business storytelling training, pink elephant communications

TED Talk Training: four tips for your next speech

TED Talk training is one of our most popular courses.

Why?

Because it’s presentation skills at the highest level possible.

Absolutely every facet of communication comes into it.

There’s word choice. Speech structure. Stage presence. Audience interaction. Voice intonation.

You can understand why we’ve run this course all over the world since 1989.

We’d always recommend in-person training to take you from ‘good’ to ‘great’.

In the meantime, here are four tips to get you started.

1. Visit the venue beforehand

This is an often overlooked point.

But ticking it off your list works wonders for your preparation.

A lot of our anxiety ahead of any big speech is how it’ll feel on stage.

What will I see? How much space will I have? How does the microphone work?

Answer these questions for yourself by visiting the venue in advance.

Walk around the stage. Ask about the audio setup.

It means, on the day, you’ll know what to expect.

That’s one aspect of the nerves dealt with.

2. Record yourself and watch it back

The advice we often hear is ‘present to the mirror’.

We’d recommend you do something else.

The mirror is unable to give you feedback.

Instead, film yourself giving your TED Talk.

Then watch it back.

Now you’re able to see what the audience is seeing.

Rather than simply how you feel while presenting.

It’s the most effective way of improving your talk.

3. Make it as simple as possible

The best TED Talks are the ones which are the most accessible.

You’ll see some of the most complex issues boiled down to their simplest forms.

The result? Their talk spreads far and wide because people understand it.

Avoid falling into the trap of attempting to sound smarter by using big words.

Research tells us that even the most intelligent people prefer simple language.

Lean into this.

Ask yourself: would a child understand my talk?

If the answer is ‘no’, then you’ve got work to do.

Too complicated is a bigger risk than too simple.

4. Walk or stand

We all have nervous energy when we present to audiences.

One of the ways this presents itself is in swaying.

We shift our weight from foot to foot, from heel to toe.

It’s very off-putting.

So decide in advance of your talk: am I a walker or a stander?

If you’re a walker, like me, then use the stage with purposeful movement.

Rather than random shuffling, walk from one point to another.

If you’re a stander, root yourself from the waist down in the same place.

Your feet are set in concrete.

That gives the audience a clear focal point.