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7 TED Talks on how to improve your presentations

It’s a hard truth of the digital age: Capturing and keeping another person’s attention is getting more difficult. While the empirical evidence on the average person's attention span during a presentation is limited, the phrase "death by PowerPoint" rings all too true. IT leaders know from experience that audiences lack patience for ineffective speakers. That’s why it’s more important than ever for all of us to be thoughtful about how to deliver information.

[ Which IT roles are vanishing? Read our article,  4 dying IT jobs . ]

Thankfully for CIOs and other leaders in training, there are abundant tips from skilled presenters on how to elevate your performance before your next appearance – on stage at a conference, before the board or executive team, or even in front of your own organization. This no-nonsense advice will help you win – and keep – your audience.

1. The secret structure of great talks

Speaker: Nancy Duarte

Why do we sit with rapt attention listening to a compelling story yet find ourselves nodding off during most presentations? Communication expert Nancy Duarte spent time digging into the best stories from history, cinema, and literature – and also suffering through some of the worst presentations she could get her hands on – to explore the differences and come up with a winning model for great presentations. In this talk, Duarte explores the secrets and structures of the greatest communicators and their public speaking efforts – from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to Steve Job’s public unveiling of the iPhone. She shares with the audience the common storytelling structure utilized by compelling presenters that you can apply to your next effort.

2. The beauty of data visualization

Speaker: David McCandless

Data is the lifeblood of IT, the business, and many an IT leader presentation. But on its own, data can be lifeless – or worse, ineffective or misleading.

British data journalist David McCandless is skilled at transforming complex data sets into engaging data visualizations that are not only lovely to look at but also instantly bring to life the stories within the data. Data is not the new oil, he says, but the new soil – “a fertile, creative medium” – if you know how to manipulate and design it. McCandless shares his tips for visualizing information so that an audience can see the patterns and connections that matter.

3. How to speak so that people want to listen

Speaker: Julian Treasure

The first thing IT leaders consider when preparing for a presentation might be the visuals, the words, or even the best outfit to wear – all important components. But they may be overlooking one of the most important instruments in their toolkits: Their voices. Sound and communication expert (and five-time TED speaker) Julian Treasure argues that what you say may be less important than how you say it, and outlines some of the most important aspects of vocal delivery.

4. Your body language may shape who you are

Speaker: Amy Cuddy

With nearly 50 million views, social psychologist Amy Cuddy’s now well-known TED Global 2012 Talk can help IT leaders harness another important aspect of presenting: body language. Her talk is not simply about how body language impacts how others see us, but also how we see ourselves. In this video, IT leaders can learn all about the “power pose” – a way of standing confidently like Superman or Wonder Woman. While there was some criticism of the science behind Cuddy’s research about power positions and their impact on hormones, which she has since refuted, IT leaders can try the posing advice out for themselves before stepping on the stage or into the boardroom.

Related content

How to give more persuasive presentations: A Q&A with Nancy Duarte

Stepping onto the TED or TEDx stage — or speaking in front of any group of people, for that matter — is truly nerve-wracking. Will you remember everything you wanted to say, or get so discombobulated that you skip over major points? Will the audience be receptive to your ideas, or will you notice a guy in row three nodding off to sleep?

Presentation expert Nancy Duarte , who gave the TED Talk “ The secret structure of great talks ,” has built her career helping people express their ideas in presentations. The author of  Slide:ology  and  Resonate , Duarte has just released a new book through the Harvard Business Review:  The HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations .

What would you say are the three keys to giving a great presentation?

The number one thing, I think, is to be audience-centric. To take the time to think through who the audience is and develop all your material from a place of empathy toward them. You’re asking them to adopt your idea, which means they may have to abandon a belief they hold as true — and that’s hard. So, know your audience — take a walk in their shoes. What keeps them up at night? How are they wired to resist your message? Most presenters are consumed with preparing their content rapidly, which makes the material about their own narrow perspective. By flipping that paradigm to an audience-centric approach, your material will resonate and the audience can feel a deeper connection to you and your material.

Number two, you need to understand your role in the presentation. So many people feel like they’re the central figure — kind of like the hero of the story — because they’re the one talking the most. But in reality, your role is that of a mentor — you should be giving the audience a magical gift or a special tool, or helping them get unstuck in some way. You have to defer to your audience. When you put your idea out there for an audience to contend with — if they reject your idea, your idea will die. You have to think of it as, “The speaker needs the audience more than the audience needs the speaker.” Then you’ll start to approach a material with your audience in mind – you’ll have more of a stance of humility than one of arrogance. That will help you create the kind of movement needed to get your idea to spread.

And then the third thing — wrap your content in story. A story serves like the sugarcoating on the outside of a pill in some ways — it just makes it go down easier. If you look at preliterate generations for thousands and thousands of years, stories would pass down for generation after generation after generation — and stay almost completely intact. Yet, a lot of people can’t remember the last presentation they sat through. So, using principles of story — the tension and release that happens in a story — that’s what will help persuade the audience toward your idea.

What do you feel like you learned from giving your own TED Talk?

I learned so much. Being the “Presentation Lady,” I knew I couldn’t suck at it. The hardest part was getting [my talk] to fit within this finite amount of time. So I trimmed and trimmed, keeping in mind that you still have to nail why this is important to the audience. I had a person coach me and point out places where I could trim. “You took too long here, and that made this part of emphasis too long.” I worked with the timer counting up until I knew I was within the time window — then what I did was work with the timer counting down so I’d know, “When I’m a fourth of the way through, I should be on this slide. When I’m halfway through, I need to be on this slide.” I created markers in my mind so I would know how I was running on time. Sure enough, I finished the talk and I had six seconds left on the clock.

It was a great experience for me because I hadn’t gone through it myself. I’d coached people through it but — wow — to actually be a victim was interesting. I learned the power of rehearsing. If you rehearse really, really, really well — it looks improvisational. Some people rehearse to a point where they’re robotic, and they sound like they have memorized their presentation and didn’t take it to the next level. Going from sounding memorized and canned to sounding natural is a lot of work.

So, the classic advice for stage fright is to imagine the audience in their underwear. What do you recommend people do to calm their nerves?

I don’t usually get nervous, but when I got on [the TED] stage, I was nervous because it’s pretty high stakes. I recommend doing some breathing exercises — breathe in as deep as you can, and then take a couple more big gasps. Then, release it really slowly. That calms my heart down. But my favorite piece of advice isn’t my own — it’s from a guy named Nick Morgan. He said, “What you need to do right before you walk on stage is think of someone that you love dearly.” Doing that, I felt the chemistry in my whole body change. My shoulders relaxed and my heart melted. That feeling of affection makes your body calm itself down. That’s a really great way to stop stage fright.

What is the best way to start creating a presentation?

My best advice is to not start in PowerPoint. Presentation tools force you to think through information linearly, and you really need to start by thinking of the whole instead of the individual lines. I encourage people to use 3×5 note cards or sticky notes — write one idea per note. I tape mine up on the wall and then study them. Then I arrange them and rearrange them — just work and work until the structure feels sound. And from that sound structure, you start to fill it in using a presentation tool.

[For visuals], I think people tend to go with the easiest, fastest idea. Like, “I’m going to put a handshake in front of a globe to mean partnership!” Well, how many handshakes in front of a globe do we have to look at before we realize it’s a total cliche? Another common one — the arrow in the middle of a bullseye. Really? Everyone else is thinking that way. The slides themselves are supposed to be a mnemonic device for the audience so they can remember what you had to say. They’re not just a teleprompter for the speaker. A bullseye isn’t going to make anyone remember anything. Don’t go for the first idea. Think about the point you’re trying to make and brainstorm individual moments that you’re trying to emphasize. Think to the second, the third, the fourth idea — and by the time you get to about the tenth idea, those will be the more clever memorable things for the audience.

One thing that is really different about giving a TED Talk is the fact that you know it will be filmed. How do you think about the difference between live presentations and ones that will exist on video?

On stage, it feels really awkward to do large movements because — normally in life — we’re talking to someone in a more intimate setting and moving your arms really big feels melodramatic. But on the stage, you have to move your body in really big gestures. It feels awkward at first if you’re not used to it, so you have to kind of close your eyes and get used to it. Say things and move largely. Take big bold steps forward, big bold steps backward. You have this grand stage and people don’t use the space enough. I think one of the great things that Jill Bolte Taylor did was how she used her body. Her arms stretched all the way up when she talked about nirvana. Then she when she talks about her whole soul feeling constricted, she brings her hands down and folds her arms down in front of her. She’s using her body as a prop. That’s an important way to create meaning.

Also, with video, a tech rehearsal is important. Your audience on video is exponentially larger than the people in the room. So by familiarizing yourself with the cameras, you can at least look in that general direction. You know how you’re supposed to look around the audience — look and hold for five seconds, look and hold for five seconds? You should look at the camera as if it’s a human. Get used to seeing that circular lens as a face. Feel like it’s a person you’re talking to, because that audience on camera needs to feel like they’re there and that you’re looking right at them.

To me, presentations are the most powerful device. You can’t really name a movement that didn’t start with the spoken word. TED was once this exclusive, amazing event where ideas were exchanged, but you’ve moved to treating presentations as a media type. You guys have been so refined at it, that what it’s done is created a movement. What TED has done is made a platform for introverts, for scientists, for inventors — to share their ideas in a way that’s clear and appeals to a broad audience so that their ideas spread and get adopted. It’s completely changed how people present. It’s created this desire to be excellent in communication.

When you look at even how businesses communicated in the ’30’s, ’40’s and ’50’s — they were so much clearer and well-crafted. I recently went to the Stanford Library and I got a bunch of old GE Board meetings from, like, 1957. And I thought, “These are so beautiful!” Their presentations referenced history, they quoted things, they crafted their words in such a beautiful way. Then PowerPoint entered into the mix and suddenly there wasn’t any desire to craft anymore. I think TED Talks have brought the desire for the craft back.

Your new book is from the Harvard Business Review. Is it intended for someone who is in business, or for anyone?

All of my books are for anyone who has an idea that they need to communicate! I loved working with Harvard Business Review and I think because of the publisher, business professionals may be more interested in this book. But anyone with an idea can benefit from it. It’s a guidebook, so that people can think, “Oh, I need to know how to do this specific thing. I’m going to go get this book and find that one thing.”

Want more advice on giving talks? Our curator Chris Anderson is writing the official TED guide to public speaking —to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in spring 2016. Titled Talk This Way! , it will be packed with insights on what makes talks work.

