TED – Daniel Levitin: How to stay calm when you

know you’ll be stressed

Posted on April 22, 2016

Image credit: http://www.ted.com

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This is a new TED talk lesson plan for C1+ students. You can either
set the TED talk with the comprehension questions as homework or
watch the talk in class as it’s only 12 minutes long. Download the
handout and teacher’s notes below:

TED Daniel Levitin Stress sts handout

TED Daniel Levitin Stress Teacher notes

Student Handout

Language Focus
Discuss the meaning of the phrases in bold with your partner.

1. I had just driven home,it was around midnight in the dead

of Montreal winter.
2. As I stood on the front porch fumbling in my pockets,I found I
didn’t have my keys.
3. It releases cortisol that raises your heart rate,it modulates
adrenaline levels and it clouds your thinking.
4. Now you might be thinkingI’ve pulled this number out of the
air for shock value.
 5. So the idea of the pre-mortem is to think ahead of timeto the
questions that you might be able to ask that will push the
conversation forward. You don’t want to have to manufacture all
of this on the spot.
6. You might change your mind in the heat of the moment,but at
least you’re practiced with this kind of thinking.
7. So I’m not completely organized,but I see organization as a
gradual process, and I’m getting there.

Comprehension Questions
1. What happens in the anecdote Daniel tells at the start of the
talk?
2. What were the consequences of Daniels clouded thinking?
3. What is the solution he comes up with?
4. What are the two practical tips he gives for common problems?
5. What are the two questions he recommends asking to a doctor
before they prescribe you a drug?
6. What was the historical advantage to the brain releasing cortisol
in stressful situations?

Discussion Questions
1. What did you think of the talk?
2. Have you ever been in a similar situation to the one Daniel
describes in his anecdote? What did you do?
3. Have you ever forgotten a passport or boarding card when flying
somewhere? What did you do?
4. Are you an absent-minded person? What things do you
lose/misplace? Where do you keep your keys/mobile/wallet at
home?
5. In what situations is it good idea to predict the possible problems
that could occur?
6. Are you good at making decisions under pressure?
7. What do you think of what he says about the medical industry?
8. Would you trade quality of life for a longer life?

Pre-mortem
What things could possibly go wrong in these situations, and how
could you prepare for the problems?
A job interview Travelling by plane An important exam A first date

The first day at a new

A wedding A surprise party Climbing a mountain
job

Teacher’s notes

Language Focus
1. In the dead of winter/night = in the middle of
2. Fumble = to feel/do something clumsily/inefficiently
3. Clouds your thinking = confuses/affects your thinking in a bad
way
4. Pull a number out of the air = invent a number in the moment of
speaking
5. For shock value = in order to cause shock
6. On the spot = in the moment of speaking, also “to put someone
on the spot” = force someone to answer a difficult question
without preparation.
7. In the heat of the moment = do something while
stressed/angry/excited
8. I’m getting there = I’m making progress

Comprehension questions
1. He forgets his keys so has to smash the basement window to get
into his house.
2. He forgets his passport the next morning when he goes to the
airport.
3. To perform a “pre-mortem” evaluation of possible problems that
could occur.
4. Designate a place for commonly lost things: keys, wallet etc.
Take a photo of things you might lose while travelling: credit
card, passport, keys and save it to the cloud to make it easier to
get them back.
5. What is the number needed to treat? What are the side-effects?
6. When faced with a predator it helped us to escape.