Book: TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris J. Anderson. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

There are some cool tips in this book but it’s not so straight to the point if you’re just looking for speaking tips. If you like to speak at IT events (like I do) I really recommend http://speaking.io.

This book shows the way to deliver a presentation that earns a standing ovation at the end. It makes sense, that’s TED. So, if you’re passionate about TED’s way of presenting or want to speak at TED someday, this book will be great for you.

It’s a good book, I got some interesting insights about public speaking, but it was less than I was expecting.

Three stars: Good book, but be warned. :)

Here are my notes for this book:

  • Give, not take. Your presentation should not be a sales pitch, it should give knowledge to the attendees.
  • To not waste the audience’s time. Don’t say you’re not prepared for the talk or was just thinking about what to say some minutes before.
  • Inspiration can’t be performed
  • Answer the questions: what, so what, now what
  • Search for the checklist of the chapter 5.
  • Connection: be personal. Speak their language. Make eye contact.
  • If you’re nervous, show it, the audience will be with you
  • Ask a question to spark curiosity, then go to the explanation
  • Use metaphor whenever possible. JavaScript async pants and underwear
  • Use arguments like reduce to absurd when trying to get the audience to understand your point
  • Wondertalk. Show awesome images and concepts to demo your idea
  • Find fantastic arguments, like said in the “man to the moon” speech
  • Use question slides and answer while speaking
  • If your slides is not about what you’re talking, remove it from there. A black screen would be better to not get the attention from the public.
  • Avoid using pictures of you or your team. Focus on the audience, not yourself. Use them in case it makes sense to tell the story.
  • Make a good planning for the starting and ending of your presentation.
  • If your talk was a novel, how would you start it?
  • You don’t need to walk. Just stand tall and use your arms to amplify what you’re saying.
  • If you decide to walk, do it intentionally or you will look nervous.
  • To speak fast is better than speaking too slow.
  • Make eye contact
  • Be personal
  • Show your vulnerabilities, so you may look like one of them
  • The five steps. Start with something everyone cares about and bring them all to the same scene. Create curiosity, make them think on the “Why’s” and “How’s” of what you said. Go on your concepts, one by one. Now, use a big metaphor to help them understand on different terms. And finally, use real life examples.
  • Use images that says what is difficult for images to say.
  • At least one third of the most viewed TED talks do not use slides at all
  • Avoid all black or white clothes in case your talk is being video recorded. These monochrome colors tend to make you disappear or shine depending on the background.