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Moxie Institute

Our 10 Favorite TED Talks to Inspire Triumphant Public Speaking

Let’s face it: speaking in public isn’t always a breeze. So take a deep breath and focus with this must-have set of fun, helpful, and innovative tips inspired by The MOXIE Institute’s ten favorite TED Talks on public speaking.

Table of Contents

1. SHOW PEOPLE WHY YOUR IDEAS MATTER TO THEM.

First of all, before you even dream of  moving your mouth , you must think about how you will structure your talk. We recommend writing from the seats, not from the stage. That means really tuning in to your audience, what you want to accomplish with them, and especially centering your talk around your “Why.”

The why is the critical center , where you should start all presentations. Why does your topic and opinion matter? Why is it important for the audience? When you’re clear on why your idea matters and why it should matter to the audience, you’ll finally be able to  identify your core message  for your keynote. Simon Sinek explains this in his TED Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.”

2. BREATHE DEEPLY TO SPEAK POWERFULLY.

Did you know that the difference between being viewed as powerful or timid lies in your breath?

You would think that everyone knows how to breathe, right? Maybe everyone thinks they do but, in reality, most people take shallow breaths instead of  using their diaphragms .

Diaphragmatic breathing is a calming, centering and empowering tool for speakers, which is why it’s a cornerstone of  our public speaking training . People always say “take a deep breath,” but when you do it correctly, you can instantly lower your heart rate and stay in the present moment, fostering a connection with your audience. It is the mission-critical tool behind a powerful presentation—because it works wonders.

In “The surprising secret to speaking with confidence,” Caroline Goyder, an accomplished voice coach, shares her inspiring (and even terrifying at first!) story:

3. ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE – COMMAND IT.

Whether consciously or not, your non-verbal communication influences your audience. In fact, body language accounts for more than 50% of what people think of us. So, body language and  how you use your body while presenting your ideas  is just as important as what you say.

Amy Cuddy’s talk “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are” has been seen over 51 million times. Why are people so interested in the body language of a stance?

Because we know that  body language changes things . It changes how we feel, and it changes how others feel about us.

4. PLAY TO THE ROOM. EVERY ROOM.

Speaking of taking up space, watch how Tony Robbins truly commands the room by confidently taking up the entire stage in his talk, “Why We Do What We Do” (and wow, he truly rocks that  “it factor”  element):

5. HARNESS THE POWER OF YOUR STORY.

Every single pitch is a story—whether you are trying to convince someone to consider a new belief, to invest in your product, or even that your ideas are worthwhile–there’s always an arc to what you are saying.

Who doesn’t love a story ? And every story needs a good story-teller: someone who can translate dry facts or statistics into a memorable and compelling narrative.

We love Brene Brown’s observation that “maybe stories are just data with a soul” in her ultra-famous TED Talk on “The Power of Vulnerability:”

6. STRONG FOUNDATION, SOPHISTICATED DELIVERY.

And because it’s  that  important – to tell stories in every single presentation, we’ll help you out a little extra by adding “The Clues to a Great Story” by Andrew Stanton:

(Note: Though we love this speech and highly recommend it, you may want to stick on your headphones if you’re at work or around small children – he does use colorful language.)

7. EMBRACE INFINITE PREPAREDNESS.

The process of memorization  can seem monotonous, but it’s the most natural technique to choose when you have plenty of time to practice. This way, you become intimately familiar with your talk until it is second nature.

You’re even minimizing your body’s fight-or-flight response by knowing what comes next.

One of our favorite techniques for memorizing is called the memory palace. In “Feats of Memory Nearly Anyone Can Do,” science writer Joshua Foer describes the technique and shows off its most remarkable feature: anyone can learn how to use it.

8. SAY SO LONG TO STAGE FRIGHT.

There are plenty of suggestions to overcome general fear, but the fear of public speaking , or glossophobia, is a bit trickier. 75 percent of the U.S. suffers from speech anxiety. That means three out of every four people would rather not talk in front of the others.

As Mark Twain famously said,

“There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars.”

How do you turn fear into excitement? It comes back to your message. Be excited to deliver it because it’s important.

Know the significance of your message. Then, you’ll not only  overcome your stage fright , you’ll rise above it.

In “The Science of Stage Fright and How to Overcome It,” Mikael Cho advises how to trick your brain and steal the show:

9. LEARN HOW TO GRAB YOUR LISTENER’S ATTENTION AND HOLD IT.

The best presentations target both the right brain (emotion) and the left brain (logic.) And the responsibility to light the fire in your audience is up to you, the presenter.

Both concepts of audience participation are illustrated brilliantly in Jane McGonigal’s deeply inspiring talk “The Game that can Give you 10 Extra Years of Life”:

10. TRANSFORM IDEAS INTO ACTION.

Researchers have discovered that ideas are much more likely to be remembered if they are presented as pictures instead of words, or even pictures paired with words.

In case you just walked out of another meeting that was scheduled to talk about yesterday’s meeting (and all the meetings about meetings before that,) you’ll really appreciate David Phillips’ talk on making information truly meaningful, even in the board room, called “How to Avoid Death by Powerpoint”:

Use these techniques that exemplify our incomparable MOXIE Method well and you’re sure to leave your audience with something unforgettable.

Now, we’d love to hear from you! What are your favorite TED Talks for public speaking?

The ideas shared in this article are based on information in our Speak with Moxie e-book. To get the full action-packed book immediately at your fingertips,  you can find it here .

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How to Give a Killer Presentation

• Chris Anderson

For more than 30 years, the TED conference series has presented enlightening talks that people enjoy watching. In this article, Anderson, TED’s curator, shares five keys to great presentations:

• Frame your story (figure out where to start and where to end).
• Plan your delivery (decide whether to memorize your speech word for word or develop bullet points and then rehearse it—over and over).
• Work on stage presence (but remember that your story matters more than how you stand or whether you’re visibly nervous).
• Plan the multimedia (whatever you do, don’t read from PowerPoint slides).
• Put it together (play to your strengths and be authentic).

According to Anderson, presentations rise or fall on the quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speaker. It’s about substance—not style. In fact, it’s fairly easy to “coach out” the problems in a talk, but there’s no way to “coach in” the basic story—the presenter has to have the raw material. So if your thinking is not there yet, he advises, decline that invitation to speak. Instead, keep working until you have an idea that’s worth sharing.

Lessons from TED

A little more than a year ago, on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, some colleagues and I met a 12-year-old Masai boy named Richard Turere, who told us a fascinating story. His family raises livestock on the edge of a vast national park, and one of the biggest challenges is protecting the animals from lions—especially at night. Richard had noticed that placing lamps in a field didn’t deter lion attacks, but when he walked the field with a torch, the lions stayed away. From a young age, he’d been interested in electronics, teaching himself by, for example, taking apart his parents’ radio. He used that experience to devise a system of lights that would turn on and off in sequence—using solar panels, a car battery, and a motorcycle indicator box—and thereby create a sense of movement that he hoped would scare off the lions. He installed the lights, and the lions stopped attacking. Soon villages elsewhere in Kenya began installing Richard’s “lion lights.”

• CA Chris Anderson is the curator of TED.

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How to build a TED Talk-worthy presentation

If you’ve experienced the challenge of developing and/or delivering an important presentation to a good-sized audience, there’s a chance you hoped it would go as well as a TED Talk—those incredibly well regarded presentations first popularized by the TED Foundation in the mid 2000s. TED Talks are often considered the “Everest” of engaging, informative presentations. Killing it on the TED stage is significant.

So with the intention of acting as your presentation sherpa, this article offers 8 steps to give you the best chance of building and delivering a TED Talk-worthy presentation.

TED Talks. People listen.   ‍

TED is a nonprofit with a mission to “spread ideas.” It began as a one-off conference (on technology, entertainment and design) in 1984—eventually evolving to a point where it launched an audio and podcast series called TED Talks .

From the history page on their site:

“ The first six TED Talks were posted online on June 27, 2006. By September, they had reached more than one million views. TED Talks proved so popular that in 2007, the TED website was relaunched around them, giving a global audience free access to some of the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders and teachers.”

As a result of their success and popularity, TED Talks have inspired many other presentation-centric activities and events—such as conference keynotes and investor fundraising “demo days.”

What makes a TED Talk?

TED presenters arrive from all walks of life, and although their TED Talks span a wide range of topics, they all share a few characteristics:

• 18 minutes or less. This is a TED rule, initiated by their founder, Chris Anderson, and also backed by scientific research . The basic premise is 18 minutes is long enough to do the job, but short enough to avoid having your audience begin to lose interest.
• A big idea, worth sharing. Again, straight from TED. But expecting to deliver a compelling presentation that relays several meaty ideas in under 20 minutes is wishful thinking. By focusing on a single, compelling concept—you ensure maximum impact and can more successfully communicate key points.
• Large audience, sizable venue. One-to-one, or one-to-few presentations delivered in a meeting or conference room play by different rules. We’re not addressing those here.

8 steps to the TED Talk mountain top

TED Talks are so well done they can almost seem magical. But it isn’t wizardry that makes them so compelling. In fact, there’s a formula you can follow—8 steps that will allow your presentations to deliver similar impact:

Step 1: Know your audience

This is fundamental for maximizing the success of any communication. In order to relay your “big idea” in the most effective way, you need to understand what your audience knows and cares about. Then tailor your presentation appropriately.

If you’re presenting to a new or relatively unknown audience, there are some quick ways to gather intel—such as researching and reading an applicable Reddit thread, or having a quick conversation with someone who’s more familiar.

Step 2. Scout your venue

As a general rule, the background of your slides should match the room in which you’re presenting. It’s not uncommon for large venues to be darkened so the visual focus is on what’s on stage. In some instances, however, stage environments can be illuminated or even a specific color or color theme. Matching slide backgrounds to the specifics of your venue can be very effective—allowing eyes to be drawn to the presentation’s content, not the full outline of the slides themselves.

Keep audience viewing angles and distance in mind as well. You want them on the edge of their seats, but not because they’re leaning forward and squinting to try and make out your tiny words.

Step 3. Think about your presentation as a whole

Your presentation is a story. It should flow from start to finish, and you should understand the primary points you want to make along the way. Look for the “big opportunities” and use your slides to truly highlight them. Not every slide should “Wow!” Some should be supportive and lead up to your key points—just like scenes in a movie plot. If every slide (or every scene) is intense, nothing will stand out. Outlines, index cards or sticky notes can be helpful at the early stages when you’re planning the arc of your story.

