    
 
But  it  also  has  a  risk  that  some  people  may  find  this  a  little  too  daring,  
and  that’s  not  so  good.  This  early  in  his  presentation,  he  hasn’t  had  a  
chance  yet  to  build  a  relationship  and  connect  with  the  audience.  He  
may  not  have  their  trust  to  touch  on  what  some  would  consider  a  
personal  and  inappropriate  subject.  Perhaps  placed  a  little  later  into  the  
speech,  combined  with  allowing  more  laughter  time,  this  punch  line  
would  have  been  more  effective.  
 
Evidence  of  the  potential  awkwardness  of  his  opening  question  comes  
in  the  contrasting  response  of  full  laughter  to  his  story  about  the  
clarinet  keys  being  used  for  the  remote  control.  Music  and  remote  
controls  are  not  culturally  taboo  or  uncomfortable  subjects,  and  
laughter  is  more  readily  expressed  in  response.  

Use  Personal  Stories  

Using  your  own  personal  stories  is  a  wonderful  way  to  connect  with  
your  audience  and  build  rapport.  In  particular,  sharing  times  when  you  
faced  challenges  and  even  failed  helps  those  listening  to  relate.  Jinsop  
Lee  dares  to  share  his  failures  and  skillfully  injects  personal  stories  
throughout  his  speech,  as  follows:  

• “Back  in  university  we  had  a  quick  project  to  design  some  solar-­‐
powered  clocks...”  
 
• “I  thought  my  idea  was  pretty  good  but  his  idea  is  genius...”  

Jinsop  leads  the  audience  through  a  lively  story  of  the  solar-­‐powered  
sunflower  clock  he  designed,  and  then,  in  sharp  comparison,  the  super-­‐
  
 
cool  and  sensory-­‐filled,  oil-­‐scented  contraption  clock  his  colleague  
created  using  shot  glasses  and  magnifying  glasses.  He  confesses:    

“At  the  time  I  knew  his  idea  was  better  than  mine,  but  I  just  
couldn't  explain  why.”  

He  then  offers  the  explanation  –  and  the  whole  premise  of  his  
presentation  –  that  it  was  engagement  of  all  five  senses  that  made  the  
industrial  design  so  good.  In  sharing  this  story,  Jinsop  shows  that  he  
wasn’t  the  best  designer.  Of  his  own  admission,  his  colleague’s  design  
was  superior.  This  is  a  wonderful  approach,  and  here’s  why...  
 
 
Share  Your  Failures  and  the  “Message  Out  of  the  Mess”  
 
By  sharing  his  “failure,”  Jinsop  shows  that  he  is  human  and  this  helps  
him  relate  to  his  audience  because  people  relate  to  people,  not  
perfection.  What  Jinsop  does  that  is  critical  is  that  he  also  shares  the  
lesson  learned  from  the  failure.  He  provides  resolution  to  the  problem  
or  dilemma.  He  gets  the  message  out  of  the  mess.  He  pulls  out  the  
importance  of  engaging  all  five  senses  in  any  industrial  design.  
 
 

Give  Examples  Your  Audience  Can  Relate  To  

The  other  aspect  of  personal  stories  that  makes  them  work  (or  not)  is  
the  presenter’s  ability  to  tie  them  directly  to  the  audience  members.  
Why  would  what  you’re  saying  be  of  interest  to  your  audience?  How  
could  they  apply  what  you  learned  to  improve  their  lives?  In  other  
words,  what’s  in  it  for  them?  

Jinsop’s  speech  could  increase  its  impact  by  making  a  more  obvious  link  
between  his  subject  and  how  it  affects  the  lives  of  the  audience  
members.  Everyone  may  not  relate  to  clocks,  motorcycles  or  sex,  as  
referenced  in  his  speech,  so  offering  examples  of  more  ubiquitous,  
everyday  applications  such  as  driving  a  car,  sleeping  or  getting  dressed  
would  help.  People  would  then  actually  see  themselves  in  the  picture  of  
  
 
what  it  could  be  that  Jinsop  is  drawing.  When  this  happens,  your  
audience  is  able  to  see  your  theories  come  to  life,  their  lives.  

Have  a  Clear  Call  to  Action  

At  the  end  of  his  presentation,  Jinsop  beautifully  and  playfully  tosses  
candies  out  to  the  audience,  demonstrating  the  very  principles  of  which  
he  has  spoken  –  he  engages  all  five  senses.    

The  drawback  was  that  this  closing  was  not  accompanied  with  a  clear  
call  to  action,  nor  an  invitation  for  the  audience  to  apply  what  they  have  
learned  to  their  lives.  It  peters  out  versus  ends  with  a  bang.  Knowledge  
is  only  powerful  when  it  is  moved  to  action,  and  an  audience  only  moves  
to  action  when  they  deem  the  knowledge  shared  to  be  relevant  and  
beneficial  to  them.  So  include  them  in  the  picture  you’re  creating  with  
real-­‐life  examples  they  relate  to.  

Keep  the  Audience  Interested  and  Engaged                                                  

with  Twists  and  Turns  
Some  people  think  that  the  best  thing  for  a  speech  is  no  surprises  at  all.  
Wrong!  Just  like  a  roller  coaster  ride,  it’s  the  dips  and  turns  that  add  
excitement.  Without  the  variation  in  direction,  pitch  and  pace,  the  ride  
would  be  boring,  right?  It’s  the  same  thing  with  a  speech.  Including  
elements  of  surprise  will  keep  your  audience  interested  and  engaged.    

Jinsop  sprinkles  various  types  of  surprises  into  his  presentation,  some  
more  effectively  so  than  others.  Here’s  an  example  of  a  well-­‐done  turn  of  
events:  

“Chris  is  a  great  friend  of  mine  from  my  university  days  but  
secretly  ...  (pause  and  in  softer  voice)  I  hate  him.”  
 
Note  how  the  content,  what  Jinsop  says,  is  a  surprise.  Normally,  you  
would  expect  to  hear  someone  say  that  he  loves  a  friend.  Instead,  Jinsop  
  
 
says,  “Secretly,  I  hate  him.”  Surprise!  This  piques  the  audience’s  
curiosity  to  hear  more.  Why  does  he  hate  him?  What’s  the  story?  Now,  
they’re  really  listening.  
 
The  other  twist  is  in  delivery.  Jinsop  changes  his  pace  by  using  the  very  
effective  technique  of  pausing  just  before  he  delivers  the  punch  line.  In  
addition,  his  volume  lowers  as  he  says,  “I  hate  him.”  All  these  elements  
collide  to  create  the  element  of  surprise,  and  the  result  is  audience  
engagement.  
 
How  can  you  include  the  element  of  surprise  in  your  presentation  to  
keep  your  audience  engaged?  
 
 
Preparation,  Preparation  and  More  Preparation  
I  would  be  remiss  in  this  speech  analysis  if  I  didn’t  acknowledge  Jinsop’s  
amazing  accomplishment  of  preparing  and  delivering  this  speech.  
Anyone  who  speaks  for  a  TED  talk  has  undergone  a  tremendous  amount  
of  screening  and  preparation.  They  are  the  best  of  the  best,  and  Jinsop  
Lee  is  one  of  them.  It’s  easy  to  sit  back  in  an  armchair  and  critique  from  
the  sidelines.  Jinsop  has  done  a  brilliant  job  relaying  what  could  have  
been  a  deadly  boring  subject  (industrial  design)  for  many  people  in  an  
animated  and  interesting  way.  We  have  learned  a  lot  at  his  hand.  Does  
that  make  sense?  

The  true  test  of  any  speaker  or  any  critique  is  in  applying  the  lessons  
learned.  Will  you?  

In  a  Nutshell  
• Start  with  a  startle  
• Use  personal  stories  
• Don’t  walk  over  the  laughter.  
• Repeat  a  hook  line.  
• Trust  before  taboo  –  build  rapport  and  trust  from  the  audience  
before  touching  on  personal  or  typically  taboo  subjects.  
  
 
• People  relate  to  people,  not  perfection  so  share  your  failures  
and  the  “message  out  of  the  mess.”  
• Give  examples  your  audience  can  relate  to.  
• Keep  the  audience  interested  and  engaged  with  twists  and  
turns.  
• Prepare,  prepare,  prepare.  

*  

Meet  Presentation  Expert  Marion  Grobb  Finkelstein  

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workplace  communication  tips  and  quips.  

   
  
 
CHAPTER  THREE  
 
TECHNIQUES  FOR  DELIVERING  A  
DYNAMIC  TED  TALK  
 
• Case  study:  Anthony  Robbins,  Why  We  Do  What  We  Do  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Akash  Karia  
 
If  you’ve  seen  any  of  Anthony  Robbins’  talks  before,  you  know  that  he  is  
a  highly  expressive,  dynamic  and  energetic  speaker.  He  has  mastered  
the  art  of  motivating  people  through  speaking  and  knows  exactly  how  to  
pump  up  and  fire  up  an  audience.  
 
When  it  comes  to  motivational  speakers,  Anthony  Robbins  is  one  of  the  
best  there  is.    
 
However,  what  about  giving  a  TED  talk?  How  well  does  Tony’s  speaking  
style  align  with  the  nature  of  a  TED  talk?  After  all,  the  TED  talk  audience  
is  very  different  from  what  Tony  is  normally  used  to.    
 

 
  
 
 
Tony  is  used  to  speaking  to  audiences  of  thousands  of  people,  all  of  
whom  pay  huge  sums  of  money  to  attend  his  event.  They’re  enthusiastic  
and  fired  up  to  see  Tony.  A  TED  audience,  on  the  other  hand,  is  generally  
more  conservative.  They  are  less  expressive  in  showing  their  
enthusiasm  and  not  as  willing  to  get  involved  in  activities.    
 
So,  how  did  Tony  fare  with  the  TED  audience  in  his  2007  TED  talk  
(http://bit.ly/I6zW1h)?      
 
