A friend named Serge called me recently with an idea. Here’s the call we had:
Serge: Max, have you ever thought of doing a TED talk ? I think that would be good for you. Do you know about TED and TEDx ?
Me: Of course I do. I feature many of those talks, most recently Ray Dalio. How much do they pay ?
Serge: They don’t. This is a non-profit, Max, and in the case of TEDx with local roots. Think of the exposure Max, this conferences get hundreds of thousands, even millions of views. You got to do it.
Me: I see. I’ll look into it. What topic should I do, How to Bribe the Chief Bonobos or something.
Serge: The first thing you need to look at are the TED Commandments. That’s the first step.
Me: What ? What the fuck is that ?
Anyway, the conversation watered down after that. I did some research on TED and TEDx Talks, and whether I’ll do a TED/x presentation I don’t know at this point.
I had to get a hold of the 10 Commandments. A writer, Alex Rister, distilled them here. Another writer, Frank Swain, on Why He is Not a TEDx Speaker.
More useful, however, is the Presentation Mastery Toolkit from Templar Advisors, a communications skills firm. ( I have no relation to the firm)
As I told you before, anybody can benefit from improving their presentation skills, no matter what business you are in. Read my previous post on this. I said it before: giving a presentation before 10 persons is the same as giving one before one thousand, or ten thousand.
From Templar:
“If you have to use Powerpoint slides, try the 10:20:30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point text. Or the Haiku-like PerchaKucha format.”
- Rhetoric can work for you too.
- Anaphora (repetition). Think of the force of Churchill’s ‘We shall fight…’ speech and Thatcher’s ‘No. No. No’. Repeat key words and phrases to hammer home your message.
- Metaphor. Use metaphors, allegories and similes to provide sensory comparisons. These are particularly useful if you’re trying to explain something very technical.
- The rule of three. Veni, vidi, vici. Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Things that come in threes are inherently satisfying, and people tend to remember them. What three things do you want your audience to remember about your presentation?
- Anadiplosis. Use the last word or phrase to begin the next. ‘Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.’ – Yoda.
- Antimetabole. Repeat words or phrases in successive clauses, but in reverse order. ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’ – John F. Kennedy.
- Rhetorical questions. Ask rhetorical questions of your audience and take straw polls. It gives a natural break to your presentation and involves the audience in your presentation.”
Check out the handbook of rhetorical devices for more clever words to impress your friends and more tips on persuading everyone else.
The Templar Advisors Mastery Kit.
More information on Templar Advisors.
Are you following this YT channel. I thought that was a useful tip in the video below, how the use of Ok, repetitive and higher up, will increase your status in the conversation.