TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

by Chris J. Anderson

So if you go the script route, you have three main strategies open to you: Know the talk so well that it doesn’t for a moment sound scripted. (More on this shortly.) Refer to the script (either from a lectern—preferably not one that blocks out your whole body—or possibly from a screen or confidence monitor), but compensate by looking up during each sentence to make eye contact with the audience. Notice I didn’t say to read the script. You may have the entire thing there in front of you, but it’s important that you feel as if you’re in speaking mode, not reading mode. The audience can tell the difference. It’s all about giving meaning to the words as you speak as naturally and passionately as you can. It’s about audience eye contact and smiles or other facial expressions. It’s about being familiar enough with the script that you’re really just glancing down once every sentence or two. Yes, this takes work, but it’s worth it, and it’s still far less daunting than full memorization. Condense the script to bullet points and plan to express each point in your own language in the moment. This has its own set of challenges, covered below in Unscripted Talks.