In  this  chapter,  we  will  examine  what  lessons  you  can  learn  from  Tony’s  
TED  talk,  and  how  you  can  apply  them  to  your  presentations  to  make  
them  sizzle.  Tony’s  talk  contains  lessons  on:  
 
• How  to  use  questions  to  create  knowledge  gaps  
• The  power  of  you-­‐focused  speaking  
• Creating  rapport  by  speaking  conversationally  
• Creating  a  connection  using  the  matching  technique  
• The  role  of  swearing  in  public  speaking  
• Techniques  for  delivering  a  dynamic  TED  talk  (or  any  other  
speech  or  presentation)    
 
Also,  we  will  examine  what  Tony  could  have  improved  in  his  TED  talk  
and  what  mistakes  you  can  avoid  when  speaking  in  public.  
 
By  the  way,  in  case  you’ve  missed  Tony’s  TED  talk,  I  encourage  you  to  
watch  it  here:  http://bit.ly/I6zW1h    
 
 
 
Have  Absolute  Belief  in  Your  Message  
 
When  you  watch  Tony’s  TED  talk,  it’s  crystal  clear  that  he  has  100%  
belief  in  the  importance  of  his  message.  It’s  evident  in  the  way  he  
speaks,  the  way  he  moves  and  the  way  he  sounds.    
 
  
 
Even  though  Tony’s  TED  talk  is  not  the  most  eloquent  one  I’ve  watched,  
it  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  ones  because  what  Tony  lacks  in  
eloquence  he  makes  up  for  in  his  passion  for  his  topic.  
 
As  a  speaker,  before  you  get  up  on  stage,  ask  yourself  these  questions:  
 
• “What  topic  am  I  so  passionate  about  that  I’d  be  able  to  speak  on  it  
with  absolute  conviction...even  though  I  may  not  have  the  talk  
planned  out?”    
 
• “What  message  do  I  believe  in  so  firmly  that  if  I  don’t  share  it  with  
my  audience,  I  would  feel  like  I  was  doing  them  a  disservice?”  
 
• “If  I  were  to  die  tomorrow  and  only  had  to  leave  the  world  with  
one  message,  what  would  it  be?”  
 
Find  a  message  that  you  care  strongly  about  –  a  message  that  you  fully  
believe  in  and  are  passionate  about.  The  Roman  orator  Cato  said,  “Find  
the  message  and  the  words  will  follow.”  Once  you’ve  located  that  
message,  you’re  well  on  your  way  to  delivering  a  great  TED  talk.      
 
 
 
Match  Your  Audience’s  Energy  Level  
 
Have  you  ever  seen  a  speaker  who  was  too  enthusiastic?  
 
Have  you  ever  seen  a  speaker  who  was  not  energetic  enough?  
 
How  did  you  feel  when  you  watched  such  a  speaker?  
 
My  guess  is  that  both  the  over-­‐enthusiastic  and  the  not-­‐energetic-­‐
enough  speaker  failed  to  connect  with  you  and  the  rest  of  the  audience.  
 
Why?    
 
Because  the  speaker  did  not  match  your  energy  level.  
 
  
 
At  a  Tony  Robbins’  motivational  seminar,  audiences  are  usually  fired  up  
to  see  him.  They’ve  paid  thousands  of  dollars  to  see  him,  they’re  
extremely  eager  and  enthusiastic,  and  therefore  when  Tony  comes  out  
on  stage,  he  comes  out  equally  energetic  and  pumped  up.  He  matches  
their  energy  level.  By  being  on  the  same  energy  level  as  them  –  by  being  
on  the  same  vibrational  plane  –  Tony  manages  to  connect  with  his  
audience.  
 
However,  at  the  TED  talk,  the  audience’s  energy  levels  were  not  as  high  
as  at  a  motivational  seminar.  While  the  audience  members  were  
interested  to  hear  Tony  speak,  they  were  not  jumping  out  of  their  chairs  
and  screaming  for  him  (something  I  would  totally  be  doing,  by  the  
way!).  Therefore,  in  order  to  connect  with  the  TED  audience,  instead  of  
coming  out  with  a  fiery  and  passionate  opening,  Tony  began  his  talk  in  a  
very  conversational  manner:  
 
“Thank  you.  I  have  to  tell  you  I'm  both  challenged  and  excited.  My  
excitement  is:  I  get  a  chance  to  give  something  back.  My  challenge  
is:  the  shortest  seminar  I  usually  do  is  50  hours.”  (Laughter)  
 
Compared  with  Tony’s  normal  openings,  this  is  a  very  low-­‐key  opening.  
Why?  Because  Tony  was  matching  his  audience’s  energy  level  and  
getting  on  the  same  vibrational  plane  as  them  so  that  he  could  build  
rapport  with  them.  
 
Of  course,  later  on,  Tony  amped  up  his  energy  and  his  audience’s  energy  
using  humor  and  activities,  but  he  first  built  rapport  with  them  by  
matching  their  energy  level.    
 
Next  time  you  get  up  on  stage,  monitor  your  audience’s  energy  level.  
How  excited  are  they?  How  expressive  are  they  in  their  excitement?  
Then,  when  you  get  up  on  stage,  match  that  energy  level  –  get  on  the  
same  vibrational  plane  as  them  –  before  you  try  to  amp  them  up.    
 
 
 
Speak  Conversationally  
 
  
 
One  of  the  mistakes  I  made  early  in  my  speaking  career  was  that  I  
focused  on  sounding  eloquent.  I  focused  on  making  sure  that  each  
sentence  that  came  out  of  my  mouth  was  perfectly  crafted.  I  believed  
that  doing  so  would  impress  my  audience.    
 
The  result  of  doing  this  was  that  audiences  walked  away  from  my  talks  
thinking,  “He  was  an  eloquent  speaker”  and  giving  me  praises,  such  as    
“You’re  such  a  great  speaker!”    
 
While  that  did  inflate  my  ego,  what  I  failed  to  do  was  to  connect  with  my  
audience.  I  would  have  much  rather  had  them  say,  “That  really  
connected  with  me”  instead  of  give  me  praises  about  my  speaking  
ability.    
 
The  other  thing  about  trying  to  sound  eloquent  is  that  instead  of  
focusing  on  your  audience,  your  focus  becomes  internal  (i.e.,  you  begin  
focusing  on  yourself).  You  start  focusing  on  how  you  sound  and  on  
trying  to  use  the  right  words.  Your  intention  shifts  from  wanting  to  add  
value  to  your  audience  to  wanting  to  sound  good.  This  will  result  in  you  
failing  to  connect  with  your  audience  because  they  will  sense  that  the  
focus  is  on  you,  not  on  them.  
 
In  his  TED  talk,  Tony  forgets  about  being  eloquent.  Instead,  he  shares  
his  message  in  a  very  conversational  manner:  
 
“And  then  you  meet  people  that  have  been  through  ultimate  pain  -­‐
-­‐  psychologically,  sexually,  spiritually,  emotionally  abused  -­‐-­‐  and  
not  always,  but  often,  they  become  some  of  the  people  that  
contribute  the  most  to  society.  
So,  the  question  we've  got  to  ask  ourselves  really  is,  what  is  it?  
What  is  it  that  shapes  us?  And  we  live  in  a  therapy  culture.  Most  of  
us  don't  do  that,  but  the  culture's  a  therapy  culture.  And  what  I  
mean  by  that  is  the  mindset  that  we  are  our  past.  And  everybody  
in  this  room  -­‐-­‐  you  wouldn't  be  in  this  room  if  you  bought  that  
theory  -­‐-­‐  but  the  -­‐-­‐  most  of  society  thinks  biography  is  destiny.  
The  past  equals  the  future.  And  of  course  it  does  if  you  live  there.”  
Notice  how  the  above  paragraph  (part  of  the  transcript  from  Tony’s  
talk)  isn’t  perfect  –  and  that  is  okay.  When  you  speak,  don’t  aim  for  
  
 
perfection  –  aim  to  share  your  message  and  make  a  difference.  As  long  
as  you  do  that,  your  audience  will  walk  away  from  your  talk  having  
gotten  some  value  out  of  it.  
I  would  like  to  reemphasize  the  face  that  Tony  delivers  his  talk  in  a  very  
conversational  manner.  Not  being  eloquent  –  and  instead  speaking  in  a  
conversational  manner  –  helps  him  connect  with  his  audience.  People  
hate  being  lectured,  and  by  speaking  in  a  conversational  manner,  Tony  
makes  sure  that  his  audience  doesn’t  feel  he  is  lecturing  them.    
So,  why  is  a  conversational  approach  to  public  speaking  a  good  one?  
Because  we  are  used  to  conversations.  We’re  used  to  having  
conversations  with  our  friends.  We’re  used  to  having  Oprah  speak  to  us  
conversationally  through  our  TV  screen.  The  time  for  eloquent  speeches  
with  long  words  and  theatrics  is  over.  Today’s  audiences  have  come  to  
expect  speakers  to  talk  to  them  conversationally.  
When  you  get  up  to  speak,  make  sure  you  speak  in  a  conversational  
style.  This  does  not  mean  that  you  should  simply  wing  it  and  not  plan  
your  talk.  It  means  that  you  should  plan  and  rehearse  your  presentation,  
but  that  you  should  use  conversational  language.  Do  not  use  any  words  
or  phrases  that  you  would  not  use  in  everyday  conversation.  Everything  
coming  out  of  your  mouth  should  sound  natural  and  not  as  though  you  
have  memorized  a  written  speech.  Don’t  aim  for  perfection  –  aim  for  
connection  through  conversational  speaking.    
 
 
Use  Questions  to  Create  Knowledge  Gaps    
 
A  knowledge  gap  is  the  gap  that  exists  between  what  the  audience  
knows  and  what  it  doesn’t  know.  When  there  exists  a  knowledge  gap  in  
your  audience,  it  arouses  curiosity.  This  keeps  your  audience  members  
fully  engaged  in  your  presentation.  
 
