How to Be Brilliant at Public Speaking, 2nd Edition

Chapter 7

Compelling content – lessons from TED

Key wisdom from this chapter

• Find your ‘idea worth spreading’: the best talks are framed around one compelling idea, which is easy to understand yet highly insightful.
• Look for your gourmet dish: when picking your content, don’t go for the all-you-can-eat buffet approach to cramming in information as this will give your audience indigestion! Instead, create one delicious dish that has memorable flavours.
• Dream big with your talk concept: look for an idea that really could change the world, or at least your audience’s world. Be bold and idealistic and your talk will benefit.
• Do the ‘Ooh’ test on your ideas: as you test your talk content, look for the reaction of your friends or colleagues. A reaction ...