Week 2 Projectfor Public Speaking

Comparing TED discussions

By Howard Livingston

New ways of thinking

As we incorporate technology into our daily lives, this

vine-like appendage of “change through tech” has dug

it’s way down into the very foundations of our society.

The need for new approaches to learning and motivating

are issues that have presented themselves when no one

was looking.

My choice of presentation

The speaker I have chosen is Dan Pink and has years of

experience in his field and has a level of maturity that

speaks volumes when it comes to putting your faith in

someone that’s seen the old and the new.

Why I chose him

I like his views on the emergence of new ways of

thinking when it comes to innovation and problem

solving and his theories on motivation in regards to how

the current rewards system is wrong when it comes to

innovation and creativity in the workplace.

QUESTION 1-Who is the speaker and what is the thesis of the speech?

Dan Pink-The Puzzle of Motivation

I chose this TED because it touched on a subject

that I believe has snuck up on us as a society. The

old ways of learning, motivating and doing

business are all being changed by technology and

we as a society must change, or as I like to think,

evolve with it. He offers evidence from studies

that contradict the effectiveness of the current

rewards system used in many of todays business

models.

More on Dan Pink

Dan Pink-The Puzzle of Motivation

Dan Pink is an author and speaker whose views

on the business model have caught the attention

of the masses. He has several books on the

bestseller list, including his latest book, “To Sell

Is Human” which is a #1 New York Times

business bestseller, a #1 Wall Street Journal

business bestseller and a #1 Washington Post

non-fiction bestseller.

QUESTION 2a- How did the speaker capture the attention of the audience in his introduction?

Dan opened his speech with a nice hook. He

engaged the audience by promising to reveal a

personal secret that he wasn’t proud of.

I thought this was a good angle and was

probably deliberate but un-fortunately, I

didn’t think the secret, which was him

attending law school had as much wow factor

as he thought it would have.

The

Hook

QUESTION 2b- How did the speaker maintain the engagement of the audience throughout the speech?

Dan used a combination of interesting facts and clever instances of

humor to engage and educate the audience .

QUESTION 3-Was my speaker dynamic?Rate and review.

I thought that my speaker was dynamic enough

to engage and deliver a convincing presentation.

He used bits of humor when making his points,

offered facts from relevant studies to raise

questions that he then presented with convincing

passion.

How was Dan Pink dynamic?

He moved around, engaged the

audience through eye contact and

sought to really nudge the

audiences curiosity into pondering

his theories and evidence.

How many stars for Dan Pink?

4 out of 5

I’d give him a 4 out of five in dynamism.

My decision not to give him a five was based on the

open-endedness of his presentation. It seemed to only

present questions. If he had offered some solutions,

other than the implementation of a lone work ethic

called ROWE, it would have been a more rounded

presentation.

QUESTION 4-What tips were used from Garr Reynolds or Nancy Duarte?

Dan Pink used a lot of tips from Reynolds and

Duarte. He moved away from the podium,

engaged his audience through eye contact, used

humor as a solidifier of certain facts and ideals

and educated the audience with fact based

studies that backed up the information he

provided.

QUESTION 5- What have you learned about delivery based upon watching your presenter?

Both presenters asked questions directly to the

audience. Engaging them directly and then

driving home the answers with facts were the

crests of the presentation’s rhythm. Each

presenter showed skill in this regard and is

something I would model after when creating

a presentation of my own.

Humor was woven into both presentations

effectively and remote control slides were

used.

The art of

audience

engageme

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QUESTION 6a- Compare and contrast the two speakers and their presentations.

Sir Ken Robinson

I still think Sir Ken Robinson was the best presenter. It

didn’t surprise me when he revealed that he was a

professor. The way he engaged the audience was filled

with confidence but nonchalant at the same time, as if

speaking to us while waiting for a bus or while standing in

front of a class of students. His ability to make fun of

himself and at every opportunity, inject humor into the

presentation without offending anybody took skill and a

lot of “on your feet” thinking.

The art of

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QUESTION 6b- Compare and contrast the two speakers and their presentations.

Dan Pink

There’s something to be said for someone who can stand in front of a crowd

of people and unveil certain truths and have the audience be captivated by

them. I believe the art of presentation is like acting. Some are better than

others and all have a different style and approach.

Dan Pink revels in the reveal. The statements that draw attention to his

message. To him, it seems that the message is more important than actually

finding the solutions to the problems he explores. This is acceptable though

because the questions posed involve an ideal of a changing society and it’s

failures due to obvious truths that seem out of order and misplaced. He

educates and provokes the audience into a state of mind that scrutinizes the

way everyday things get done and we are all a part of that, no matter what

culture we’re from. He does use good strategies during his presentation. A

strong belief in his message. Engaging the audience, injecting humor and

using effective body language are all captured in his style.

The art of

audience

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QUESTION 7- Advice to classmates on their presentations based on my TED topic.

If there was any advice I could offer fellow classmates based

on the TED topic I chose, it would be to be passionate about

your subject. If you believe, the audience will believe.

Find fault in yourself/don’t take yourself too seriously. The

audience wants someone they can relate too. They’ll be more

receptive to your message if they know you’re human too.

Educate them some how. Presenting interesting facts that back

up your presentation should be simplified into what I call

“points of proof”. Ideas should be solidified with facts and

that’s it. If the audience wants the technical manual, they can

request it from your website.

The art of

audience

engageme

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