Lone Gunman: TED Speaking Guide (7/31/09)

So we've posted a bunch, and we may have seen them but they leave us hanging. What makes TEDTalks so great?

If you're patient, Lone Gunman's Lloyd Morgan cites an editorial on the TED phenomenon.

TED succeeds in part because participants are encouraged to talk about the unexpected. […] But perhaps the most critical key to success is the style of the talks. […]

The talks have a strict time limit of 18 minutes — no interaction with the audience, and no questions except the informal ones asked in the extended conversation breaks. […] For a general audience, 18 minutes is plenty for getting across context and key issues, while still forcing each speaker to focus on a message — whether it be advocacy or the celebration of new knowledge.

There is also a welcome absence of PowerPoint presentations. Instead there are plenty of images — but precious few professional scientific diagrams, which can quickly lose the audience’s attention. This forces speakers to craft talks that can engage sophisticated but scientifically untutored listeners at their level. And it also encourages speakers to try for a freely flowing, relaxed presentation style, without notes. […]

Scientists wishing to inspire non-scientists should look at a few of these talks online and learn a thing or two.

Bottom line, TED is great because...

• "participants are encouraged to talk about the unexpected."
• "the talks have a strict time limit of 18 minutes."
• "there is also a welcome absence of PowerPoint presentations."

Some things just don't seem to change.

Link: http://www.lonegunman.co.uk/2009/07/31/ted-speaking-guide/

Lone Gunman: Story Types for Speeches (and TV) (7/13/09)

With exercise, we always manage to hit a plateau where we need to shake up our workout to keep up the physical challenge.

Similarly, we know that stories can make or break our presentation, so take a look at this post by Lloyd Morgan on how to best advantage of different types of stories.

After all, what is a prasang? A story!

Link: http://www.lonegunman.co.uk/2009/07/13/story-types-for-speeches-and-tv/

PBS Frontline: The Persuaders

Here's a great find sent to us by several sticky presenters who write, "Marketers make money by creating sticky messages. We could learn a thing or two about how they do things."

This particular show goes behind-the-scenes in the advertising business to see just what marketers do to sell their products.

The prospect of zeroing in on the right audience at the right time with the right message is irresistable to both marketers and politicians. Increasingly the techniques of persuading Americans to make choices in the marketplace of goods are spilling over into the techniques of persuading them to make choices in the marketplace of ideas. Commenting on this are Ohio State law professor Peter Swire; Frank Luntz, corporate and political consultant; Naomi Klein, author of No Logo; Bob Garfield, columnist for Advertising Age; and Mark Crispin Miller, media critic. These excerpts are drawn from their extended FRONTLINE interviews.

Hungry for more? Watch the full episode online below.


Full Link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/