What’s  the  best  way  to  create  a  knowledge  gap?    
 
It’s  by  asking  a  question  (see  what  I  did  above?).  
 
  
 
In  his  TED  talk,  Tony  Robbins  uses  lots  of  questions  to  create  knowledge  
gaps  in  his  audience.  This  keeps  his  audience  curious  and  therefore  
engaged  in  his  presentation.  Here  are  three  examples:  
 
• “What  is  your  motive  for  action?  What  is  it  that  drives  you  in  your  
life  today?  Not  10  years  ago.  Or  are  you  running  the  same  
pattern?”  
 
• “First,  what's  your  target?  What  are  you  after?”  
 
• “Everyone  needs  certainty  that  they  can  avoid  pain  and  at  least  be  
comfortable.  Now,  how  do  you  get  it?”  
Not  only  do  those  questions  create  knowledge  gaps  in  Tony’s  audience,  
they  also  give  his  audience  the  chance  to  reflect  on  their  lives.  Audience  
members  have  to  search  inside  themselves  to  try  to  uncover  their  
motives,  drives  and  targets.    
As  a  result,  Tony  doesn’t  just  deliver  a  speech  –  he  creates  an  experience  
for  his  audience.  The  audience  connects  with  Tony’s  talk  because  they  
can  connect  their  life  experiences  to  his  message.  As  proof,  here’s  a  
comment  that  was  left  by  a  viewer  as  a  response  to  Tony’s  talk:  
“For  a  20  minute  talk  on  “Why  we  do  what  we  do”  I  would  argue  
Tony  does  a  remarkable  job.  He  is  thoughtful,  passionate,  and  
certainly  makes  the  audience  question  their  own  motives  in  life.”  
Next  time  you  have  to  give  a  speech  or  a  presentation,  use  questions  to  
create  knowledge  gaps  in  your  audience.  Also,  use  you-­‐focused  
questions  to  get  the  audience  to  reflect  upon  their  lives  so  that  your  
message  becomes  directly  relevant  to  their  life  experiences.    
 

Build  a  Connection  Using  a  You-­‐Focus  

When  you  speak,  remember  that  your  aim  is  to  serve  your  audience.  
Thus,  the  focus  of  your  talk  should  not  be  on  yourself,  but  on  your  
audience.  In  other  words,  you  should  be  “you-­‐focused,”  not  “I-­‐focused.”  
As  a  public  speaking  coach,  one  of  the  mistakes  I  see  many  presenters  
make  is  that  they  give  speeches  that  are  heavily  I-­‐focused.  These  
  
 
speeches  sound  something  along  the  lines  of:  
“I  did  this,  then  I  did  that,  and  the  result  I  got  from  this  was  that.  
And  then  I  had  a  great  idea,  so  I  decided  to  take  action  on  that  
idea,  and  I  got  this  amazing  result  because  I  –  ”    
The  problem  with  such  a  speech  is  that  it  isolates  your  audience.  Your  
audience  is  not  a  part  of  your  talk  –  they  are  simply  a  group  of  people  
who  have  to  listen  to  your  autobiography.  By  giving  an  I-­‐focused  speech,  
you  are  ignoring  your  audience,  in  which  case  they  might  as  well  not  be  
there.    
So,  what’s  the  solution?  
The  solution  is  to  have  a  healthy  balance  between  I-­‐focused  and  you-­‐
focused  speaking.  You  can  share  your  story  using  an  I-­‐focus,  but  
remember  to  bring  it  back  to  your  audience  using  a  you-­‐focus.  
In  Tony’s  speech,  he  connects  with  his  audience  using  a  you-­‐focus.  The  
audience  is  made  a  part  of  the  speech  because  Tony  is  talking  about  
them,  instead  of  at  them.  Here  are  some  examples  of  you-­‐focused  
speaking  from  Tony’s  talk:  
• “How  do  you  take  the  invisible  and  make  it  visible,  right?  How  do  
you  take  what  you're  dreaming  of  and  make  it  happen?  Whether  it  
be  your  business,  your  contribution  to  society,  money  -­‐-­‐  whatever  
it  is  for  you  -­‐-­‐  your  body,  your  family.”  
 
• “So,  think  about  your  own  life,  the  decisions  that  have  shaped  
your  destiny.  And  that  sounds  really  heavy,  but  in  the  last  five  or  
10  years,  15  years,  how  have  there  been  some  decisions  you've  
made  that  if  you'd  made  a  different  decision,  your  life  would  be  
completely  different?”  
 
• “Because  how  did  you  learn  language?  You  didn't  learn  it  by  just  
learning  principles,  you  got  in  it  and  you  did  it  so  often  that  it  
became  real.”  
How  would  the  above  line  sound  when  delivered  using  an  I-­‐focus?  It  
would  sound  something  like  this:  
• “How  do  I  learn  new  languages?  I  don’t  learn  a  new  language  by  
  
 
learning  principles.  I  get  into  it  and  do  it  so  often  till  it  becomes  
real.”  
Can  you  see  how  you-­‐focused  speaking  is  much  more  powerful  in  
connecting  with  the  audience  than  I-­‐focused  speaking?    
Whenever  possible,  frame  your  stories,  examples,  analogies  and  
metaphors  using  a  you-­‐focus.  This  way,  when  your  audience  walks  out  
of  the  room,  they  will  walk  away  thinking,  “She  really  spoke  to  me  and  
connected  with  me”  instead  of  thinking,  “She  spoke  at  me  like  I  wasn’t  
even  there.”    
 

Put  Your  Body  behind  Your  Gestures  

One  of  the  things  that  makes  Tony  such  a  powerful  speaker  is  that  he  
gestures  with  his  whole  body.  While  most  speakers  restrict  their  
movements,  Tony  puts  his  whole  body  behind  his  movements.  His  
gestures  are  natural  and  powerful  (as  opposed  to  being  restricted  and  
tiny).  

 
Source:  TED  
Given  that  Tony  is  speaking  to  a  large  crowd,  it  makes  sense  for  him  to  
  
 
use  large  gestures  and  to  put  energy  and  enthusiasm  into  them.  When  
you  have  a  larger  audience,  you  need  to  have  an  enlarged  version  of  you.  
Don’t  be  timid.  Don’t  restrict  your  movements  –  instead  let  your  hands  
move  naturally  and  allow  yourself  larger  movements  as  you  project  
your  point  into  your  audience.    

 
Connect  with  the  Emotion  behind  Your  Message  
Apart  from  his  gestures,  we  can  also  learn  from  Tony’s  facial  
expressions.  Here’s  a  picture  of  Tony’s  facial  expressions  and  hand  
gestures  from  another  one  of  his  talks.  Notice  how  expressive  Tony  is  
with  his  gestures  and  facial  expressions:  

 
Image  Source:  Unknown  
Note  how  the  emotions  of  the  talk  are  very  evident  from  simply  looking  
at  Tony’s  facial  expressions.  His  facial  expressions  (and  hand  gestures)  
communicate  the  emotion  behind  his  message.  
So,  does  this  mean  that  you  should  change  your  style  and  be  as  
expressive  as  Tony?  
  
 
Of  course  not!  However,  remember  that  when  you  deliver  a  speech,  it’s  
not  just  about  speaking  the  words.  It’s  also  about  communicating  with  
your  hand  gestures  and  your  facial  expressions.  You  decide  how  much  
expressiveness  is  suitable  for  your  particular  situation,  but  keep  in  mind  
that  the  bigger  the  audience,  the  more  expressive  and  energetic  you  
need  to  be.  
Not  only  is  the  emotion  behind  Tony’s  message  evident  in  his  gestures  
and  facial  expressions,  it’s  also  evident  in  the  tone  of  his  voice.  His  tone  
matches  the  mood  that  he  is  trying  to  create  in  his  audience.  
So,  how  do  you  go  about  ensuring  that  your  facial  expressions,  hand  
gestures  and  voice  tone  are  congruent  with  your  message?  Simple.  You  
must  feel  the  emotion  behind  your  message.  Speech  is  transference  of  
emotion,  and  you  cannot  transfer  that  which  you  do  not  feel.  Before  you  
speak,  aim  to  connect  with  the  emotion  behind  your  message.  Once  you  
connect  with  the  emotion,  your  hand  gestures,  facial  expressions  and  
voice  tone  will  align  and  be  congruent  with  your  message.  Once  you  
connect  with  the  emotion  behind  your  message,  everything  else  will  
take  care  of  itself.    

 
Use  Callbacks  to  Personalize  Your  Talk  
A  callback  is  a  great  technique  for  personalizing  your  talk  for  your  
audience.  Simply,  it  means  to  refer  back  –  or  call  back  –  to  an  event,  
incident  or  a  speech  that  took  place  before  you  spoke  and  which  the  
audience  also  witnessed.  For  example,  here’s  an  example  of  a  callback  
from  Tony’s  speech:  
 
“I  agree  with  what  was  described  a  few  days  ago,  about  this  idea  
that  people  work  in  their  self-­‐interest.”  
 
Tony  calls  back  to  an  idea  that  was  discussed  a  couple  of  days  ago  at  the  
TED  conference,  and  by  doing  so  lets  his  audience  know  that  his  talk  is  
not  some  off-­‐the-­‐shelf  speech  he  delivers  to  every  audience  but  one  
which  has  been  specifically  designed  for  them.    
 
  
 
Using  callbacks  is  a  great  way  of  showing  your  audience  that  you’ve  put  
in  the  effort  to  tailor-­‐make  the  speech  for  them.  Furthermore,  by  
referring  to  a  previously  shared  experience  or  incident,  you  deepen  
your  rapport  with  your  audience.    
 
