a TED talk worth watching

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I don't think that watching TED talks is necessarily a good way to improve your public speaking abilities.  However, Megan Washington did a phenomenal TED talk that I frequently show my undergraduate students on the first day of Basics of Oral Communication, aka Public Speaking.

Unlike most TED talks, Megan's delivery style often appears a bit stilted.  Awkward even.  I don't want to ruin it for you if you haven't watched it already.  Take the time to watch it when you can, especially if you find yourselves nervous at the idea of speaking in public. It's even appropriately titled:  Why I Live in Mortal Fear of Public Speaking

Most of us do not have to overcome Megan's obstacles and limitations.  But our own perceived public speaking foibles probably loom pretty large in our own minds.

The lesson we can learn from watching Megan's TED talk is that audiences are sympathetic.  They are usually not harsh critics.  Rather, we usually feel compassion when a speaker loses his place or has trouble with the slides or stumbles over a word.  Learn from Megan.  Perceived limitations, or even real ones, are not an excuse for shying away from taking the podium.

The TED Talk Effect...helpful or harmful?

Everybody seems to be watching TED talks.  And while those audiences are always filled with real live breathing human beings, most of us tend to watch TED talks on our phones or other screens.  (Watching a TED talk on your phone is NOT the same.  More on that in future posts.)

If you are trying to hone your public speaking skills, just how effective is it to watch TED talks?

Many times it can be discouraging to see speaker after speaker delivering a flawless, entertaining and informative presentation.  These presenters seem so poised, confident and natural.  The average TED talk viewer may not realize that literally HOURS go into preparing these presentations.  Consultants and coaches may spend days helping a presenter prepare for a single TED talk.  And while the presentation itself seems off-the-cuff because of the ease with which she or he is presenting, these are primarily memorized presentations from a carefully crafted manuscript.

Most busy professionals do not have the time nor team of experts to help them prepare a presentation of this caliber.  Nor should they.  Manuscript speaking is not the most effective way to get your message across when speaking live in front of an audience.

Don't be fooled by these TED talks.  It's harder than it looks.  Watch them?  Yes.  Be inspired?  Yes. Learn new information that you can apply to your life?  Yes.  But don't  let them create unrealistic expectations for your next presentation.

There is hope.  You CAN be a dynamic and engaging presenter.  But not by writing your speech out in advance.  Stay tuned.