Step 4. One concept per slide (okay, maybe two)

To successfully make a point, you need your audience to be able to focus in and “get it.” So instead of asking a single slide to carry the load of relaying multiple concepts, put the second (or third or fourth) on their own slides. It can even make sense to relay a single concept across multiple slides. This allows the speaker to spend more time on it without losing momentum.

In some instances, you may be starting with a recycled slide your presenter happens to love—although you can see it’s relaying too many things. In such a case, ask the presenter to literally present the slide to you, and listen for the one (or maybe two) key messaging concepts they’re trying to relate. Build the new slide content to support those, and put everything else in the speaker notes.

Working with a client to distill a keynote’s story down to a few big, clarified points can be difficult work. But if we’re successful, the result is truly transformative. David Mack Co-founder, SketchDeck

Step 5. Minimalize

The slides are there to support your presenter—not to steal the show. The focus should be on speaker. Think single graphics and/or few words over phrase. Think phrase over sentence. Sentence over… (don’t even THINK about multiple sentences). You don’t want the audience to start reading, and stop listening.

The slide content is supporting the message, not relaying it. Everything on your slides should be meaningful. No placeholders, watermarks, headers or footers. If you haven’t determined this already, using your standard company presentation template probably isn’t a good idea. (Looking for an event or presentation specific presentation template? SketchDeck can help with that!)

Step 6. Maintain top quality

This is a premium presentation, and it needs to look and feel that way. No grainy photos, watermarked stock images, family snapshots, placeholder text or clip art. Just. Don’t. Do it. This is a day for Tiffany’s, not Target.

Step 7. Consider motion

Videos and animation can add a different and engaging dimension to your presentation. If done well, they offer a level of cinematic drama that can enhance the magic of a live performance.  But keep the previous steps in mind if you go this route. Every visual element needs a reason to be there. Everything must help tell the story.

Step 8. Get a great presenter

The reality is a speaker can make or break a presentation. A bad presenter can ruin a perfect presentation. And as much as it pains us to write this, a great presenter doesn’t really need slides (see Step 5 above). Therefore, if you’re presenting, practice—ideally in front of someone who will be brutally honest. You should also consider hiring a coach.

SketchDeck recommends taking the presentation to a small, controlled audience a week or so before the event to see how it delivers. Not only is it a great practice opportunity, it allows time for last minute adjustments.

And most importantly, hear feedback and adapt accordingly. If you’re not the presenter, ask whoever is to do the same. Great presenters are not born. It takes work, and the vast majority of that work is done before a speaker steps on stage.

It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. Mark Twain

The big day

The audience is rapt… pin drop silent. Elegant slides flip in perfect timing behind your delivery. You pause—at just the right point—confidently adjusting the cuffs of your black turtleneck.

“They’re mine,” you think. And you’re right.

Fired up to blow away your next audience? So are we. SketchDeck would love to partner with you to help make your next presentation TED Talk-worthy.

Additional resources

https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks

https://synapsiscreative.com/5-best-slide-decks-tedx/

https://blog.ted.com/10-tips-for-better-slide-decks/

Rob Lewczyk

• Originally published on January 30, 2020

Redefine what's possible with SketchDeck.

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by Tom Rielly • May 12, 2020

When giving presentations, either on a video conference call or in person, your slides, videos and graphics (or lack of them) can be an important element in helping you tell your story or express your idea. This is the first of a series of blog posts that will give you tips and tricks on how to perfect your visual presentations.

Your job as a presenter is to build your idea -- step-by-step -- in the minds of your audience members. One tool to do that is presentation graphics, such as slides and videos.

Why graphics for your presentation?

A common mistake is using slides or videos as a crutch, even if they don’t actually add anything to your presentation. Not all presentations need graphics. Lots of presentations work wonderfully with just one person standing on a stage telling a story, as demonstrated by many TED Talks.

You should only use slides if they serve a purpose: conveying scientific information, art, and things that are hard to explain without pictures. Once you have decided on using slides, you will have a number of decisions to make. We’ll help you with the basics of making a presentation that is, above all, clear and easy to understand. The most important thing to remember here is: less is more.

Less is so much more

You want to aim for the fewest number of slides, the fewest number of photos, the fewest words per slide, the least cluttered slides and the most white space on your slides. This is the most violated slide rule, but it is the secret to success. Take a look at these examples.

As you can see in the above example, you don’t need fancy backgrounds or extra words to convey a simple concept. If you take “Everything you need to know about Turtles”, and delete “everything you need to know about” leaving just “turtles”, the slide has become much easier for your audience to read, and tells the story with economy.

The above example demonstrates that a single image that fills the entire screen is far more powerful than a slide cluttered with images. A slide with too many images may be detrimental to your presentation. The audience will spend more mental energy trying to sort through the clutter than listening to your presentation. If you need multiple images, then put each one on its own slide. Make each image high-resolution and have it fill the entire screen. If the photos are not the same dimensions as the screen, put them on a black background. Don’t use other colors, especially white.

Your slides will be much more effective if you use the fewest words, characters, and pictures needed to tell your story. Long paragraphs make the audience strain to read them, which means they are not paying attention to you. Your audience may even get stressed if you move on to your next slide before they’ve finished reading your paragraph. The best way to make sure the attention stays on you is to limit word count to no more than 10 words per slide. As presentation expert Nancy Duarte says “any slide with more than 10 words is a document.” If you really do need a longer explanation of something, handouts or follow-up emails are the way to go.

Following a “less is more” approach is one of the simplest things you can do to improve your presentation visuals and the impact of your presentation overall. Make sure your visuals add to your presentation rather than distract from it and get your message across.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks.

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

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16 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Presentation Skills From 16 Powerful TED Talks

Want to deliver better presentations learning by example -- especially from outstanding ted talks -- can sometimes be the best way to learn..

You may not be delivering a TED Talk , but still. You want to captivate your audience. You need to captivate your audience. (Here's looking at you, Colonel Jessup .)

But you're worried that you don't have the skills.

That's okay. There are a number of ways to instantly improve your speaking skills . It's all about preparation and practice --and using some of the following tips.

And as a bonus, each tip is accompanied by an awesome TED Talk, so not only do you get to use some awesome speakers as role models, you can broaden your knowledge while you're at it:

1. Harness the power of genuine emotion.

Now let's look at unusual ways to instantly improve your presentations. Many speakers tell self-deprecating stories, but simply admitting a mistake is a waste if you only use it to highlight how far you've come. Instead, tell a story and let your emotions show. If you were sad, say so. If you cried, say so. If you felt remorse, let it show.

When you share genuine feelings, you create an immediate and lasting connection with the audience. Emotion trumps speaking skills every time.

2. Always have a secondary goal.

Say you're speaking to a civic group on behalf of a charity and you realize your presentation is falling flat. In response, people usually either try too hard or basically give up. If your primary goal is to land a contract and you can tell you won't succeed, shift to planting the seeds for another attempt down the road.

If you see you won't get what you really want, ask what can you accomplish? Then, when the room doesn't go your way, you can stay positive, focused, and on top of your speaking game.

3. Always give the audience something to take home.

Always provide something specific the audience can do almost immediately. No matter how inspiring your message, every audience appreciates learning a tangible way they can actually apply what they've learned to their own lives.

Inspiration is great, but application is everything: Never be afraid to say, "Tonight, think of an employee who is really struggling... and then tomorrow, do (this) and (this) to try to rescue them."

4. Don't wait to answer questions.

If a question pops up in the middle of your presentation, that's awesome: Someone is listening! So seize the opportunity. If you would have addressed the point in a later slide, skip ahead. (If you've practiced skipping around, it won't throw you.)

The best presentations feel like conversations, even if one-sided...so never ignore the opportunity to foster that sense of interaction. Never do anything to disengage your audience.

5. Fuel up wisely.

Let's start with some preparation tips. Dopamine and epinephrine help regulate mental alertness. Both come from tyrosine, an amino acid found in proteins. So make sure to include protein in the meal you eat before you need to be at your best.

And don't wait until the last minute. When you're really nervous, the last thing you may want to do is eat.

6. Burn off some cortisol.

Cortisol is secreted by your adrenal glands when you're anxious or stressed. High levels of cortisol limit your creativity and your ability to process complex information; when you're buzzed on cortisol, it's almost impossible to read and react to the room.

The easiest way to burn off cortisol is to exercise. Work out before you leave for work, take a walk at lunch, or hit the gym before a speaking engagement. (If you've ever felt more grounded after slogging through a solid workout, you now know why.)

7. Develop two contingency plans.

If you're like me, "what if?" is your biggest source of anxiety: What if your PowerPoint presentation fails, someone constantly interrupts, or your opening falls flat? Pick two of your biggest fears and create contingency plans. What will you do if the projector fails? What will you do if the meeting runs long and you only have a few minutes to speak?

The effort won't be wasted, because the more you think through different scenarios, the better you can think on your feet if something truly unexpected occurs.

8. Create a pre-presentation ritual.

Superstitions are an attempt to "control" something we're afraid of. (Lucky socks don't make an athlete perform better.) Instead of creating a superstition, create a routine that helps center you emotionally. Walk the room ahead of time to check sight lines. Check microphone levels. Run through your presentation at the site to ensure it's ready to go.

Pick things to do that are actually beneficial and do them every time. You'll find comfort in the familiar--and confidence, too.

9. Find something the audience doesn't know.

I've never heard someone say, "I was at this presentation the other day, and the guy's Gantt chart was amazing!" I have heard someone say, "Did you know when you blush the lining of your stomach also turns red?"

Find a surprising fact or an unusual analogy that relates to your topic. Audiences love to cock their heads and think, "Really? Wow...."

10. Always benefit; never sell.

Most business people assume they should capitalize on a speaking engagement to promote a product or service, win new clients, and build a wider network. Don't. Thinking in terms of sales only adds additional pressure to what is already a stressful situation. Put all your focus on ensuring the audience will benefit from what you say; never try to accomplish more than one thing.

When you help people make their professional or personal lives better, you've done all the selling you'll need to do.

11. Never make excuses.

Due to insecurity, many speakers open with an excuse: "I didn't get much time to prepare..." or "I'm not very good at this...." Excuses won't make your audience cut you any slack, but they will make people think, "Then why are you wasting my time?"