 
Don’t  Criticize,  Condemn  or  Put  Down  Another  Speaker  
 
Tony  made  great  use  of  a  callback,  but  I  cringed  when  he  said  this:  
 
“I  agree  with  what  was  described  a  few  days  ago,  about  this  idea  
that  people  work  in  their  self-­‐interest.  But  we  all  know  that  that's  
bullshit  at  times.”  
 
The  reason  I  cringed  when  I  heard  this  was  because  by  using  strong  
language  such  as  “bullshit,”  Tony  had  essentially  taken  another  
speaker’s  idea  (that  we  work  in  our  self-­‐interest)  and  said  that  the  idea  
was  trash.    
 
While  this  may  not  have  been  what  Tony  meant,  that’s  how  it  could  be  
perceived.    
 
I  strongly  encourage  you  to  refrain  from  shooting  down  any  previous  
speaker’s  ideas  or  arguments.  If  you  must  refute  another  speaker’s  
ideas,  then  do  this  without  using  strong  language  because  this  might  
upset  the  other  speaker  as  well  as  the  audience  members.    
 
 
Avoid  Swearing    
 
Is  it  OK  to  swear  and  use  foul  language  when  speaking?    
 
I  like  to  look  at  the  research  before  I  make  up  my  mind  on  any  issue,  and  
here’s  an  interesting  piece  of  research  I  came  across  (Source:  
ConversionXl):  
 
“Researchers  divided  88  participants  into  three  groups  to  watch  
one  of  three  slightly  different  speeches.  The  only  difference  
  
 
between  the  speeches  was  that  one  contained  a  mild  curse  word  
at  the  start:  
 
“…lowering  of  tuition  is  not  only  a  great  idea,  but  damn  it,  also  the  
most  reasonable  one  for  all  parties  involved.”  
 
The  second  speech  contained  the  ‘damn  it’  at  the  end  and  the  third  
had  neither.  When  participants’  attitudes  were  measured,  they  
were  most  influenced  by  the  speeches  with  the  mild  obscenity  
included,  either  at  the  beginning  or  the  end.  

The  word  ‘damn’  increased  the  audience’s  perception  of  the  

speaker’s  intensity,  which  increased  persuasion.  The  
audience’s  perceived  credibility  of  the  speaker  did  not  change.”  -­‐  
ConversionXl  
 
 
So,  it  turns  out  that  mild  swearing  can  make  a  speaker  more  persuasive  
because  it  shows  that  the  speaker  has  a  strong  emotional  connection  to  
the  topic.  Mild  swearing  can  lead  to  a  sudden  and  sharp  increase  in  the  
audience’s  attentiveness  levels.  For  example,  I  remember  the  first  time  
when  my  high  school  teacher  swore  in  class.  I  immediately  snapped  out  
of  my  doze  and  began  paying  attention  to  him.  
 
So,  I  wouldn’t  completely  rule  out  swearing  (though  I  certainly  don’t  
encourage  it).  For  example,  if  you  were  running  for  election  and  were  
extremely  upset  about  the  policies  of  the  previous  administration,  using  
mild/light  swearing  could  show  your  passion  and  intensity  towards  the  
issue  at  hand.  
 
However,  generally  speaking,  I  would  avoid  swearing  when  giving  a  
presentation.  Even  though  research  shows  that  light  swearing  can  be  
effective,  you  risk  offending  some  of  your  audience  members  and  being  
seen  as  “unprofessional”  –  and  perhaps  even  as  someone  who’s  unable  
to  keep  his  cool.  Furthermore,  swearing  can  be  distracting.    
 
Since  the  TED  audience  is  a  very  professional,  sophisticated  and  
intellectual  audience,  I  believe  that  the  right  thing  to  do  would  have  
  
 
been  to  refrain  from  swearing.  Unfortunately,  in  his  talk,  Tony  Robbins  
swore  a  number  of  times:  
 
• “this  crazy  mofo”  
 
• “we  all  know  that  that’s  bullshit”  
 
• “he’s  broken  my  pattern,  that  son  of  a  bitch”  
 
• “Have  you  ever  rented  a  video  of  a  film  that  you  already  seen?  
Who  has  done  this?  Get  a  f***in  life?”  
All  this  swearing  was  distracting  and  not  appropriate  given  that  this  
was  a  TED  audience.  For  example,  look  at  the  comments  that  were  left  
on  TED.com  as  a  response  to  Tony  Robbins’  TED  talk:  
“I’m  a  Robbins  fan  but  found  the  swearing  to  be  distracting  –  it  
definitely  took  my  attention  away  from  his  central  message.”  
“He  swears  a  lot  and  needs  to  work  on  that  but  otherwise  great  
points  and  accomplishments.”  
So,  here’s  the  lesson.  Light  swearing  can  be  effective,  but  only  if  you  feel  
extremely  strongly  about  an  issue.  However,  generally  speaking,  it’s  
better  to  err  on  the  side  of  not  swearing  at  all.  
 
 
Present  the  Problem,  Challenge  or  Central  Question  That  
Needs  to  Be  Solved  
 
Great  speakers  usually  keep  their  audience  hooked  into  their  
presentation  by  first  presenting  their  audience  with  a  problem  or  
challenge  that  needs  to  be  solved,  or  a  central  question  that  needs  to  be  
answered.    
 
In  Tony’s  case,  the  problem/central  question  (the  question  around  
which  the  rest  of  the  talk  was  based)  was  this:  
 
“What's  the  difference  in  somebody's  life  if  you  look  at  somebody  
like  those  people  that  you've  given  everything  to?  Like  all  the  
  
 
resources  they  say  they  need.  You  gave  them  not  a  100-­‐dollar  
computer;  you  gave  them  the  best  computer.  You  gave  them  love;  
you  gave  them  joy.  You  were  there  to  comfort  them.  And  those  
people  very  often  -­‐-­‐  and  you  know  some  of  them,  I'm  sure  -­‐-­‐  end  
up  the  rest  of  their  life  with  all  this  love,  education,  money  and  
background,  spending  their  life  going  in  and  out  of  rehab.    
 
And  then  you  meet  people  that  have  been  through  ultimate  pain  -­‐-­‐  
psychologically,  sexually,  spiritually,  emotionally  abused  -­‐-­‐  and  
not  always,  but  often,  they  become  some  of  the  people  that  
contribute  the  most  to  society.  
 
So,  the  question  we've  got  to  ask  ourselves  really  is,  what  is  it?  
What  is  it  that  shapes  us?”  
 
By  presenting  this  conundrum  (why  do  people  who  are  given  
everything  they  need  still  fail  whereas  others  who  go  through  extreme  
pain  end  up  being  successful?),  Tony  keeps  his  audience  hooked  into  the  
presentation.    
 
The  audience  begins  wrestling  with  the  problem  and  the  question  in  
their  heads,  trying  to  come  up  with  an  answer.  They  stayed  tuned  into  
the  presentation  because  they’re  curious  to  find  out  the  answer  
(because  there  exists  a  knowledge  gap  that  needs  to  be  filled).    
 
What’s  the  problem  that  you  want  your  audience  members  to  wrestle  
with?  What’s  the  challenge  that  needs  to  be  solved?  What’s  the  central  
question  that  needs  to  be  answered?  
 
 
Involve  Your  Audience  
 
One  of  the  best  ways  to  keep  your  audience  engaged  in  your  
presentation  is  through  audience  involvement.  Tony  is  a  master  at  this.  
Watch  any  videos  of  him  speaking  at  his  motivational  seminars  and  you  
will  see  that  he  has  the  audience  jumping,  yelling,  clapping,  hugging,  
dancing...  
 
  
 
While  doing  this  may  sound  corny,  it  does  keep  his  audience  members  
engaged.  Tony  delivers  full-­‐day  sessions,  so  it’s  important  that  his  
audience  members  get  physically  involved  in  his  presentation  so  that  
they  do  not  fall  asleep.  It’s  also  important  that  they  get  a  break  from  
simply  listening  to  him  and  get  an  opportunity  to  have  their  voices  
heard.  
 
However,  even  for  shorter  presentations  –  including  an  18-­‐minute  TED  
talk  –  audience  involvement  is  a  good  idea.  It’s  risky  because  the  
audience  might  not  be  receptive  or  willing  to  get  involved,  but  if  you  do  
it  the  right  way,  you  can  get  almost  any  audience  physically  involved  in  
your  presentation.  
 
The  first  time  Tony  tries  to  get  his  audience  involved  in  his  talk  by  
getting  them  to  verbally  respond  to  his  questions,  the  response  is  not  
very  enthusiastic:  
 
How  many  have  ever  failed  to  achieve  something  significant  in  
your  life?  Say,  "Aye."  
Audience:  Aye.  (Audience  says  “Aye”  without  enthusiasm)  
Thanks  for  the  interaction  on  a  high  level  there.  
(Audience  laughs)  
So,  why  did  Tony  fail  to  receive  an  enthusiastic  response?  Because  of  
two  reasons.  First,  the  TED  audience  is  not  used  to  audience  
involvement.  They  are  not  used  to  having  speakers  telling  them  to  
respond  back  to  questions.  As  a  result,  they  were  hesitant  to  do  so.  
Second,  from  my  own  seminars  and  workshops  I  have  found  that  people  
do  not  like  publicly  admitting  their  failures.  While  this  isn’t  always  true,  
I  have  found  it  to  be  true  often  enough  for  me  to  be  able  to  make  this  
generalization.  
So,  what  does  Tony  do  when  he  doesn’t  receive  the  enthusiastic  
response  he  expected?  
He  calls  them  out  on  it.  He  admits  that  his  attempt  to  get  them  involved  
in  his  presentation  hasn’t  worked.  He  sarcastically  but  in  a  joking  and  
  
