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TED has turned the traditional approach to conference speaking on its head. It’s sparked a new generation of short, high-impact talks, showing the door to the monotony of slide-click-slide-click presentations that have dominated public speaking for too long.
We’re captivated by TED talks packed with human emotion, stories and personality. We remember them, pass on their message and act on the ideas being shared.
That’s why TED-style speaking is not just relevant for conference talks. The powerful techniques can be used in all kinds of communication scenarios – from sales pitches and client meetings to sharing a new company vision with employees.
Ginger specialises in using the TED-style of speaking to develop thousands of leaders’ speaking skills. We challenge leaders to speak in a way that’s clear, personal and highly memorable. And it has a huge impact on their careers and business success.
Here are the ‘best bits’ of the TED-style speaking approach.
There are many business benefits to harnessing the power of TED-style speaking. These include:
Developing thought leadership
Now more than ever, individuals and businesses have opportunities to raise their profile through the power of their ideas and innovations. Thanks to social media and self-publishing platforms, we can easily share our ideas with wide networks and strengthen our credibility as thought leaders. Our ideas can go viral!
The trouble is, we often shy away from seeing ourselves as thought leaders. We see this a lot – people who have a tonne of insight to share but who lack time, confidence or the right conditions to unpick that insight. The TED format makes you laser-focused on your message, firmly placing your thought leadership front and centre.
Sharpening sales success
For sales teams, TED-style speaking sets people free from the old-fashioned sell-sell-sell approach by teaching you how to bring people alongside your perspective. It forces you to be clear and concise and to humanise your communication. That builds trust which is valuable currency when it comes to winning business.
Showcasing diverse voices
The format of TED-style speaking means we hear from a wider range of voices as we’re more willing to listen to talks that are brief and well-constructed. It opens the floor to people and ideas we’ve never heard before. Impenetrable, technical talks are transformed into interesting and engaging stories; leaders drop the corporate language and speak from the heart; and the hidden find their voice.
1. Ideas worth spreading
The power of TED is beautifully summed up in their tagline ‘ideas worth spreading’. When we are bombarded by around 5,000 marketing messages a day, how do you make sure your idea gets noticed and shared?
2. Take us on a journey
It’s important to have a clear structure to your talk, so it takes your audience from A to B.
3. Make it memorable
There are many ways to make your talk come to life but these are some techniques you can use to make it stick in people’s minds and pass-on-able.
So, you’ve got your ‘idea worth spreading’, you’ve shaped it into a journey and added some colour by using some of the memorable elements. But it’s still possible to throw away your talk by not giving it enough personality or trying to be someone you’re not.
We’ve all sat through talks that are packed with content but fall flat because the delivery lacks any kind of personality. On the other hand, talks can feel awkward if you put on some kind of mask that’s not really you. That’s why we teach clients to be themselves. It means embracing your geekiness, or your warm and heartfelt approach, or your powerful presence. It means stepping into the full force of your character and OWNING IT!
We all have different styles; the important thing is to develop confidence in expressing your authentic self. Think about when you’re completely at ease, surrounded by your best mates. How do you behave? That’s the character you want to tap into to bring your true personality to your public speaking.
All the tools we’ve mentioned are designed to help you harness the power of TED-style speaking so you communicate with more impact – be that on the stage or in a client meeting.
This model helps visualise the key steps to developing your own TED-style talk.
We work with clients on all elements of TED-style speaking, from finding your idea and getting comfortable in your own skin, to developing unique language and delivering a talk to a live audience.
The real power lies in the opportunity to explore and test your ideas with others. That’s why our TED-style programmes are hugely popular with teams in companies and industry groups that want to amplify their message and be more visible. Like our Future Female Leaders programme for the Real Estate industry to give more women a voice, or the team from Hitachi that wanted to develop their public speaking impact.
If you’d like to master the art of TED-style speaking for yourself or your company, Ginger has some incredible, high-impact training options we’d love to talk to you about.
This showcase of inspiring female speakers is part of Ginger's work with game changing leaders.
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