Do what you need to do to ensure you don't need to make excuses.

12. Keep your slides simple...

Here's a simple rule of thumb: Make your font size double the average age of your audience. Roughly speaking, that means your fonts will be between 60 and 80 points. If you need to fit more words on a slide, that means you haven't tightened your message.

13. ...And never read your slides.

Your audience should be able to almost instantly scan your slides--if they have to actually read, you might lose them. And you'll definitely lose them if you read to them. Your slides should accentuate your points; they should never be the point.

14. Focus on earning the audience's attention.

Now let's look at a few things to immediately start doing. Instead of playing the "turn off your mobile devices" game, because no one will (and you just look stodgy), focus on earning their complete attention. Make your presentation so interesting, so entertaining, and so inspiring that people can't help but pay attention.

It's not the audience's job to listen; it's your job to make them want to listen.

15. Use the power of repetition.

Your audience probably hears about half of what you say...and then they filter that through their own perspectives. So create a structure that allows you to repeat and reinforce key points. First explain a point, then give examples of how that point can be applied, and at the end provide audience action steps they can take based on that point.

Since no one can remember everything you say, what you repeat has a much greater chance of being remembered--and being acted upon. So repeat away!

16. But don't ever run long.

If you have 30 minutes, take 25. If you have an hour, take 50. Always respect your audience's time and end early. As a bonus, that forces you to hone your presentation--and to prepare to shift gears if your presentation takes an unexpected turn.

Finish early and ask if anyone has questions. Or invite them to see you after the presentation.

But never run long...because all the good will you built up could be lost.

A refreshed look at leadership from the desk of CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta

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How to present like a TED Talk: 15 Pro Tips

by Akash Karia · Updated Jun. 21, 2024

Want to present like a TED Talk? Whether you are going to be presenting at the TED conference or simply delivering a TED style talk in the boardroom, this guide will help you master the art of preparing and presenting your message with confidence and poise.

If you’ve ever watched a TED Talk, you’ve most likely been captivated by the speakers you’ve seen on the stage. Speakers on the TED stage are some of the best public speakers on the planet.

Over the last decade as a speaker coach, I’ve studied over 200 TED talks and written 3 books on the subject. This article distills some of the key concepts from my bestselling book, “ How to Deliver a Great TED Talk . ”

Note: If you came here because you read the book “How to Deliver A Great TED Talk”, then you can find links to all the talks referenced at the bottom of this post. 

What Makes A Good TED Talk?

A good speech is one that:

• Engages the audience
• Takes them on a journey
• Provides the audience with a new perspective or insight
• Leaves the audience inspired to take action

And does all that in only 18 minutes – i.e. a tight time limit.

In this post, you will discover 15 public speaking tips from the best TED speakers. These include:

• How to choose a TED Talk topic
• How to write a TED Talk outline
• How to open your presentation
• How to end your presentation
• How to build the body of the speech
• Books you should read to level up your presentation skills

Let’s dive into it:

How to Choose Your TED Talk Topic

Photo by Brands&People on Unsplash

Before you dive into writing your speech or creating your presentation slides, it’s important that you find a message that’s worth sharing. But, how exactly do you come up with a TED Talk topic?

TED’s mission is “to discover and spread ideas that spark imagination, embrace possibility and catalyze impact.”

This means that the message matters more than the delivery.

While having charisma and being able to present with confidence help, what truly matters is the idea you are presenting.

The first step is to ask yourself: What is my message? What is the core idea I want to share?

Whenever I coach leaders and executives , I ask them to write out their core idea out in 3 short sentences or less. If you can’t summarize your core idea in less than 3 sentences, then you probably don’t have a clear grasp on your message.

But, what exactly makes a good TED Talk topic?

Also check out: 8 top public speaking tips 

Tip 1: Uncover Your Message from Your Mess

I once asked a friend who went through a messy divorce how she was able to rebuild her life so quickly afterward.

“I looked for the gift in the tragedy.”

Isn’t that remarkable?

No matter what mess you’ve gone through, if you’ve emerged on the other side of it, you’ve probably done so with  valuable lessons and insights. Consider how one of your messes might actually be a message worth sharing.

For example, brain researcher Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor shared on stage the lesson she learned when a blood vessel exploded in the left half of her brain. She used that as the personal story to lead into a message about brain health:

Related: Storytelling Training for Leaders

Tip 2: Use Their Problem to Share Your Solution

Your message might also lie in providing a solution to a challenge that the audience faces.

What’s a struggle that you’ve had to overcome? A problem that you’ve had to tackle? What there a specific solution you uncovered that helped you, that you’re convinced would help the rest of the world?

Here’s an example:

Have you found it difficult to pay attention? How you found that you’re always feeling stressed? Overworked? And unable to stay focused and present?

If you’re like most people, you probably answered yes to the above questions. Which is why Andy Puddicombe – a man who left college midway through a sports science degree to become a monk – has made it his calling to help people restore mindfulness.

What about you? What’s something you’ve discovered – no matter how small – that you think would benefit the audience listening to you? If you genuinely believe in the power of the thing you’ve discovered, then it’s your duty to share it with the world.

Tip 3: Delight Them with Your Discovery

If you’re a keen scholar or observer of human nature, you might have discovered a pattern to the way in which the world functions.

Perhaps you undertook a formal course of study. Or maybe it was informal observation and experience. But somehow, and in someway, you’ve uncovered a pattern into why things are the way they are. Or perhaps a pattern that suggests how things will be.

Patterns are particularly fascinating. And being able to codify those patterns could make for a very useful speech. In fact, it’s exactly what Simon Sinek did in his TEDx talk, which has since racked up over 10 million views on the original view:

Tip 4: Show Them The Future

If you’re working on a project or technology that will shape the future, then this makes for a particularly fascinating TED talk.

In his presentation, Pranav Mistry got a standing ovation for his talk on the thrilling potential of SixthSense technology . He gave his audience a glimpse into the future by demonstrating how his SixthSense device would allow people to browse the Internet on any surface, create a telephone keypad on their palm and draw on any surface:

Because it was such an exciting and new topic, Pranav had the audience hooked into his talk right from the start:

Now that you’ve learned how to choose your TED Talk topic, let’s move on to the next part of your process: how to write a TED Talk outline.

How to Write A TED Talk Outline

The right outline consists of:

• A clear and engaging speech structure
• A compelling opening
• A body that that drives home your main point
• A powerful conclusion with a call to action
• Visual aids that will complement your talk

Let’s look at each of those in more detail:

Source: TED (creative commons license)

Selecting Your Speech Structure

The second stage is to figure out an appropriate structure for your talk.

The mistake most presenters make is that they structure the message in the way that happened to them. Example:

• I did this. Then I did that. And I found this problem. Then I tried this. And it worked.

See how that’s a very speaker-centered structure?

While that linear progression might make sense, there are many other presentation structures that you can use. Structures that are more  audience-centered.  Here are two of the most common ones:

• The problem / solution speech structure
• The step-by-step speech structure

Let’s have a look at these in turn:

Tip 5: Outline Using A “Problem-Solution” Speech Structure

In his fascinating presentation, Sir Ken Robinson uses a loose version of the problem/solution structure.

For example, most of his speech focuses on the problem with the current educational system.

Here’s a paragraph from the first half of his speech:

Tip 6: Outline Using A “Step-By-Step” Speech Structure

In this speech structure, you logically walk your audience through the different steps towards an event.

For example, in her TED talk on domestic violence, Leslie Morgan Steiner walks her audience through the different stages in a domestic violence relationship.

Tip 7: Outline Using A “3-Part” Speech Speech

Another very popular way to structure a TED Talk is to use a “3-part” structure.

With this structure, you make 3 main points. For example, you can see Steve Jobs using this structure as an outline in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address when he says:

“ Today, I want to tell you three stories from my life…”

Simon Sinek also uses this 3-part speech structure in his TED Talk to make his key points:

Here’s what Simon Sinek’s TED Talk outline might have looked like:

• Opening: Use questions to engage the audience
• PART 1 : Story about Apple + key point
• PART 2 : Story about Samuel Langley vs. Wright Brothers + key point
• PART 3 : Story about Martin Luther King + key point
• Closing : Emphasize the main point, “start with why”

Of course, the above is a very simplified version of the outline. But you can see that it follows a very distinct 3-part structure.

Develop An Irresistible Opening

Now that you’ve figured out the right structure and outline for your TED Talk, we can move into developing a powerful opening for the talk.

The opening of your TED talk is one of the most important parts of your presentation:

It sets the tone for the rest of your presentation.

Here are two great tactics you can choose from:

Tip 8: Start with a story.

A story is a great tactic to grab attention and get transport the audience into your mental movie.

For example, this is exactly what Susan Cain does to open her TED Talk:

For more storytelling tools, here are 7 storytelling tactics and how to use them

Tip 9: Start with a series of questions which creates curiosity.

Notice how Simon Sinek hooks the TED audience in with a series of questions that ignites your imagination.

If you want to learn how to present like TED, then you need to embrace using more rhetorical questions in your presentation.

Build A Compelling and Convincing Argument in the Body of Your Presentation

Building out the body of your presentation could entail:

• Providing examples
• Anchoring your points with statistics and data
• Using analogies to make a point
• And many more…

However, in this post, let’s explore two common ways to build out a presentation like TED:

Tip 10: Build the Story with the Sitation-Complication-Resolution Framework

In his TED talk on “Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce”, Gladwell brings to life the story of Dr. Howard Moskowitz.

To do so, he uses a simple yet powerful storytelling framework called SCR: Situation-Complication-Resolution

• Situation: Pepsi came to Howard and asked him to figure out the perfect concentration of aspartame for a Diet Pepsi
• Complication: Howard does the analysis, and the data doesn’t make any sense
• Resolution: One day, while mulling over the data, Howard suddenly realizes that there is no such thing as a single perfect Diet Pepsi

Watch the talk and you’ll see this Situation-Complication-Resolution structure at play:

Tip 11: Draw on Academic Research to Build Your Argument

Using academic studies to back up your point not only anchors your point, but also adds credibility to it. Research studies, if told well, are usually very fascinating because they arouse people’s curiosity.

Consider the following portion of Dan Pink’s TED talk, where he talks about Dan Ariely’s research .

Research studies by nature try to answer questions.

Thus, an explanation of the research study followed by the words “What happened?” raises the audience’s curiosity.

If you are able to use an academic study in your speech to anchor your point, use it.