 
friendly  manner  says,  “Thanks  for  your  reaction  on  a  high  level!”  which  
causes  the  audience  members  to  laugh.    
Comedians  use  this  technique  quite  often.  When  a  joke  falls  flat,  they  
admit  that  they  have  bombed.  For  example,  when  I  first  got  up  on  a  
comedy  stage,  I  delivered  a  line  that  I  thought  would  be  hilarious  –  but  
my  audience  didn’t  feel  the  same  way.  I  could  have  simply  ignored  their  
reaction  (or  lack  of)  and  moved  on  to  the  next  line,  but  instead  I  decided  
to  use  the  “calling  out”  technique  where  I  acknowledged,  “That  joke  
seemed  much  funnier  when  I  wrote  it!”  which  earned  me  a  laugh  from  
the  audience.    
After  failing  to  get  the  audience  to  respond  by  saying  “I,”  Tony  tried  a  
different  audience  involvement  strategy.  This  is  the  mindset  that  Tony  
has  when  he’s  up  on  stage:  he  believes  that  he  will  eventually  be  able  to  
reach  through  to  his  audience,  as  long  as  he’s  willing  to  experiment  with  
approaching  them  from  different  angles.  This  is  the  same  mindset  that  I  
encourage  you  to  adopt  –  believe  that,  even  if  at  first  you  fail  to  connect  
with  your  audience,  as  long  as  you  are  flexible  enough  to  change  your  
approach,  you  will  eventually  get  through  to  them.    
When  the  first  audience  involvement  strategy  did  not  work,  Tony  tried  a  
different  one.  This  one  (which  I  call  the  “fill  in  the  blanks”  technique)  
received  a  more  enthusiastic  response  from  the  audience.  With  this  
technique,  you  deliver  a  line  but  leave  it  unfinished  so  that  the  audience  
can  finish  it  off  for  you.  It  is  essentially  a  verbal  “fill  in  the  blanks”  
exercise:  
“When  you  fail  to  achieve  a  goal,  what's  the  reason  people  say  
they  fail  to  achieve?  What  do  they  tell  you?    
Don't  have  the  –    
didn't  know  enough,    
didn't  have  the  ______  (audience  says  “knowledge”).    
Didn't  have  the  ______  (audience  says  “money”).    
Didn't  have  the  ______  (audience  says  “time”)”  
After  several  attempts  at  getting  the  audience  involved  in  the  talk,  the  
audience  adapts  to  Tony’s  style  and  begins  responding  with  a  bit  more  
  
 
enthusiasm.    
• How  many  people  know  what  I’m  talking  about?  Say  “Aye.”  
(Audience  says  “Aye.”)  
 
• If  you're  creative  enough,  playful  enough,  fun  enough,  can  you  get  
through  to  anybody?  Yes  or  no?  (Audience  says  “Yes.”)  
The  important  lesson  here  is  that  while  getting  your  audience  involved  
in  your  presentation  is  a  great  strategy  for  keeping  them  engaged,  it  
might  not  always  initially  work.  Why?  Because  the  audience  may  not  be  
used  to  having  a  speaker  who  is  confident  enough  to  turn  the  speech  
from  a  monologue  to  a  dialogue.  However,  don’t  panic  and  beat  yourself  
up.  You  should  maintain  the  mindset  that  if  you  are  flexible  and  willing  
to  change  your  approach  and  try  different  audience  involvement  
strategies,  you  will  eventually  get  through  to  your  audience.    
 
 
Acknowledge  Your  Audience’s  Thoughts  and  Feelings  
 
Voicing  out  loud  what  your  audience  might  be  thinking  and  feeling  is  a  
great  technique  for  deepening  your  connection  with  them.  For  example,  
look  at  how  Tony  does  this  in  his  talk:  
 
“So,  think  about  your  own  life,  the  decisions  that  have  shaped  
your  destiny.  And  that  sounds  really  heavy,  but  in  the  last  five  or  
10  years,  15  years,  how  have  there  been  some  decisions  you've  
made  that  if  you'd  made  a  different  decision,  your  life  would  be  
completely  different?”  
 
Tony  knows  that  when  he  talks  about  destiny,  some  of  the  audience  
members  might  feel  that  the  talk  is  getting  too  heavy  and  motivational-­‐
based.  Knowing  this,  Tony  acknowledges  this  and  says,  “[I  know]  that  
sounds  really  heavy.”  By  acknowledging  what  the  audience  might  be  
thinking,  Tony  shows  that  he  is  in  sync  with  them.  As  a  result  they  lower  
their  guards  and  become  more  willing  to  listen  to  what  he  has  to  say.  
 
Next  time  you  plan  a  speech  or  a  presentation,  be  aware  of  what  your  
audience  might  be  thinking  during  different  points  in  the  presentation.  
  
 
This  then  allows  you  to  verbalize  their  thoughts,  feelings  and  even  
objections.    
 
Use  phrases  such  as,  “You  might  be  thinking...”  “I  know  that  sounds...”  
“You  might  be  feeling...”  These  phrases  show  your  audience  that  you  
understand  their  viewpoint  and  thought  process.    
 
 
Manage  Your  Time  
 
While  Tony  is  a  masterful  speaker,  one  of  the  things  he  doesn’t  do  well  
in  this  talk  is  control  his  time.  Speakers  at  TED  are  given  a  maximum  of  
18  minutes  to  share  their  ideas.  When  you  speak,  you  too  probably  have  
a  time  limit  to  stick  to.  It  is  important  to  be  respectful  to  your  audience  
and  plan  your  talk  so  that  you  finish  within  the  allocated  time.  
 
Unfortunately,  Tony  does  not  do  this.  He  is  halfway  through  a  story  
when  he  realizes  that  he  has  no  time  left:  
 
“She  finishes,  and  a  man  stands  up  and  he  says,  "I'm  from  
Pakistan;  I'm  a  Muslim.  I'd  love  to  hold  your  hand  and  say  I'm  
sorry,  but,  frankly,  this  is  retribution."  I  can't  tell  you  the  rest  
because  I'm  out  of  time.”  
 
Had  this  been  you  and  had  you  not  managed  to  wrap  up  your  talk,  this  
would  have  been  a  very  disappointing  end  to  an  otherwise  great  talk.  
The  opening  and  closing  of  a  presentation  are  the  two  most  important  
parts  of  the  presentation  because  of  the  primacy  and  recency  effect.  This  
means  that  if  your  ending  is  terrible  because  you  didn’t  control  your  
time  well,  your  audience  is  going  to  walk  away  from  your  talk  
unsatisfied.  It’s  like  eating  a  great  meal  and  ending  the  night  with  some  
terrible  tasting  dessert  –  it  leaves  a  bad  aftertaste  in  your  mouth  and  
ruins  the  entire  experience.  
 
So,  how  can  you  ensure  that  this  never  happens  to  you?  
 
• Plan  to  finish  early:  First,  always  plan  to  finish  your  presentation  
at  least  two  minutes  before  the  end  of  your  allotted  time.  This  
  
 
means  that  if  you  are  given  18  minutes  to  speak,  you  should  
create  a  16-­‐minute  presentation.  It’s  better  to  finish  early  than  to  
finish  late.  No  audience  ever  complained  about  a  presentation  
finishing  two  minutes  earlier  than  the  scheduled  time.    
 
Also,  it’s  likely  that  during  the  actual  event,  your  16-­‐minute  
presentation  will  stretch  out  to  18  minutes  because  you  the  
audience  members  might  laugh  at  something  a  little  longer  than  
you  expected,  or  there  might  be  some  more  audience  interaction  
that  what  you  had  planned  for.  Therefore,  it’s  always  a  good  idea  
to  plan  to  finish  before  time.  
 
• Rehearse  your  presentation:  Second,  rehearse  your  
presentation  several  times,  and  make  sure  you  time  your  
presentation  so  that  you  know  you  are  falling  within  your  time  
limit.  
 
• Prepare  an  emergency  close:  This  is  the  closing  that  you  will  use  
in  case  you  suddenly  need  to  wrap  up  your  speech.  By  preparing  
an  emergency  closing  of  less  than  one  minute,  you  know  that  you  
will  be  able  to  wrap  up  your  talk  in  a  coherent  way  that  will  not  
leave  your  audience  disappointed.    
 
• Keep  track  of  time:  Finally,  during  your  speech,  always  be  aware  
of  the  time.  Generally,  large  conferences  have  countdown  timers  
that  are  only  visible  to  the  speaker  so  that  the  speaker  can  keep  
track  of  how  much  time  is  left.  If  this  is  not  the  case,  then  have  a  
countdown  timer  or  your  mobile  phone  vibrate  in  your  pocket  
five  minutes  before  the  end  of  your  talk.  This  will  give  you  enough  
time  to  start  wrapping  up  your  talk.    
 
Fortunately  for  Tony,  the  TED  conference  chair  allowed  him  to  finish  off  
his  story  (don’t  count  on  this  happening  to  you)  so  the  audience  was  not  
left  hanging.  However,  because  of  poor  time  management,  Tony  was  
forced  to  rush  through  the  rest  of  the  story  and  wasn’t  able  to  end  as  
powerfully  as  he  could  have.    
 
The  lesson  is  clear:  Plan  your  time  well  and  always  finish  on  time.    
 
  
 
 
Harness  the  Power  of  Stories  
 
Storytelling  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  tools  available  in  a  speaker’s  
tool  box.  If  you  want  to  be  a  great  speaker,  you  must  master  the  art  of  
storytelling.  This  is  why  I’ve  written  a  whole  book  on  the  subject  titled  
Storytelling  Techniques  for  Electrifying  Presentations  
(http://amzn.to/1cIQi9A).    
 
Tony  is  a  masterful  storyteller.  Near  the  end  of  his  talk,  he  shares  this  
captivating  story  with  his  audience:  
 
“One  woman  -­‐-­‐  well,  that  night  is  when  9/11  happened  -­‐-­‐  one  
woman  had  come  to  the  seminar  and  when  she  came  there,  her  
previous  boyfriend  had  been  kidnapped  and  murdered.  Her  
friend,  her  new  boyfriend,  wanted  to  marry  her,  and  she  said  no.  
 
