Carroll, William

2:00 PM, T/TR

TED-Talk Analysis Informative with XC
September 27, 2022

TED-Talk: “What Capitalism get Right - and Governments get Wrong”

Who, What, When, Where, Why?

Katherine Mangu-Ward, a champion of libertarianism and editor-in-chief of a “free mind free

market” magazine, gave a speech during a TED Conference in September of 2022. Her speech
was geared towards addressing the main problem of government interference with markets to
create a sort of “toxic” capitalism. Her speech included two examples, GM and Facebook, that
further strengthened her argument of how the government can hinder the benefits of capitalism.
Her intent was to capture the audience's interests and to better inform them on the friction
between government and capitalism.

Content

As editor-in-chief, Ward’s meticulous diction was evident throughout her whole speech as well
as her choice in analogies, choice in topic relation, and the overall examples used. Her primary
examples, Facebook and GM, were two that had a transcendent familiarity. Using America’s
faults as a case study, she related the largely complex issue to the audience through examples
that the majority of the audience have most likely heard through their own external sources.
Another element I would like to note about her speech is how she uses this sort of cultural
knowledge, or analogies, in keeping the audience in tune and in focus. Ranging from Baja blasts
and weirdos, these choices that juxtaposed the overall tone of the speech allowed for the
audience to get back in tune with her message. In general, her speech included a lot of referable
content that allowed for a more translatable message to the audience.

Organization

I was wonderfully surprised at how our in-class outline worksheet mimicked some of the
organizational cues in Ward’s speech. Within roughly the first minute of her speech, Ward added
credit to her speech by addressing herself as a libertarian and a journalist. This established her
credibility and flowed into her main topic. This topic then flowed into her two main points that
supported her argument, “how governments don’t love when new stuff gets born” and “how
governments don’t love when familiar old stuff dies”. Two of her real world examples were
explained within the second cohort and then her speech concluded by readdressing her main
points and stating a memorable closing line referencing her “weirdos” analogy towards the
beginning of her speech. Overall, her speech possessed a fairly thorough organizational structure
that could be easily followed and aided in remembrance.
 Carroll, William
2:00 PM, T/TR
TED-Talk Analysis Informative with XC
September 27, 2022

Delivery

Her delivery of her message was impressively conversational, but professional. Her cultural
references aided in her more relaxed nature while still maintaining a professional atmosphere.
There was a lack, if none at all, of “umms, and buts” and rather paused to cue her next series of
thought. Her eyes remained connected with the audience.

Creativity and Innovation

Although her presentation was very organized and well-planned, there was a lack of creative
consciousness that would enhance her speech to be more memorable. There were great examples
and cultural references within the speech, however, there wasn’t a quality of the speech that
really made it memorable. The organization and content was there, but there wasn't anything
“new” or “exciting” that would make me, the audience member, want to dive more into this
topic.

Overall Effectiveness and Why/Why Not

The overall effectiveness of the speech was fairly solid. She addressed her points in a very
organized and thorough manner which made her argument memorable to a certain extent.
However, she didn’t produce an argument that bore any uniqueness and could easily be
indistinguishable if placed within a sea of other videos concerning government and
libertarianism.

TED-Talk XC: “How to Build an Equitable and Just Climate Future”

Who, What, When, Where, Why?

Peggy Shepard, an environmental justice leader and founder of WE ACT for Environmental
Justice, gave a speech during an official TED talk conference in August of 2022. Her speech was
aimed at identifying various factors that aided in the inequality of low-income communities with
a large minority population. With those factors, she urged her audience to participate in action to
help ensure a future where these communities can thrive in a cleaner and safer environment.
Personal examples were used to illustrate how certain organizations changed their communities’
“climate future” while also highlighting certain obstacles faced by these organizations.
 Carroll, William
2:00 PM, T/TR
TED-Talk Analysis Informative with XC
September 27, 2022

Content

Shepard’s content throughout her speech was very credible, revealing shocking statistics and
providing real-world examples. As she introduced each sub-point, she chose to address her
accreditation and personability to each, which aided in the overall effectiveness and presentation
of her main argument. Her numerous examples were all on-topic and strongly aided in her
addressment of climate inequality; especially in her example concerning her status as a district
leader and her movement in shifting diesel buses into a hybrid alternative. Throughout her
speech, there was plentiful reinforcement back into her main point; highlighting how these
examples idolized these injustices. Her “solutions” aspect of her speech provided even more
credibility by showing how the speaker engaged with her examples and created alternate
resolutions that futhers combats inequalities revealed in the former section of her speech.
Shepard’s diction resembled a call to action, yearning for the support of her audience members to
participate in fighting this inequality.

Organization

The organization of her speech was very reminiscent of a problem-solution outline. She began
her speech by using an attention grabbing statistic, then provided her credentiality, and stated her
main point. She then went into real examples of pollution impacting communities and how
certain resolutions were made in some of these examples. She then mentions possible solutions
in how these communities can be positively impacted further to close this inequality gap.
Shapard then concludes her speech by calling the audience members to be active in addressing
this issue, that fate is in their hands, and that their enlightenment from her speech was further
justification for their action. This organizational strategy was beneficial in her persuasion
strategy. She wanted these audience members to be called to action, and this speech, through its
potential solutions, showed that these problems can be solved.

Delivery

Her delivery of the speech is more formal than conversational. She possessed a manuscript in
front of her, and recited her speech seemingly word for word; emphasizing words that needed to
be emphasized, and adding pauses to where there needed to be transitions. Her delivery was
effective and added to the educational, yet passionate, tone of her speech. The only problem with
how her delivery method was structured is that it lacked some feature of memorability. It’s
staunchly informational, with little room for intense relatability and adaptability with the
audience.
 Carroll, William
2:00 PM, T/TR
TED-Talk Analysis Informative with XC
September 27, 2022

Creativity and Innovation

Her speech was fairly professional and didn’t leave room for much creative pursuit. However,
her unique examples aided in the personality of the speech which, consequently, did add some
creative elements. Overall, her speech was effective and inspirational, but there weren’t a lot of
elements that were memorable or uniquely creative.

Overall Effectiveness and Why/Why Not

Shepard’s speech was very effective in addressing the issue at hand. I cannot emphasize how
much her personal examples added to the personality of the speech and enhanced the
personability and relatability to the audience. Although there were a lack of elements that really
made the speech truly memorable, her overall diction, thoroughness, organization, and credibility
all added into the influence of her main purpose.

References

➢ TED-Talk: “What Capitalism get Right - and Government get Wrong”

○ https://www.ted.com/talks/
katherine_mangu_ward_what_capitalism_gets_right_and_governments_get_wron
g

➢ TED-Talk XC: “How to Build an Equitable and Just Climate Future”

○ https://www.ted.com/talks/
peggy_shepard_how_to_build_an_equitable_and_just_climate_future