Explain the study in the form of a story, and use rhetorical questions to build people’s curiosity before you reveal the results.

Ending with A Clear and Compelling Call to Action

The final piece of a great TED Talk is a call to action.

What do you want your audience to think, feel or do differently as a result of your presentation?

In fact, the entire point of giving a talk in the first place is to drive change .

The change could be in how the audience does something. Or the way in which they look at something.

What’s the change that you want to drive with your talk?

Every part of your talk – from each story to statistic – should be built to drive that change.

Tip 13: State what you want the audience to do differently

For example, in her now scientifically-debunked TED Talk on body language , Amy Cuddy clearly states her call to action: “try power posing”:

“So I want to ask you first, you know, both to try power posing, and also I want to ask you to share the science, because this is simple…”

Leslie Morgan Steiner, in her talk, states her clear call to action in her talk on domestic violence:

“Recognize the early signs of violence and conscientiously intervene, deescalate it, show victims a safe way out. Together we can make our beds, our dinner tables and our families the safe and peaceful oases they should be. Thank you

Using Visual Aids that Will Add, Not Distract, From the Presenter

OK, so far in your journey to present like a TED Talk, you have discovered:

• How to create a powerful opening
• How to craft the perfect conclusion for the talk

Now, you may need to consider whether or not to use visual aids.

It’s important to note that visuals aids are exactly as the name implies. They’re visuals for the audiences; not speaker notes for you!

The most common form of visual aid is a presentation slide deck . But before you start building your slides, consider whether you even need one to start with.

For example, speakers like Simon Sinek, Sir Ken Robinson and Malcolm Gladwell use no slides at all! And they have some of the most viral TED talks of all time. I believe this is partly because not using slides means that the audience can focus fully on them (instead of having to read what’s on the slide).

However, if you are going to be using visual aids, here’s what you need to consider:

Tip 14: Use a prop as a visual aid

Notice how Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor uses a  real human brain  as a prop to explain what’s she talking about:

Could she have simply used a slide showing a picture of a human brain?

Would it have been as effective?

Using a real human brain adds shock value that gets the audience to keep paying attention. And it also allows her to interact with the brain in a way that makes the whole talk more concrete for the audience.

Tip 15: If using a slide, make it visual

You do not want your audience reading your slides.

More importantly, you – as the speaker, do not want to be reading your slide.

You want your slides to be  visual  aids that complement what you are saying, not compete with what you’re saying.

What this means is that your slides should be mostly pictures, with as minimal text as possible.

Here’s a good example:

In her TED talk about escaping poverty, Jacqueline Novogratz displays photos of a slum she visited in Kenya.

The photos make the situation much more real for the audience and help them understand the poverty in Kenya because they can see proof of it.

Click the video below and it’ll play at the part with the slide:

Summary: How to Present like a TED Talk

Those are the elements that will help you become a powerful and persuasive speaker:

• Uncover your message – build your talk around a message that’s useful, interesting and worth sharing
• Structure your talk so that it’s clear and easy to follow
• Craft a compelling opening that’ll captivate audiences – start with a story, a startling statistic, or a series of questions
• Build the body of your presentation – use stories, case studies, research, examples, and statistics
• End with a clear and compelling call to action – state what you want the audience to do, think or feel differently and paint the vision of a better future
• Use visual aids that will complement your speech , rather than competing with you

Books To Level Up Your TED Talk Presentation Skills

If you are interested in some resources on TED Talks presentation skills books, then I recommend:

• TED Talks: The Official Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson
• How to Deliver a Great TED Talk by Akash Karia
• TED Talks Storytelling by Akash Karia

Take the Next Step: Coaching / Workshops?

Hi, I’m  Akash . I’m an introvert turned communication keynote speaker and wellbeing keynote speaker .

I’ve been invited to speak in 15 countries, with clients including the executive team at Gucci, leaders at Sony Pictures, managers at Ernst & Young, and government members in Dubai.

In 2024, I was ranked the # 14 communication guru globally (Global Gurus, 2024). If you’d like to explore my 1:1 coaching programs or corporate keynotes and workshops, then please get in touch and I’d be happy to have a conversation:

#1: One-on-one Coaching:  Whether you’re gearing up for an important presentation, want to level up your communication skills or prep for an interview, I can help.  Please apply here for coaching.

#2: Corporate Programs:  Looking for an engaging and transformative keynote or workshop for your event? My programs on communication, resilience and storytelling training for leaders may be a fit.   Get in touch here and I’ll email you the details. 

Full list of TED Talk Speakers Referenced in this guide:

• Jill Bolte Taylor
• Andy Puddicombe
• Simon Sinek
• Ken Robinson
• Leslie Morgan Steiner
• Pranav Mistry
• Barry Schwartz
• Malcolm Gladwell
• Jacqueline Novogratz

Let’s Energize Your Team & Supercharge Your Business  

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Here’s what 25 TED talks tell us about delivering winning presentations

Originated in 1984, TED talks have come a long way from Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) to the treasure trove of ideas worth spreading. The popularity of TED talks is clear evidence that we are interested in listening to people who can tell the story right. We all have relied on TED talks to improve our presentation and communication skills.

Nowadays, it’s more important than ever to have effective communication skills to make your mark in the world, regardless of the career choice you make. There are certain characteristics that are common of the world leaders and their communication style. This includes both verbal and non-verbal aspects, starting from saying your name right to engaging the audience to creating an impact. To know this better, we watched all 25 TED talks on presentations that speak about the different aspects for a great presentatio n. Here are the key takeaways from the talks, each of which practices what it preaches.

Biggest takeaways from TED talks to improve presentation skills

1. form a connection with the audience.

Any form of communication from public speaking to a business meeting to a friendly conversation requires you to establish a connection with the person you’re communicating to. Don’t try to impose your ideas without understanding your audience and what they want. So, in the first few minutes of the presentation, try to analyze your audience and tweak the parts of your presentation to fit the context and audience well.

Introduce yourself and tell them why they should listen to you, and ask them what they expect from the presentation. Find ways to engage and interact with them. This way, they will feel included in the presentation and would be ready to listen to you.

2. Avoid the jargons, tell a story

Remember that you are talking about something you have expertise or training in. Hence, there will be terminologies that may seem trivial to you. But if your audience can’t get around the jargons, you have lost them already. The real challenge is in breaking down the jargons and handing them over to the audience in bits they can chew.

Your job is not to give them definitions and technical definitions which they can easily find elsewhere. They need to know why and how that matters to them. They have come to listen to your story, so tell them one.

3. Train your voice well

Apart from the PowerPoint templates or pamphlets, your voice is the most significant tool in any kind of presentation. You should do warm-up exercises before an important presentation to ensure your tone of voice aligns with the context and objective of the talk. If you want people to take actions based on the ideas you proposed, an aggressive tone wouldn’t help to connect with them. You should try an empathetic yet affirmative tone to convince the audience to trust you.

However, maintaining the same tone throughout the talk will only bore people. So, employ different tones and pace in your speech so that you can take the audience with you as you progress. For examples, a high pitched and fast voice indicates urgency whereas a low and composed voice indicates authority.

4. Focus on transforming, rather than informing

“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom”. Your job as a presenter does not end with passing on the information, it’s just a start. Your aim is to give a purpose to the information in hand. You need to understand the pain points of your audience and convince them how they can use the shared idea to make a change.

To do that, you should be clear of the ideas and the perspectives you want to instill in the audience. So, before the presentation, identify the key takeaways of your talk, and direct your presentation to the main ideas. Use analogies from daily life to tap in to their emotions, and make a transformation within them.

5. Prepare well, but be ready for changes

You can prepare all the slides in advance, rehearse the main points many times, warm up your voice, and yet something might go wrong on the day of presentation. For instance, the mic may not work, your file may not open, venue may change, you may forget lines, someone might ask an unexpected question, and so on. How you deal with these unexpected situations tell you how confident and efficient you are.

Remember not to panic and focus on what could be done to proceed with the presentation. To start with, have an extra copy of all relevant files you may need. Reach the venue early and double-check the technical stuff. Memorize the main pointers so that you can pick up from where you lost the lines.

6. Sound confident and authentic

Be it in business, education or politics, you need to sound confident if you want others to listen to you. No matter how innovative or groundbreaking your idea is, if you don’t sound confident about it, no one will buy it. It’s okay to feel nervous about public speaking, but there are ways to overcome it. You can try conscious breathing and wide arm gestures to overcome your nerves.

Another thing to take care is the authenticity of your idea and your presentation. You have a distinct voice and a unique story, so tell your original narrative in your true style. This will make you stand out in a crowd.

7. Work on your body language

A presentation is not merely the delivery of ideas in a structured way or choosing the right words to greet your audience with. It is also, if not mostly, about the way you present yourself in front of the audience; from the way you enter a stage to the way you smile to the way you move around to the hand gestures and different facial expressions you use. Learn different hand gestures that imply different meaning, and practice them to develop your presentation skills.

A firm handshake and a warm smile can go a long way in industrial collaborations. Even before you utter the first word, your body language gives away a lot about you. People use these cues to assess you as you appear in front of a crowd. So, work on them to create a good impression and even better connections.

8. Observe other speakers and learn from feedback

Most people miss out on this. If you observe keenly, there is a lot you can learn from the people you communicate with. The next time you listen to someone talk, notice the good and bad aspects of the presentation. Practice the factors you found interesting and try to avoid the ones you didn’t like. This doesn’t mean you should imitate them; you have to find what excited you about their talk and find your own way to use it in your presentation.

You may like the use of simple analogies or the organization of ideas or the hand gesture. Look for both verbal and non-verbal cues and analyze your own presentation with reference to other great speakers. This helps you to naturally absorb the skills for an effective communication.

9. Add personal stories to sound credible

With internet overflowing with information, there is nothing a person cannot find online apart from the personal stories. So, your narrative determines the success of your presentation. Adding personal touch not only makes you sound credible; it also enhances bond-building with your audience. That will make them want to listen to your version.

Besides the qualifications or expertise you possess in the field, your personal experience can enrich your presentation. But, don’t brag too much or promote yourself since that may distract others. Stick to the story and elements from your personal life that supports your claim.

10. Practice, practice, practice

This goes without saying, yet many speakers overlook the power of practice. Anyone would want to listen to a person who seems like they know what they are speaking. And you will gain the confidence only by practicing the speech several times. Each time, you will find areas where you can improve and working on them gives you the edge to be the best communicator in the room.