He  said,  "If  you  leave  and  go  to  that  Hawaii  thing,  it's  over  with  
us."  She  said,  "It's  over."  When  I  finished  that  night,  she  called  him  
and  left  a  message  -­‐-­‐  true  story  -­‐-­‐  at  the  top  of  the  World  Trade  
Center  where  he  worked,  saying,  "Honey,  I  love  you,  I  just  want  
you  to  know  I  want  to  marry  you.  It  was  stupid  of  me."  She  was  
asleep,  because  it  was  3  a.m.  for  us,  when  he  called  her  back  from  
the  top  and  said,  "Honey,  I  can't  tell  you  what  this  means."  He  said,  
"I  don't  know  how  to  tell  you  this,  but  you  gave  me  the  greatest  
gift  because  I'm  going  to  die."  And  she  played  the  recording  for  us  
in  the  room.  She  was  on  Larry  King  later,  and  he  said,  "You're  
probably  wondering  how  on  Earth  this  could  happen  to  you  
twice."  And  he  said,  "All  I  can  say  to  you  is,  this  must  be  God's  
message  to  you,  honey.  From  now  on,  every  day  give  your  all,  love  
your  all.  Don't  let  anything  ever  stop  you."  She  finishes,  and  a  man  
stands  up  and  he  says,  "I'm  from  Pakistan;  I'm  a  Muslim.  I'd  love  
to  hold  your  hand  and  say  I'm  sorry,  but,  frankly,  this  is  
retribution."  I  can't  tell  you  the  rest  because  I'm  out  of  time.”  
 
Unfortunately,  since  Tony  had  not  planned  his  time  well  enough,  he  
runs  out  of  time.  
 
  
 
Had  this  been  the  end,  audience  members  would  leave  highly  
unsatisfied  with  Tony’s  talk.  Fortunately,  Tony  was  given  a  bit  more  
time  to  wrap  up  his  talk.  
 
Why?  
 
Because  the  audience  wanted  Tony  to  finish  the  story.  When  Tony  said,  
“I  can’t  tell  you  the  rest  ’cause  I’m  out  of  time,”  the  audience  sighed  in  
disappointment  because  they  were  curious  to  know  the  conclusion  of  
the  story.    
 
While  it  isn’t  encouraged  to  go  over  time,  this  particular  situation  does  
highlight  the  power  of  storytelling:  Stories  are  inherently  interesting  
and  audience  members  love  listening  to  them.    
 
Storytelling  is  hardwired  into  our  brains.  As  children,  it’s  how  we  make  
sense  of  the  world.  While  statistics  and  data  are  abstract,  a  story  creates  
a  mental  movie  in  our  heads  that  we  can  see  and  hear.  We  get  
emotionally  tied  up  in  stories.  Stories  arouse  our  curiosity,  causing  us  to  
ask,  “What  happens  next?”    
 
In  one  of  his  blog  posts,  the  marketing  guru  Seth  Godin  wrote:  
 
“The  storyteller  naturally  engages  our  attention,  and  she  matches  
her  emphasis  and  cadence  to  the  rhythm  of  the  story.  Here’s  how  
to  know  if  you’re  on  the  right  track:  if  you  stop  a  story  in  the  
middle,  the  audience  will  insist  you  finish  it.”  
 
Isn’t  that  what  happened  with  Tony?  
 
When  giving  your  presentation,  use  stories  to  keep  your  audience  
engaged.  As  we’ve  seen,  stories  are  so  engaging  that  if  you  stop  one  
halfway  through,  your  audience  will  insist  that  you  finish  it.    
 
 
Use  Inviting  Language  
 
What  is  inviting  language?  
  
 
 
Inviting  language  is  “soft”  language  that  encourages  and  welcomes  
audience  members  to  try  out  a  particular  idea  or  take  a  certain  course  of  
action.  It  ensures  that  the  audience  members  don’t  feel  as  though  an  
idea  is  being  forced  upon  them.  If  audience  members  feel  you  are  
pushing  an  idea  on  them,  they  will  be  less  willing  to  accept  it  because  
people  don’t  like  being  forced  to  do  things.  
 
In  his  TED  talk,  to  avoid  psychological  reactance  from  the  audience,  
Tony  ends  his  speech  by  inviting  his  audience  to  try  out  his  idea.  He  
doesn’t  force  it  upon  them,  but  simply  invites  them:  
 
“So  my  invitation  to  you  is  this:  explore  your  web,  the  web  in  here  
-­‐-­‐  the  needs,  the  beliefs,  the  emotions  that  are  controlling  you...”  
 
When  presenting  your  call  to  action,  use  inviting  language  such  as  “I  
invite  you  to...”  “I  encourage  you  to...”  “Explore  the  possibilities...”  
“Experiment  with...”  and  “Next  time,  try  to...”  The  opposite  of  inviting  
language  is  forceful  language  such  as  “You  must…”  “You  should…”  “If  
you  don’t  then…”  etc.  
 
Use  invitational  phrases  to  make  sure  that  your  audience  does  not  feel  
you  are  forcing  ideas  upon  them.    
 
 
Wrap  Up  with  a  Call  to  Action  
 
The  final  step  in  creating  a  powerfully  persuasive  TED  talk  is  to  craft  a  
compelling  call  to  action.  End  your  talk  with  a  clear  next  step  for  your  
audience  to  take.    
 
In  his  TED  talk,  Tony  does  a  great  job  of  this  by  providing  a  crystal-­‐clear  
next  step  for  his  audience  to  take:    
 
“So  my  invitation  to  you  is  this:  explore  your  web,  the  web  in  here  
-­‐-­‐  the  needs,  the  beliefs,  the  emotions  that  are  controlling  you,  for  
two  reasons:  so  there's  more  of  you  to  give  -­‐-­‐  and  achieve  too,  we  
all  want  to  do  it  -­‐-­‐  but  I  mean  give,  because  that's  what's  going  to  
fill  you  up.  And  secondly,  so  you  can  appreciate  -­‐-­‐  not  just  
  
 
understand,  that's  intellectual,  that's  the  mind  -­‐-­‐  but  appreciate  
what's  driving  other  people.  It's  the  only  way  our  world's  going  to  
change.  God  bless  you.  Thank  you.”  
 
What’s  your  call  to  action?    
 
Let  your  audience  know  exactly  what  you  would  like  them  to  do  next  as  
a  result  of  listening  to  your  talk.  
 
 

In  a  Nutshell  

• Have  absolute  belief  in  your  message.  

• Match  your  audience’s  energy  level.  
• Connect  with  your  audience  by  speaking  conversationally.  
• Use  questions  to  create  knowledge  gaps.    
• Build  rapport  with  your  audience  using  you-­‐focused  speaking.  
• Put  your  body  behind  your  gestures.  
• Use  callbacks  to  personalize  your  talk.  
• Present  the  problem,  challenge  or  central  question  that  needs  to  
be  solved.  
• Experiment  with  audience  involvement  techniques  to  keep  your  
audience  engaged  (and  awake!).  
• Build  a  deeper  connection  with  your  audience  by  verbalizing  their  
thoughts  and  feelings.  
• Use  inviting  language.  
• Wrap  up  your  talk  with  a  call  to  action.  
 
*  
 
Meet  Presentation  Expert  Akash  Karia  
 
Akash  Karia  is  a  professional  speaker  who  has  trained  thousands  of  
people  worldwide,  from  bankers  in  Hong  Kong  to  yoga  teachers  in  
Thailand  to  senior  executives  in  Dubai.  He  is  an  award-­‐winning  trainer  
who  has  been  ranked  as  one  of  the  top  speakers  in  Asia-­‐Pacific.  He  is  
currently  the  Chief  Commercial  Officer  of  a  multi-­‐million  dollar  
  
 
company  in  Tanzania,  in  which  capacity  he  heads  the  sales,  relations  
and  marketing  departments  of  the  organization.    
 
If  you’re  looking  for  a  coach  to  help  you  become  a  powerful  and  
persuasive  communicator  or  a  speaker  to  unleash  the  excellence  hidden  
inside  of  your  teams,  then  contact  Akash  on  www.AkashKaria.com  (or  
email  Akash@AkashKaria.com).  
 
   
  
 
CHAPTER  FOUR  
 
THE  BEST  STATS  YOU’VE  EVER  SEEN  
 
• Case  study:  Hans  Rosling,  The  Best  Stats  You’ve  Ever  Seen  
• Expert  analysis  by:  Dana  Rubin  
 
Make  Your  Statistics  Come  Alive  
 
In  his  TED  talk  titled  “The  best  stats  you’ve  ever  seen”  
(http://bit.ly/1aOhHaR),  Swedish  professor  Hans  Rosling  sets  a  new  
standard  for  the  presentation  of  quantitative  information.  In  just  19  
minutes,  he  takes  abstract  data  and  concepts  that  are  difficult  to  grasp  
and  makes  them  come  alive.  In  this  chapter,  we  look  at  the  presentation  
lessons  we  can  pick  up  from  Rosling’s  talk:  
 
• Starting  with  a  story  
• Making  your  audience  laugh  
• Having  seamless  engagement  with  visuals  
• Ending  on  a  high  
 

 
  
 
Source:  TED  
 
In  arguing  for  the  public  funding  of  health  data,  Rosling  makes  use  of  a  
series  of  dazzling  software  animations  that  reveal  important  
perspectives  on  a  century  of  social  and  economic  development  around  
the  world.    
 
Even  though  his  groundbreaking  Gapminder  software  is  the  visual  focal  
point  of  this  presentation,  Rosling  wisely  never  lets  the  software  
completely  take  over.  His  presentation  proves  that  it’s  never  numbers  
or  data  alone  that  tell  a  good  story  –  it  takes  a  human  being  to  stir  our  
emotions  and  influence  our  attitudes.  Rosling’s  talk  demonstrates  that  
the  sophisticated  new  tools  of  data  visualization  are  most  effective  in  
the  hands  of  a  charismatic  speaker  who’s  fully  in  control  of  the  material  
and  completely  engaged  with  the  audience.    
 
