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13.10 Follow the “TED Recipe”?
“TED talks” are popular presentations available online (www.ted.com) addressing
multiple topics within the areas of science and culture. Their distinctive format is
characterized by a time limit (18 minutes) and only light reliance on visuals. Their
focus truly is on the speakers, who get specific training to make their talks as innovative and engaging as possible.
Should you follow this TED format? You should definitely aim at connecting
with the crowd, as the TED speakers do. Along these lines, I had suggested in Sect.
13.7 to insert a blank slide, whenever visuals are not needed, precisely for the purpose of better connecting with the audience. TED talks push that concept to the
extreme.
But when presenting scientific findings to experts in your field, graphs, tables
and other illustrations are critical to go beyond just scratching the surface. And in
general, it is desirable to excite as many senses as possible during a presentation. As
such, adding visuals is key, and the current book provides you a wealth of tips and
advice in that respect.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to watch a few TED talks to inspire yourself in
enhancing your connection with the audience.
13 Delivery
13.10 Follow the “TED Recipe”?
“TED talks” are popular presentations available online (www.ted.com) addressing
multiple topics within the areas of science and culture. Their distinctive format is
characterized by a time limit (18 minutes) and only light reliance on visuals. Their
focus truly is on the speakers, who get specific training to make their talks as innovative and engaging as possible.
Should you follow this TED format? You should definitely aim at connecting
with the crowd, as the TED speakers do. Along these lines, I had suggested in Sect.
13.7 to insert a blank slide, whenever visuals are not needed, precisely for the purpose of better connecting with the audience. TED talks push that concept to the
extreme.
But when presenting scientific findings to experts in your field, graphs, tables
and other illustrations are critical to go beyond just scratching the surface. And in
general, it is desirable to excite as many senses as possible during a presentation. As
such, adding visuals is key, and the current book provides you a wealth of tips and
advice in that respect.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to watch a few TED talks to inspire yourself in
enhancing your connection with the audience.
13 Delivery