Practice in front of a mirror or in front of your friends and improve the subtle details with every rehearsal. Record yourself and watch it later and observe the areas where you can improve. Keep a conversational tone so that you don’t sound mechanical while talking.

Things to do before your presentation

No one has ever entered a stage without their heart racing up. It’s inevitable to have the adrenaline rise before any big event and managing them starts before you enter the stage. Here are the TED talks that focus on the aspects which you can work on before your presentation which will help you deliver a confident and compelling presentation.

The three magic ingredients of amazing presentations by Phil Waknell

A leading expert in presentations, Phil Waknell helps thousands of business leaders, speakers and entrepreneurs daily to design and deliver powerful and engaging presentations. By using the three proposed ingredients wisely in his presentation, Waknell proves that he practices what he preaches.

• The audience, the speaker, and the transformation created in audience: these aspects in harmony can make a presentation successful.
• It’s very important to know your audience , show them you care and tell them why they should care. Understanding the context helps you in designing the presentation well and adding a personal touch will help you deliver it better.
• There’s a major misconception that presentations are all about passing on the information to the audience. In reality, it’s what they feel about and do with the information in hand that matters.

The surprising sec r e t t o speaking with confidence by Caroline Goyder

Caroline Goyder is an author, an actor and a voice coach who also runs a business in helping people find calm and confidence in life. She tells us how our understanding of anatomy can help us improve confidence and delivery by regulating our body parts.

• Everyone has a unique voice and it’s very important to explore different expressions of your voice to use it effectively. Modulating the tone and expression of your voice according to the situation takes practice, which will eventually make you stand out in a crowd.
• Diaphragm is the center of all expressions and it regulates the whole body. Focusing and regulating its movement with each breath would calm you down.
• Inhale with strong emotions and it will reflect on whatever you speak in the outbreath. This way, you can control the tone of your voice by picking the right emotion to convey to the right audience.

Factors to focus on during the presentation

There are many ways you speak to your audience while on stage. This includes the voice tone, hand gestures, facial expressions, choice of words, emotions conveyed and your movements. Here are the TED talks that help you own the stage and eventually the heart of your audience.

How to sound smart in your TED talk by Will Stephen

Will Stephen is an actor and writer who has worked with many magazines including New York Magazine and College Humor. The speaker is using satire and sarcasm to explain the main factors to sound smart while you talk. He unconventionally walks us through the different verbal and non-verbal aspects to take account of.

• This TED talk with no researched topic or message is a clear indication that the way of presentation is often more important than the content of the presentation.
• Use hand gestures and voice modulations to take the audience with you as you build the moment.
• You need to present yourself well, pace yourself properly, and take timely pauses to add beauty to the speech. Showing a well-researched data followed by smart conclusions tells the audience you know what you’re talking about.

Speaking up without freaking out by Matt Abrahams

Matt Abrahams is a coach, author and an educator who is passionate about strategic communication and presentations. In this talk, he addresses the anxiety everyone faces in any social scenario, and gives some tips to overcome the nerves and stay confident.

• Many people experience quick-paced breathing, shaking and sweating right before an important presentation. In such situations, take a deep breath and make use of broad hand gestures to ease the physiological symptoms of anxiety.
• If you are afraid of forgetting the lines, have a mind map so that you adhere to the preferred structure of the talk.
• If you’re concerned about the people judging you, divert the attention to the audience by asking a question or passing over a pamphlet. This not only helps you take the load off; it also keeps the audience engaged in your talk.

How to present to keep y o u r a u d i e nce’s attention by Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson has worked in different software companies as consulting specialists and team lead, and has conquered the fear of public speaking. He gives us insights into how to grab the attention of our audience and to make the presentation more interesting.

• Even the most enthusiastic audience would lose the attention few minutes into the talk. So, your challenge as a speaker is to earn their attention back every time it drops.
• One primary way to do this is by asking questions to the audience. You can pose a question and get answers from the audience, or you can pose a question and answer it yourself as a way to get into the next topic.
• Another tip is to tell stories as a bridge between different topics. You can get them hooked to your story by sharing personal or inspirational stories.
• Be clear about the problem that you’re addressing, and tell your first story of how you encountered this problem why it’s important for the audience. Give them glimpse into how you investigated the problem, and suggest some possible solutions. Then, back it up with valid statements to further prove your claim.

Want to sound like a leader? St a rt by saying your name right by Laura Sicola

Dr. Laura Sicola is a writer, vocal coach and trainer who works in the field of vocal impact training and she talks about how the vocal delivery influences how the message is perceived by the audience.

• One of the most compelling skill of a leader is the executive presence—the ability to project confidence and substance while remaining composed.
• Vocal executive presence determines if the way you sound while declaring a decision enforces it or undermines it. To sound credible, there should be a correlation between your choice of words and their execution.
• Your voice has a persuasive influence on the listener, and you can decide which part of your presentation you want them to remember by focusing on your delivery.
• You can use a higher pitch for the most important clauses, and stick to the diplomatic, funny, friendly, or empathetic tone as the situation demands.

Speak like a leader by Simon Lancaster

Simon Lancaster is one of the leading speechwriters who has worked with politicians, industrial leaders and entrepreneurs. Through this captivating talk, Simon Lancaster shares the secret language of leadership which make the most absurd arguments seem plausible. From ancient times, leaders across different domains like politics, business, literature and art have used the ancient art of rhetoric to highlight the desired parts and translate emotions.

• Rule of three is the most commonly used rhetoric. It exploits the human conditioning to create, pack and memorize everything in a group of three. You can use the magic number of three to draw the attention of your audience when you speak.
• Using repetitive statements is another trick to create the sense of importance in people.
• You can also use balancing statements (e.g., to be or not to be) to make your presentation more convincing. If the sentences sound balanced, we are conditioned to believe that the underlying thinking is balanced.
• The two factors that most leaders use in their speech are exaggeration and rhyme, which could be used wisely to create desired effect. Practicing these in daily life will help you give a killer presentation on the go.

The 110 techniques of communication and public speaking by David JP Phillips

David JP Phillips has spent years observing and analyzing both amateur and professional speakers, and devised different techniques of public speaking. He speaks about various combinations of verbal and non-verbal gestures to include in your presentation.

• Anyone can ace the presentation skills by consistent practice if you know how to gain trust through your gestures and how to display empathy through your words. If your body language is telling a different story than your words, it leaves the audience confused.
• Pacing yourself properly will help the listener to identify what is important. Many people forget the power of silence in a speech and tend to fill the pauses with filer sounds, which will only distract the people listening to you. Use timely pauses and see how you can build anticipation with no words.
• There are minor non-verbal cues that can pique audience’s attention. If you look up for a second and inhale audibly, people will believe you’re about to say something exciting. A pleasant smile in between will help you connect and have a sense of presence on stage.

6 communication truths that everyone should know by Antoni Lacinai

Antoni Lacinai has spent over 25 years studying communication and psychology in different forms, and he mentions the factors to be taken care of to sustain the essence of an effective analog communication. With a fast-paced digital world, the level of empathy, the attention span and the ability to listen are going down and this is a major concern.

• In business or politics, it only takes a few seconds for someone to make an opinion about you. So, it’s very important to display your best traits in the initial moments to form a good impression.
• Ask questions and listen to understand, not to respond. This can help you form a bond of trust with a potential customer, and you can win the business.
• The energy, clarity, and empathy in your speech translates to the audience and has a prolonged effect on how they feel and act.

The magical science of storytelling by David JP Phillips

Having spent years analyzing different speakers, David JP Phillips claims that embracing storytelling in professional realms can build better bonds and foster profitable businesses.

• Stories have the potential to induce hormones and neurotransmitters that will blind you to the objective explanation of something. This is why businesses spend a lot of money, time and energy in sales copy and product description.
• Using suspense and cliff hangers in your story increases the levels of dopamine, which enhances memory, focus and motivation.
• You can induce oxytocin by being empathetic, which helps in gaining trust and building bonds.
• Endorphin could be induced by using humor in your story, which makes people more relaxed, focused and creative.
• A firm that tells better stories have a chance of selling more products since they all trigger our emotional investment towards them. The more emotionally invested we are, the less objective and critical we are.

The power of non-verbal communication by Joe Navarro

Having worked in FBI and interviewed many criminals and spies, Joe Navarro has spent a lot of time learning the non-verbal cues in communication, and he speaks about the limbic system in our brain which does not think, but betrays the deepest emotions via our body language.

• Right from the way you look at someone to the way you carry yourself communicate a lot of information about you. From furrowed foreheads indicating concern to pursed lips indicating stress to wrinkled nose indicating disgust, there are many gestures you can know about a person’s emotion.
• Empathy is the faucet through which you can tap into someone’s emotions and that’ possible only if you pick the right non-verbal gestures to make people comfortable in a conversation. Regardless of the conversation you’re a part of—business conferences to scientific seminars to marriage ceremonies—you need to be empathetic to connect with the other person.
• It’s important to understand their state of mind in order to tune our choice of words and tonality of our voice. Read people in front of you and refine your presentation to instill the right emotion in them.

The 7 secrets of the greatest speakers in history by Richard Greene

Richard Greene strongly believes that every human being can be a great leader whose words can create a tipping point and make a difference for the years to come. After quitting his law practice, Greene has mentored political leaders, business leaders and celebrities across 44 countries. He shares tips to improve presentation skills which can help us become a better speaker and even better leader.

• 41% of the world population is terrified of public speaking because people think of it as a performance, while in reality, it is a conversation.
• Choice of words, tone of voice and body language are important elements to modulate in order to deliver a great presentation.
• Even with the most polished non-verbal cues, you don’t add any value if you don’t have a compelling message to convey.
• It all comes down to how you share about your authentic passion and trigger the sensory organs so that people connect with you, and feel included in the conversation.

H ow to speak with impact by Peter Hopwood

Peter Hopwood works with startups, business leaders and firms as a communications and presence coach. In this talk, he tells about polishing the small details that can improve the presentation skills.

• As a speaker, your vision is to create impact with your words and make it worth the time people have invested in you.
• Before you start to speak, you need to manage your nerves and regulate your breathing to sound calm and composed. You need to feel good in order to sound good.
• The gestures and the stance in front of a crowd tell them a lot about you even before you have uttered a word and you have a window of time to catch their attention. Keep your legs steady and open your arms and move around as you speak to establish credibility.
• Unpredictability is one of the most important factors in a great presentation. So, take them surprise by both verbal and non-verbal actions.