 
 
 
Use  a  Story  to  Start  
 
Rosling  begins  his  talk  with  one  of  the  tried-­‐and-­‐true  opening  
techniques:  by  telling  a  personal  story.  With  just  a  few  sentences,  he  
paints  a  sympathetic  self-­‐portrait  of  a  man  who’s  engaged  with  world  
problems  and  has  a  wry  sense  of  humor:  
 
“About  10  years  ago,  I  took  on  the  task  to  teach  global  
development  to  Swedish  undergraduate  students.  This  was  after  
having  spent  about  20  years  together  with  African  institutions  
studying  hunger  in  Africa,  so  I  was  sort  of  expected  to  know  a  
little  about  the  world.  And  I  started  in  our  medical  university,  
Karolinska  Institute,  an  undergraduate  course  called  Global  
Health.  But  when  you  get  that  opportunity,  you  get  a  little  
nervous.  I  thought  these  students  coming  to  us  actually  have  the  
highest  grade  you  can  get  in  the  Swedish  college  system,  so  I  
thought  maybe  they  know  everything  I'm  going  to  teach  them  
about.”  
 
  
 
Rosling  uses  understatement  –  “sort  of  expected  to  know  a  little  about  
the  world”  –  and  self-­‐deprecation  –  “a  little  nervous”  –  to  create  a  
sympathetic  bond  with  the  audience.    
 
Note  especially  his  use  of  the  word  “you”  when  he  says,  “you  get  a  little  
nervous.”  That’s  a  subtle  way  of  deepening  his  connection  with  his  
listeners.  It’s  as  if  he  were  saying,  “It’s  not  just  me  who  gets  a  little  
nervous  –  it’s  you  too.”  In  other  words,  we’re  all  in  this  together.  
 
Next  time  you  have  to  give  a  presentation,  consider  opening  with  a  
story.  Also  consider  adding  some  you-­‐focus  in  order  to  deepen  your  
connection  with  your  audience.  
 
 
Make  ’em  Laugh  
 
Rosling  then  uses  another  classic  technique  to  bond  with  the  audience  –  
humor.  He  manages  to  get  a  few  laughs  when  he  points  out  that  his  
students  failed  his  pre-­‐test,  which  signaled  to  him  that  “there  was  a  
place  for  a  professor  of  international  health,  and  for  my  course.”  
 
Getting  people  to  laugh  at  the  beginning  of  a  talk  is  not  easy,  especially  
when  you’re  talking  about  a  serious  subject  like  global  health.  But  the  
humor  as  well  as  the  personal  story  are  important,  because  they  
establish  Rosling’s  likeable  personality,  and  create  a  bond  with  the  
audience  that  will  serve  him  throughout  the  presentation.  
 
We  laugh  when  he  tells  us  that  despite  having  the  highest  grades  in  the  
Swedish  academic  system,  his  students  “know  statistically  significantly  
less  about  the  world  than  the  chimpanzees.”  And  for  that  matter,  so  do  
his  fellow  professors  at  the  Karolinska  Institute.  
 
He  even  makes  a  silly,  endearing  joke  about  serving  the  chimps  “two  
bananas  with  Sri  Lanka  and  Turkey”  that  causes  a  few  people  to  chuckle.  
A  few  minutes  later,  he  tells  us  that  his  students  get  most  of  their  
knowledge  about  the  world  from  Tintin  –  and  he  flashes  a  picture  of  the  
globetrotting  comic  character.  The  audience  laughs.  
 
  
 
However,  isn’t  it  true  that  someone  else  could  deliver  the  exact  same  
lines  and  not  be  able  to  generate  a  single  laugh?  So,  why  is  Rosling  able  
to  generate  laughs,  whereas  others  might  fail  even  if  they  deliver  the  
same  lines?  
 
It’s  because  Rosling  is  not  afraid  to  have  fun  on  stage.  He  is  enjoying  
himself  on  stage,  and  this  shines  through  in  his  delivery.  He’s  not  afraid  
to  poke  fun  at  himself,  and  therefore  the  audience  gets  permission  to  
laugh  with  him.    
 
Rosling  is  funny,  there’s  no  doubt.  But  there’s  something  in  his  humor  
that  makes  us  slightly  uncomfortable.  His  implied  meaning  is  that  not  
only  are  the  Swedish  students  and  professors  ignorant  about  the  
realities  of  global  health,  and  quite  possibly  ethnocentric,  but  so  are  all  
educated  people  in  the  Western  world.  And  that  includes  us,  the  
members  of  his  audience.  
 
In  laughing  at  his  humor,  we  are  also  laughing  at  ourselves.  And  we  are  
wondering  what  exactly  is  this  lesson  we’re  about  to  receive.    
 
As  a  speaker,  don’t  be  afraid  to  have  fun  on  stage.  If  you’re  enjoying  
yourself,  then  your  audience  will  too.    
 
 
Use  Clear,  Explanatory  Language  
 
Just  two-­‐and-­‐a-­‐half  minutes  into  his  talk,  the  real  action  begins  when  
Rosling  presents  on  the  screen  a  static  view  of  his  first  animation  
generated  by  the  remarkable  Gapminder  software.  
   
The  bubbles  and  dots  spread  across  a  graph  with  x  and  y  axes  is  visually  
captivating,  but  also  confusing,  and  Rosling  does  something  few  
presenters  do.  He  doesn’t  just  assume  his  audience  intuitively  
understands  what  the  variables  mean  –  he  actually  takes  the  time  to  
explain  them:  
 
“We  did  this  software  which  displays  it  like  this:  every  bubble  
here  is  a  country.  This  country  over  here  is  China.  This  is  India.  
  
 
The  size  of  the  bubble  is  the  population,  and  on  this  axis  here  I  put  
fertility  rate.”  
 
As  he  explains,  he  constructed  the  graph  as  a  way  of  challenging  an  
assumption  made  by  his  students,  who  divide  the  world  into  “We  and  
Them”  –  in  other  words,  between  the  wealthy  Western,  developed  
world  where  people  have  small  families  and  live  long  lives,  and  the  poor  
and  underdeveloped  Third  World  where  people  have  large  families  and  
live  short  lives.  
 
So  this  is  what  the  graph  displays:  demographic  data  collected  since  
1962  on  the  size  of  families  and  lifespans  in  countries  around  the  world.    
His  clear  explanatory  language  helps  make  a  complicated  subject  easy  to  
understand.  Whenever  you’re  presenting  complicated  information,  
always  search  for  ways  to  present  it  in  the  clearest,  simplest  manner  
possible  to  aid  your  audience’s  understanding.  
 
 
Seamless  Engagement  with  Visuals  
 
Rosling’s  language  speeds  up  as  his  story  progresses,  and  he  launches  a  
series  of  rhetorical  questions  that  get  to  the  heart  of  the  problem:  
 
“Now  what  has  happened  since  1962?  We  want  to  see  the  change.  
Are  the  students  right?  It's  still  two  types  of  countries?  Or  have  
these  developing  countries  got  smaller  families  and  they  live  
here?  Or  have  they  got  longer  lives  and  live  up  there?”  
 
The  cascading  questions,  posed  with  ever-­‐increasing  urgency,  intensify  
the  stakes.  As  a  speaker,  you  should  vary  your  pace,  volume  and  tone  to  
create  different  moods  in  your  audience.    
 
Rosling  then  says,  “Let’s  see.  We  start  the  world.”  
 
He  returns  to  the  podium,  hits  a  key,  and  suddenly  the  screen  comes  to  
life,  with  the  circles  and  dots  moving  across  the  screen  to  reflect  the  
passage  of  time  and  the  changing  health  and  economic  data.  
 
  
 
Then  Rosling  himself  leaps  into  action.  He  turns  completely  around  to  
face  the  screen,  his  back  to  the  audience,  his  arms  outstretched  over  his  
head,  and  he  moves  his  arms  along  with  the  spheres  as  if  he  himself  is  
physically  orchestrating  the  movement  of  the  data.  Remember  that  you  
can  make  your  presentation  exciting  by  being  excited  about  what  you’re  
presenting.  
 
On  and  on  it  goes,  as  the  decades  and  data  fly  by  and  Rosling  narrates  
the  changes  with  mounting  speed  and  urgency,  as  if  he’s  calling  a  horse  
race  that’s  neck  and  neck  on  the  final  stretch.  
 
“Can  you  see  there?  It's  China  there,  moving  against  better  health  
there,  improving  there.  All  the  green  Latin  American  countries  
they  are  moving  towards  smaller  families.  Your  yellow  ones  here  
are  the  Arabic  countries,  and  they  get  larger  families,  but  they  -­‐-­‐  
no,  longer  life,  but  not  larger  families.  The  Africans  are  the  green  
down  here.  They  still  remain  here.  This  is  India.  Indonesia's  
moving  on  pretty  fast.”  
 
By  physically  interacting  with  the  screen,  Rosling  creates  a  seamless  
connection  between  himself  and  his  visuals,  which  begin  to  seem  almost  
like  an  extension  of  his  body.  As  we  watch  the  fast-­‐moving  data,  there’s  
the  sense  that  what  we’re  actually  watching  are  this  brilliant  man’s  
thoughts  in  motion.  The  screen  becomes  a  projection  of  the  inner  
workings  of  this  man’s  highly  complex  brain.  
 
Note  that  it’s  the  human  being  who  is  compelling,  not  just  the  data  on  
the  screen.  The  Gapminder  software  is  exciting,  yes,  but  it’s  Hans  
Rosling  himself  who  invests  his  passion  and  enthusiasm  into  the  
unfolding  data,  and  gives  it  life  and  meaning.  
 
Always  remember  that  it’s  you,  not  the  software,  that’s  the  star.  No  
piece  of  software  can  make  your  presentation  exciting  unless  you  first  
are  excited  about  the  presentation.  
 
