Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds
It is often said that fear of public speaking is one of mankind’s greatest fears. As a professional educator and trainer who has given several thousand classes, talks, seminars and presentations, I understand that sense of angst that precedes appearing before a new crowd. No one wants to embarrass themselves and everyone recognizes that instant global communication today creates instant sound bites – and we want ours to be great.
American author and keynote speaker Carmine Gallo has taken a phenomenon from the digital age – You Tube – and written a marvelous book on how the most successful speakers in the world deliver their messages.
The book is short – 255 pages, including notes – and is divided into 9 chapters that all make sense as they flow from one “ah-ha” moment to another.
The nine chapters are grouped into three segments and each chapter has illustrations that are to the point and clear as they explain their focused message:
Emotional
- Unleash the Master Within
- Master the Art of Storytelling
- Have a Conversation
Novel
- Teach me Something New
- Deliver Jaw- dropping Moments
- Lighten Up
Memorable
- Stick to the 18 Minute Rile
- Paint a Mental Picture with Multisensory Experiences
- Stay in Your Lane
Examples from the above chapters include:
- Howard Schultz and who shares that he wasn’t passionate about coffee, but that he wanted a 3rd place between home and work, where employees would be treated with respect and offer exceptional customer service. (p 19) We all know about Starbucks.
- Storytelling illustrations from well known and previously unknown speakers who share their messages in just about any topic by building empathy and making it real and human (chapter 2)
- Collin Powell’s moving conversational approach regardless of crowd size (p.92-94)
- Understanding that while we all know there is much more detail in any message we hear, society has become so information overloaded that we need what is called The Twitter Friendly Headline (p.130-132). Hook the listener and they will pay attention and want more
- Bill Gates released mosquitoes in a talk about how disease is transmitted. While only a tiny percentage of the talk, the jaw-dropping experience made the talk memorable and more (p.136-138)
- Comedians tell jokes – sometimes they are very funny and other times, well – we know. Using anecdotes, observations and personal stories is not the same as telling jokes and is almost always more successful. (Chapter 6)
While sound bites capture only a highlight (or low point), the TED 18 minute rule is an essential part of forcing speakers to focus. I hope to be invited to give a University commencement speech one day soon, and I would follow the late Steve Jobs model of 3 sub-topics in his DO WHAT YOU LOVE 2005 speech (p. 199)
Al Gore and Bono are certainly far apart on the presentation scheme of life, but note pages 210 and 218 to see how they made their messages come alive and real
Finally, chapter 9 says it all on p. 240 – be authentic, open and transparent.
Talk Like TED – This book should be required reading in every business program at the University level AND for any professional who wants to improve communication skills. I cannot say enough good things about it!
Highly Recommended! Dr. John Hogan CHA CMHS CHE CHO
HospitalityEducators.com HoganHospitality.com
Kathleen Hogan MBA CHO and Dr. John Hogan CHA CMHS CHE CHO are the co-founders of HospitalityEducators.com, which was created in 2010 to be a resource for hotel owners and professionals as they sought to improve market share, occupancy, operational efficiency and profitability.
The husband and wife team are transitioning the original membership site concept and evolving the business model today to a focused resource offering consulting, training, and individualized support to both hospitality and other service businesses
. Services include keynote addresses workshops, online support, metrics measurement, marketing and customer service from a group of more than a dozen experienced professionals. While continuing to serve hospitality, the demand for these types of services is growing and can be personalized.
John Hogan is also the principal of HoganHospitality.com, which provides a range of expert professional services for hotel owners, including professional development for organizations, training, consulting and expert witness services.
Contact information: Kathleen Hogan 480-436-0283, John Hogan 602-799-5375 or service@hospitalityeducators.com
John J Hogan of HoganHospitality & HospitalityEducators Blog 