How to manipulate emotions by Timon Krause

Timon Krause, active in the area of mindreading, talks about anchoring or conditioned response in human beings and how you can use it to influence their decisions.

• An anchor is a specific cue that induces a predictable response. Not only you have the ability to control those cues to trigger the desired response, but you can also set up a new trigger response system at will.
• Human brains recognize pattern and remember the past decisions when a cue had appeared, and use this learned response in a new similar situation. This is helpful in not making the same mistakes over time. The fascinating part about this is that simply imagining a cue can stimulate the same response in a person.
• Many speakers use conditioned response system to make connections with the audience. Often in business, you have to manipulate the emotions by identifying where in the marketing funnel the user is on. By making a smart cue, you can turn your potential clients into customers and your customers turn into loyal users.

Talk nerdy to me by Melissa Marshall

Melissa Marshall talks about the huge gap between the people doing science and receiving the impacts of the scientific and industrial studies. She shares some tips to breakdown complex scientific jargons to accessible information to the public.

• You can either define the jargons using simple terms or eliminate the jargon altogether if it’s not necessary to talk about the topic.
• Many people do it wrong by dumbing the audience down and refraining from giving them the essential information they need.
• A good place is to start is by telling them how your research impacts their lives, and get them interested in the story ahead. Instead of distracting them with tedious data and statistics, tell them a story connecting the major results and prospects of your work in a language that is accessible to them.

How to have a good conversation by Celeste Headlee

Having worked as a host, reporter and correspondent, Celeste Headlee addresses the inability of people to listen to each other at a ground level and slowly builds up on how to have a good conversation. She stresses that the most wanted skill of this century is the ability to sustain a coherent and confident conversation.

• What often goes wrong in the business or industrial fields is the urge to convince and impose our claims on others without having a conversation. It’s important for both parties to feel inspired, engaged and understood.
• It starts with being genuinely interested in other people. While you are proposing a business idea, think about the users and find out what they expect from the service. If disagreements arise, pose open ended questions and listen to the other while they speak.
• Be present in the moment, try not to repeat yourself and stop seeing every conversation as a promotional opportunity. Understand that people don’t care about the exact details, they are here for the story.

Body language, the power is in the palm of your hands by Allan Pease

Allan Pease is a professor of psychology who specializes in human relationships and connections. He speaks about creating a good impression in the first few minutes of interaction.

• The first form of interaction in any form of professional meeting happens through a handshake, and it influences our judgment about the person. It is best is to have a firm hand and give the same pressure you receive.
• Our palms have the most number of neural connections with the brain. Hence, how we use it in a presentation sends out significant signals to the other person.
• Whether you are using the front or back side of your palm during hand gestures makes a difference to how people respond. By using a trivial fact that open palms gain trust and pointed fingers repel people, you can improve your presentation and build meaningful connections with the audience.

Communicate for success by Michael C Webb

Michael C Webb, through his personal story of being in the recruiting business reasserts the importance of communication skills in any kind of career.

• If there are two people who meet the prescribed criteria for a job, the better communicator among them would get hired for the job. If you have an edge for effective communication, all other skills and degrees could be acquired over time.
• Now imagine you have a great business idea or a scientific proposal, the way you pitch it determines whether it will get approved or not. No matter how fantastic your idea is, if you can’t convince them through your presentation, you are in no luck.
• It’s very important to acknowledge your weak points and work on them to be a better speaker people want to listen to. He strongly puts across the message that resumes don’t get the job, people get the job.

The beauty of data visualization by David McCandless

We are loaded with information from different sources every single day, and visualizing the data is an efficient way to perceive and recollect it. The speaker David McCandless states that designing data in a way where the patterns and connections are visible allows us to stay clear of unwanted information.

• We know that all the modern-day presentations in business, industrial and educational sectors are aided by audio-visual tools, where they present their ideas or findings in slides.
• Our eyes are exquisitely sensitive to the variation in patterns and we remember the information with the mind’s eye. It’s important to pick the right color theme and font sizes to make the presentation more memorable.
• You should use right labels and segregate the scattered data neatly into tables or columns so that you can come back to it at a later stage. It’s difficult to process and recollect absolute information compared to the data comparing two or more similar entities.

How to speak so that people want to listen by Julian Treasure

Julian Treasure starts by stating four cornerstones to stand on when you communicate: honesty, authenticity, integrity, and love. He then speaks about regulating the different qualities of your voice to be a better presenter.

• Our voice is the toolbox to open the corner stones to give an impactful presentation. Find the register of your voice that brings out different responses from people. Speaking from the chest gives a depth to your voice, which is often associated with power and hence can be used to persuade people.
• Another thing to take care of is the timbre; the way your voice feels. We prefer to listen to voices that are rich, warm and smooth. You can play with different pitch and volume to break the monotony.
• You can time pauses and regulate the pace conveniently to impart the desired meaning to the audience, and use some exercises to warm up your voice so that people can’t stop applauding after you.

Voice branding: How your voice shapes your communication image by Wendy LeBorgne

The voice pathologist Wendy LeBrogne talks about the aspects of voice that gets people hired for a job or approved for a deal. For anyone, the voice is the most important element of your personal brand and polishing it regularly will help you for any kind of conversation.

• Intensity of your voice is often perceived in terms of how loud you are, and depending on the context, people pass judgments on you.
• It’s important to have the right intonation to bring out the interest and curiosity in the listener.
• Lately, there has been a trend of using upspeak; ending every statement with a question which is highly looked down in the professional world.
• How you pace yourself gives the audience an idea of how passionate you in what you deliver. Depending on the pitch of the voice, peoeple decide if you’re nonchalant or serious about the matter. Finally, the clarity of speech and hoarseness contribute to the voice quality.

Own your behavior , master your communication, determine your success by Louise Evans

A coach, a facilitator, and a trainer, Louise Evans talks about how the choices that we make have a direct impact on the relations we build and the conversations we have.

• In every situation, you have a choice to attack and judge the other person, to judge and degrade yourself, to observe and be conscious of the situation, to introspect and be aware of yourself, or to find ways to connect and be empathetic with the other person.
• In both personal and professional relations, empathy and genuine curiosity are most important to build a meaningful connection.
• If you can see your potential client only as a bag of money, you won’t benefit from the interaction in a fundamental level. But if you can look at them as people with their own ideas and perception of the world, it becomes easier to empathize and connect with them.
• The key to success in any enterprise is to make a calculated choice based on rational thoughts.

Connect and inspire using your tone of voice by Janina Heron

Janina Heron works as a voice consultant, and educates about mastering our unique sounds. This talk is about understanding how we are wired to respond to different tones of voice in different manner.

• We pick up on tone clues and use them to impart meaning more than on words. Tone tells us if we can trust them or if they are a potential threat to us.
• Voice coaches and great leaders believe that training your voice can improve the way you communicate and hence build trust with the people you are interacting with.
• The simplest way to train your voice is to regulate breathing since voice is audible air.
• By incorporating the feelings of warmth, acceptance and compassion in your voice, you can win over anyone even in the fact-driven debates. Your voice should brim with passion to convey the emotion across, and when you do that in presentations, people immediately trust whatever you tell them.

Think fast, talk smart by Matt Abrahams

An expert on interpersonal communication and presentations, Matt Abrahams states that how we communicate depends on the approach we take, the audience we talk to, the context we find ourselves in and the structure we follow.

• It helps if we see every opportunity to speak as an opportunity to express ourselves and to build strong connections. Focus on what the audience expect to hear from you as opposed to what you want to tell them.
• While observing the context of the talk, look what time of the day it is and try to resonate with the energy of the room.
• You should change the way you deliver according to the location; the way you talk to a virtual audience is much different from how you talk to a live audience.
• Humans perceive information better if it is structured. Having a structure in your presentation helps both speaker and the audience to remember it later.

The art of effective communication by Marcus Alexander Velazquez

Marcus Alexander Velazquez is a public speaker, voice-over artist, actor and an author, and states that an effective communication takes place when the information is perceived well by the audience to the point where they can share it to another person.

• A trait of a good speaker includes stumbling upon questions or remarks you didn’t anticipate and handling them well with confidence. If you’re in the middle of a conference and you need to redirect your speech to bring the audience’s attention back to you, following the script would not work. You have to adjust to the changes and go with the flow.
• Since no two people are the same, you cannot be adamant about your choice of words or the gestures. If you want to have a meaningful conversation, you need to navigate the words and questions in a way put both parties at ease.
• Speak with the intention to deliver value and information, rather than wanting to be heard. Understanding you could be wrong and being open to new perspectives make the interaction fruitful.

Can you improve presentation skills after your presentation?

So, you delivered an amazing presentation and connected well with the audience. What next?

Remember learning never stops. So, keep looking for ways to improve your presentation by getting feedback from people you trust. Being open to criticism can help you in the long run. Get a copy of your presentation from the organizers and watch it repeatedly and note down the aspects that need polishing. Here is a TED talk that tell you how effective feedback mechanism is, and why we should embrace it both hands.

How to use others’ feedback to learn and grow by Sheil Heen

Sheila Heen works with different industrial leaders and organizations to coach them about handling tough conversations at work. She discusses the psychological factors and triggered responses of giving and receiving feedbacks, and how we can learn faster and grow better if we are open to feedbacks.

• We find it hard to accept feedback because it’s a competition between a need to grow and a need to be accepted the way we are. The key is not to take it personally and to focus on learning.
• Actively seek feedbacks from peers and friends who can give you honest opinions. Ask specific questions and find out things you can improve on.
• Don’t judge yourself for the shortcomings. Stay patient, work on yourself and come out brighter on the other side.

If you watched the above TED talks, you will observe that many people speak about the same topic in a unique angle and style. Every speaker added a personal anecdote to amplify the message they were trying to convey. Some shared the moments of failure and how they bounced back so that audience could relate and empathize. None of them spoke the same; each had their own voice, their own story, their own tone.

Every human being is a storyteller by nature. It’s sad how many stories remain untold either because of the lack of tools or the lack of confidence. It’s very important to fight all the insecurities and present ourselves in our most confident self to progress in both personal and professional life.

Find your unique voice and tell your story.

At SlideBazaar, we help you create engaging and memorable presentations. Choose from our collection of professional templates or opt for our custom design services for a personalized touch. Your presentations deserve to be elevated to new heights, and we’re here to help you achieve just that!