 
Tell  Them  Straight,  Then  Tell  Them  Again  
 
  
 
So  what  exactly  is  Rosling  trying  to  express  to  us?  Why  is  he  getting  so  
excited?  
 
Here’s  what  it  is:  Rosling  is  telling  us  what’s  wrong  with  the  way  we  
think.  And  he’s  doing  it  with  a  series  of  declarative  statements  that  are  
clear  and  direct,  their  meaning  unmistakable.  Simply  by  finding  new  and  
fresh  ways  to  say  the  same  thing,  over  and  over,  he  makes  sure  that  we  
get  the  point:    
 
“If  we  don't  look  at  the  data,  we  underestimate  the  tremendous  
  change  in  Asia…”  
 
A  short  time  later,  presenting  another  Gapminder  animation,  he  says  
nearly  the  same  thing  again:  
 
“There’s  no  gap  between  rich  and  poor  any  longer.  That’s  a  myth.”    
 
Then  a  bit  later,  with  a  slightly  different  spin:    
 
“This  shows  that  the  concept  of  developing  countries  is  extremely  
doubtful.”  
 
And  yet  again,  with  another  twist:  
 
“We  will  not  have  a  divided  world.  Most  of  the  people  will  be  in  
the  middle.”  
 
And  this:  
 
“The  best  projection  from  the  World  Bank  is  that  this  will  happen,  
and  we  will  not  have  a  divided  world.  We’ll  have  most  people  in  
the  middle.”  
 
Rosling  knows  that  data  alone  won’t  change  our  minds.  We  need  a  
human  being  to  serve  as  our  guide,  to  us  tell  the  story,  to  put  it  into  
human  terms,  in  language  we  can  understand,  and  then  to  repeat  it  over  
and  over  to  make  sure  we  get  the  point.  We  need  you  –  the  speaker.  
 
  
 
In  the  remainder  of  his  talk,  Rosling  presents  several  more  Gapminder  
animations  that  extend  his  argument  using  other  demographic  data.  
Each  time,  it’s  his  signature  enthusiasm  in  tandem  with  the  animation  
that  conveys  the  message.  
 
 
End  on  a  High  
 
Having  made  the  case  that  public  health  data  should  be  freely  available,  
Rosling  approaches  the  end  of  his  presentation.    
 
He  evokes  a  time  in  the  future  when  publicly  funded  data  will  be  widely  
available  and  everyone  will  be  able  to  educate  themselves  about  the  
world.  Each  of  us  will  be  able  to  follow  public  health  trends  and  other  
social  and  economic  developments,  and  use  that  knowledge  to  gain  a  
more  nuanced  and  truthful  understanding  of  human  progress.  Rosling  
paints  a  beautiful  picture  of  a  better  world,  leaving  his  audience  on  an  
emotional  high.  
 
“I  end  now  with  the  world,”  Rosling  says,  and  with  that  he  offers  one  
final  Gapminder  animation  that  tracks  the  correlation  between  Internet  
use  around  the  world  and  rising  economic  prosperity.  This  brings  his  
presentation  to  a  quick  but  hopeful  conclusion:    
 
“It’s  as  if  the  world  is  flattening  out,  isn’t  it?  These  countries  are  
lifting  more  than  the  economy,  and  it  will  be  very  interesting  to  
follow  this  over  the  years,  as  I  would  like  you  to  be  able  to  do  with  
all  the  publicly  funded  data.”  
 
Rosling  packs  a  lot  of  meaning  into  those  final  few  lines.  His  enthusiasm  
is  restrained  –  “it  will  be  very  interesting”  to  see  what  happens.  But  
within  that  slender  phrase  resides  the  passion  of  a  reformer  hell-­‐bent  
on  changing  the  world.  
 

In  a  Nutshell  
• Start  with  a  story.  
• Have  fun  on  stage.  
  
 
• Don’t  be  afraid  to  make  fun  of  yourself.  
• Use  simple,  clear,  explanatory  language.  
• It’s  your  passion  and  enthusiasm  that  gives  life  and  meaning  to  
data.  
• Engage  with  your  visuals.  
• Tell  them  straight,  then  tell  them  again.  
• End  on  a  high.  
 
*

Meet  Presentation  Expert  Dana  Rubin  

Dana  Rubin  is  a  communications  consultant  in  New  York  City  who  helps  
her  clients  develop  persuasive  presentations  and  deliver  them  
powerfully.  Her  career  spans  years  as  a  newspaper  and  magazine  
journalist,  TV  news  producer,  corporate  speechwriter  and  strategic  
consultant  with  experience  in  the  US  and  abroad.  She’s  media  savvy  and  
knows  how  to  create  the  phrases  and  messages  that  will  get  quoted,  
printed,  broadcast,  and  circulated  through  traditional  and  social  media.  
She  can  be  reached  at  drubin@rubinandcompany.com.  Find  out  more  
about  her  on:  http://rubinandcompany.com    
   
  
 
CHAPTER  FIVE  
 
WRAP  UP  
 
 
The  best  way  to  master  the  art  of  public  speaking  is  to  study  great  
speakers.  In  this  book,  you’ve  uncovered  the  tools  and  techniques  used  
by  four  great  TED  speakers.  Apply  these  techniques  to  your  next  TED  
talk  (or  any  other  speech  or  presentation)  to  keep  your  audience  
hooked:  
 
• Appeal  to  a  universal  experience  or  idea.  
• Have  absolute  belief  in  your  message.  
• Don’t  just  walk  on  stage  –  command  the  room.  Don’t  be  afraid  to  
take  a  long  pause  while  connecting  with  the  audience  via  eye  
contact.    
• Match  your  audience’s  energy  level.  
• Don’t  just  speak;  aim  to  create  an  experience  for  your  audience.  
• Connect  with  your  audience  by  speaking  conversationally.  
• Use  simple,  clear,  explanatory  language.  
• Use  questions  to  create  knowledge  gaps.    
• Present  the  problem,  challenge  or  central  question  that  needs  to  
be  solved.  
• Build  rapport  with  your  audience  using  you-­‐focused  speaking.  
• Experiment  with  audience  involvement  techniques  to  engage  your  
audience.  
• Build  a  deeper  connection  with  your  audience  by  verbalizing  their  
thoughts  and  feelings.  
• Harness  the  power  of  storytelling  to  connect  emotionally  with  
your  audience  
• Choose  stories  to  create  a  range  of  emotions  in  your  audience.  
• Make  your  presentation  memorable  by  repeating  a  hook  line  
• Use  callbacks  to  personalize  your  talk.  
• Keep  the  audience  interested  and  engaged  with  twists  and  turns.  
• Have  fun  on  stage.  
• Don’t  be  afraid  to  make  fun  of  yourself.  
• Don’t  walk  over  the  laughter.  
  
 
• Put  your  body  behind  your  gestures.  
• Give  examples  your  audience  can  relate  to.  
• People  relate  to  people,  not  perfection,  so  share  your  failures  and  
the  “message  out  of  the  mess.”  
• Remember  that  it’s  your  passion  and  enthusiasm  that  gives  life  
and  meaning  to  data.  
• Engage  with  your  visuals.  
• Use  inviting  language.  
• Wrap  up  your  talk  with  a  call  to  action.  
• End  on  a  high.  
 

One  Final  Tool  

I’m  going  to  end  this  book  by  giving  you  one  more  tool.  Use  this  tool  
before  any  speech  or  presentation  because  it  will  put  you  into  a  
confident  mind-­‐set.    
 
I  want  you  to  relax,  sit  back  and  imagine  yourself  up  on  stage,  sharing  
your  message  with  your  audience.  Imagine  your  audience  smiling  and  
enthusiastic.  Imagine  them  being  hooked  onto  your  every  word.  
Imagine  them  totally  engaged  in  your  speech.  Imagine  them  laughing  at  
the  humor  in  your  speech.  Imagine  them  spellbound  by  your  stories.  
Imagine  yourself  enthusiastic,  confident  and  enjoying  the  moment.    
 
To  your  speaking  success,  
 
Akash  Karia  |  Dana  Rubin  |  Marion  Grobb  Finkelstein  |  Michelle  Mazur  
   
  
 

QUESTIONS  OR  COMMENTS?  

   
I’d  love  to  hear  your  thoughts.  Email  me  at:  akash.speaker@gmail.com  
or  Akash@AkashKaria.com    
 
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WANT  MORE?  
If  you  found  value  in  this  book,  then  please  check  out  my  other  books:  
• How  to  Deliver  a  Great  TED  Talk  
• How  to  Design  TED  Worthy  Presentation  Slides  
• Storytelling  Techniques  for  Powerful  Presentations  
• Public  Speaking  Mastery  
• Own  the  Room  
• Public  Speaking  Tips  from  the  Pros  
• Stop  Negative  Thinking!  
  
 
• 26  Ways  to  Persuade  People  to  Do  Stuff  
• How  Successful  People  Think  Differently  

 
NEED  A  KEYNOTE  SPEAKER  OR  A  WORKSHOP  LEADER?  
I  am  available  to  conduct  keynotes,  workshops  and  training  sessions  on  
persuasion,  public  speaking  and  productivity.  Check  out  the  keynotes  
and  workshops  I  offer  on  my  website  and  let’s  set  a  time  to  discuss  how  
I  can  be  of  help  to  you.  
 
LOOKING  FOR  ONE  ON  ONE  COACHING?  
I  offer  one-­‐on-­‐one  coaching  over  Skype.  I’ll  help  you  make  your  
upcoming  pitch  powerful  and  persuasive.  Reach  me  at  
akash.speaker@gmail.com  or  Akash@AkashKaria.com  to  discuss  the  
possibility  of  how  we  might  work  together.  
 
Talk  soon!    
 
Live  well,  work  hard  –  and  have  fun  doing  both!  
 
Akash  Karia  
AkashKaria.com