TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

by Chris J. Anderson

I repeat, you cannot do this lightly. It only works when the rest of the talk has already prepared the groundwork, and when it’s clear the speaker has earned the right to evoke such sentiment. But in the right hands and at the right moment, these closings can be transcendent.

So, in summary: Do what Kelly says. Make an early commitment to an outfit you’ll feel great in. Focus on your ideas, not your clothes!

Adrenaline’s great for powering a sprint to safety across the savannah, and it can certainly bring energy and excitement to your stage presence. But too much of it is a bad thing. It can dry up your mouth and tighten your throat. Its job is to turbo-charge your muscles, and if your muscles are not being used, the adrenaline rush may start them twitching, hence the shaking associated with extreme cases of nerves.

Some coaches advise medication in such cases, typically beta-blockers, but the downside is that they can deaden your tone. There are plenty of other counterstrategies to turn all that adrenaline to your advantage.

That’s as exhaustive a set of nervousness-controlling tools as you’ll ever see. Should you try to adopt every one of Monica’s techniques? No. Everyone’s different. But the fact that she was able to turn crippling fear into a calm, confident, engaging stage presence should encourage anyone that it can be done.

Here’s what I recommend: Use your fear as motivation.

Let your body help you!

Drink water.

Avoid an empty stomach.

Remember the power of vulnerability.

Find “friends” in the audience.

Have a backup plan.

Focus on what you’re talking about.

Nerves are not a curse. They can be turned to great effect. Make friends with your nervousness, pluck up your courage—and go!

The physical setup of your talk really matters. Compare setup A: a speaker standing on a podium behind a big, bulky lectern, reading from a script to a somewhat distant audience, with setup B: a speaker standing unprotected on a small stage surrounded on three sides by an audience.

But from the audience’s point of view, there’s a big loss here. We spent a whole chapter talking about the importance of making a connection between audience and speaker. And a significant part of that is driven by the speaker’s willingness to be vulnerable. It’s an unspoken but powerful interaction. If a speaker lets down his guard, so does the audience. If a speaker stays distant and safe, the audience will too.

Here are some of the impacts that the added layer can bring: Connection: I trust this person. Engagement: Every sentence sounds so interesting! Curiosity: I hear it in your voice and see it in your face. Understanding: The emphasis on that word with that hand gesture—now I get it. Empathy: I can tell how much that hurt you. Excitement: Wow—that passion is infectious. Conviction: Such determination in those eyes! Action: I want to be on your team. Sign me up.

There are no rules here. Move if you want to. But if you do move, move intentionally. And then, when you want to emphasize a point, stop and address your audience from a stance of quiet power.

1. DRAMATIC PROPS

2. PANORAMIC SCREENS

3. MULTISENSE STIMULATION

4. LIVE PODCASTING

5. ILLUSTRATED INTERVIEW

An interview can be a fine alternative to a talk. This gives you a chance to explore multiple topics with no single throughline other than the speaker’s work and life, and nudge the speaker to go deeper than he naturally would in a talk. (This is especially true with high-profile speakers, whose speeches are often written by their communications departments.)

6. SPOKEN WORD FUSION

7. VIDEOPOETRY EXPLORATION

8. ADDED MUSICAL SOUNDTRACK

9. THE LESSIG METHOD

10. DUAL PRESENTERS

There are a lot of other possibilities: Gesturing Reenacting Accompanying with a musical instrument or percussion Sketching or painting Interjecting If Lawrence Lessig had a twin brother, you could imagine them finishing each other’s sentences in a way that would double the impact.

11. NEW DEBATE FORMATS

12. SLIDE BLIZZARD

13. LIVE EXHIBITION

14. SURPRISE APPEARANCES

15. VIRTUAL PRESENTERS

16. NO LIVE AUDIENCE

I’ve become convinced that tomorrow, even more than today, learning to present your ideas live to other humans will prove to be an absolutely essential skill for: Any child who wants to build confidence. Anyone leaving school and looking to start a meaningful career. Anyone who wants to progress at work. Anyone who cares about an issue. Anyone who wants to build a reputation. Anyone who wants to connect with others around the world who share a passion. Anyone who wants to catalyze action to make an impact. Anyone who wants to leave a legacy. Anyone, period.