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More From Forbes

What presenters can learn from pope francis’s latest sermon tip.

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Pope Francis tells clergy to keep sermons short to avoid "putting people to sleep."

Presenters, whether leaders or public speakers, don’t usually look to clergy for speaking advice. While notable examples like Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech exist, we tend to think of Sunday sermons as rote recaps of the day’s readings or familiar teachings.

But, Pope Francis's recent advice on sermons offers valuable insights for any presenter. Addressing clergy, the Pope emphasized keeping homilies short - no more than eight minutes.

Perhaps reflecting ever-decreasing attention spans in this digital age, that’s actually a reduction from his previous recommendation of ten minutes . This advice underscores a broader principle relevant to anyone aiming to communicate effectively: brevity and focus enhance engagement and impact.

Briefer is Better

In reminding his audience of the importance of brevity, Pope Francis humorously noted that anything longer than his recommended eight minutes might cause the congregation to fall asleep.

In the earlier interview he said, "How many times have we seen people sleeping during a homily, or chatting among themselves, or outside smoking a cigarette?" While sermon smoke breaks are fairly uncommon in the U.S., today we might add, “surreptitiously checking our smartphones.”

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This eight to ten minute limit is consistent with what we know about human attention. According to neuroscientist and best-selling author John Medina, there’s an upper limit of ten minutes on how long a speaker can hold the audience’s attention. While Medina doesn’t recommend ending the presentation at that point, he does suggest changing things up in some way. Doing something “emotional and relevant” will gain attention and restart the clock.

Beyond Brevity

Even a short sermon can fail to engage the congregation. Pope Francis also noted that to be impactful, a homily “must be short: an image, a thought, a feeling.”

The introduction of emotion is also consistent with the science of attention. Medina uses stories to get and keep attention. When the ten minute mark approaches, a new story will reengage the audience’s brains.

Communication expert Carmine Gallo suggests some other ways to regain full attention : introduce characters, show videos, use props, give demos, and invite questions. Anything in your speech or presentation that creates contrast with what precedes it can have the desired effect.

Lessons from TED

Ted Talks are often prepared and rehearsed starting months before the actual talk, but even they run less than 18 minutes. In fact, presenters are often allocated as little as 3, 5, or 9 minutes, matching up nicely with the Pope’s advice.

Optimizing Outcomes

Most Catholic clergy don’t have extensive training in public speaking. The Pope’s eight minute limit and recommended use of emotional content ensure that even an average homilist won’t lose the congregation. (Unless, of course, they head outside for a smoke before the homily even starts. Tough audience in some places.)

The Pope’s advice applies to leaders, public speakers, and anyone in front of an audience: keep it short, and engage the audience with imagery, stories, etc. And, if you are going to speak for longer than eight or ten minutes, change up your content to reengage their brains and restart the timer.

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Royal Ascot 2024: Day 4 tips, best bets and odds from Ed Quigley

• Published : 8:55, 21 Jun 2024
• Updated : 8:55, 21 Jun 2024

Top Tipster and Broadcaster, Ed 'Longshot Ted' Quigley is on the hunt for more winners and is back with his best bets for Royal Ascot on Friday…

Ted's bets for Royal Ascot 2024, Day 4:

Find the following picks for Royal Ascot 2024, Day 4 races. Play on the races with our best expert rated horse racing betting sites :

• Elmalka - 3.45 - bet with  bet365
• Forever Blue each-way - 5.05 - bet with  Betfred
• War Rooms each-way - 4.25 - bet with Sky Bet

Elmalka - 3.45

This should be a cracker, with plenty of classic form on display, and I think this can go with the Newmarket form, where the Roger Varian trained ELMALKA looks the value call to get the job done once again.

The talented daughter of Kingman took a massive leap forward when stepping up to 1m for the first time in the 1000 Guineas, and it appeared as though she absolutely thrived as her stamina was drawn out over the extra furlong. Ascot's track will provide an even stiffer examination, and I think she will be played late to come home with a wet sail once again.

James Doyle and Roger Varian are very much an in-form combination, and I think they can pounce here. Underfoot conditions should be fine and she remains an exciting filly with the potential to produce even more fireworks.

🏇 Back Elmalka at bet365 🏇

Forever Blue each-way - 5.05

FOREVER BLUE has won two of her three starts, and this lightly-raced sort looks a cracking each-way play in the Sandringham. Ralph Beckett has his string in good shape, and this daughter of Blue Point may not be an obvious one to improve on pedigree, but stayed on powerfully over 7f at Haydock last time out suggesting this 1m assignment will be absolutely tailor-made for her.

She goes Handicapping off a mark of 95, and off that rating she is open to any amount of improvement off that mark, and I wouldn't be shocked if she ended up a Group-class performer sooner rather than later. That man James Doyle is on board once again, and I can see her really see her flourishing over this trip despite her inexperience. Forever Blue rates the each-way play for me.

🎇 Bet on Forever Blue at Betfred 🎇

War Rooms each-way - 5.40 

WAR ROOMS can go well at attractive odds, stepping up to 1m4f for the first time. This is the salient point, as I think he has been crying out for 1m4f, and so can strut his stuff here. He ran a really solid race when third behind Economics in the Dante last time out, shaping as though he would be in need of much more of a test of stamina.

Owen Burrows refused the temptation to have a crack at the Epsom Derby, and the patience of connections could be rewarded, as he gets to tackle this trip for the first time at Group 2 level. He looks an out and out galloper in my view, and the fact he hasn't been over-faced is a benefit. JIm Crowley takes the ride, and this combination look the each-way value in this wide-open encounter.

🏇 Bet on War Rooms each way at Sky Bet 🏇

Don't forget Ed will be back on Saturday with his best bets for the final day of action at Royal Ascot.

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WWDC24 Highlights

Apple Reveals Apple Intelligence

iOS 18 Makes iPhone More Personal and Intelligent Than Ever

iPadOS 18 Takes iPad to the Next Level

macOS Sequoia Brings New Ways of Working and Transformative Intelligence to Mac

watchOS 11 Offers Powerful Health and Fitness Insights, and More Personalization

visionOS 2 Brings New Spatial Computing Experiences to Apple Vision Pro

Home and Audio Updates Elevate Entertainment and Bring More Convenience

Text of this article

June 10, 2024

Relive the biggest moments from WWDC24

Today Apple kicked off its 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference, revealing groundbreaking new technologies and features during a keynote that was live-streamed from Apple Park to millions around the world. During the weeklong event, developers and students will have unique access to Apple experts, as well as insight into new tools, frameworks, and features to help elevate their apps and games.

This year’s keynote revealed Apple Intelligence , the personal intelligence system that combines the power of generative models with users’ personal context — at the core of iPhone, iPad, and Mac to deliver intelligence that’s incredibly useful and relevant. Major updates also come to iOS 18 , iPadOS 18 , macOS Sequoia , and watchOS 11 , including the biggest-ever redesign of the Photos app, game-changing productivity tools, and new ways for users to express themselves and customize their devices. visionOS 2 brings powerful new ways to interact with Apple Vision Pro and exciting updates to spatial photos and Mac Virtual Display, and tvOS 18 infuses useful information in Apple TV+ films and shows on users’ biggest screen in the home.

Beginning this month, Apple Vision Pro is also coming to more countries and regions, including China mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and next month will come to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K.

Apple Intelligence harnesses the power of Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from users’ personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks. A cornerstone of Apple Intelligence is on-device processing, which delivers personal intelligence without collecting users’ data. Private Cloud Compute sets a new standard for privacy in AI, with the ability to flex and scale computational capacity between on-device processing, and larger, server-based models that run on dedicated Apple silicon servers.

With iOS 18 , users will now be able to arrange apps and widgets in any open space on the Home Screen, customize the buttons at the bottom of the Lock Screen, and quickly access more controls in Control Center. With the biggest redesign ever of the Photos app, photo libraries are automatically organized in a new single view in Photos, and helpful new collections keep favorites easily accessible. All-new text effects come to iMessage, amplifying any letter, word, phrase, or emoji with dynamic, animated appearances to bring conversations to life. Users can also now communicate over satellite in the Messages app, even when a cellular or Wi-Fi connection isn’t available.

With iPadOS 18 , the iPad experience is more versatile and intelligent than ever with new features and apps designed for Apple Pencil. The Calculator app comes to iPad with Math Notes, which allows users to type or write out mathematical expressions and see them instantly solved in their own handwriting. New handwriting tools in Notes including Smart Script make handwritten notes more fluid, flexible, and easier to read.

With macOS Sequoia , Continuity between iPhone and Mac gets better than ever with iPhone Mirroring, enabling full access to and control of iPhone directly from Mac. Safari gets another big update with the new Highlights feature for effortless information discovery on webpages while browsing. Gaming is even more immersive with Personalized Spatial Audio that puts players in the middle of the action like never before. And Apple Intelligence unlocks new ways for Mac users to enhance their writing and communicate more effectively, create playful images in seconds, and more. Apple Intelligence takes full advantage of the power of Apple silicon and its Neural Engine, and will be supported by every Mac with an M-series chip.

watchOS 11 offers breakthrough insights into users’ health and fitness, and more personalization than ever. The new Vitals app surfaces key health metrics and context, the ability to measure training load offers a game-changing new experience when working out, and the popular Activity rings are even more customizable. The Smart Stack and Photos face use intelligence to feature more individualization, and Apple Watch and the Health app on iPhone and iPad offer additional support for users who are pregnant. Check In, the Translate app, and new capabilities for the double tap gesture come to Apple Watch for added connectivity and convenience.

Just months after its initial release, visionOS 2 brings powerful spatial computing experiences to Apple Vision Pro, including new ways for users to create spatial photos with the images already in their library, intuitive hand gestures to easily access important information at a glance, and new features for Mac Virtual Display, Travel Mode, and Guest User. visionOS 2 also introduces exciting new capabilities like Follow Your Breathing in the Mindfulness app, SharePlay for Photos, and multiview in the TV app.

With tvOS 18 , intelligent new features like InSight — and updates to Enhance Dialogue and subtitles — level up cinematic experiences, while new Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, and FaceTime capabilities get even better on users’ biggest screen. The Home app gains new features with iOS 18, like guest access and hands-free unlock with home keys, delivering effortless and secure access to the home. AirPods software updates will transform the way users respond to Siri with new gestures, take calls with friends and loved ones, and immerse themselves in their favorite games.

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