TEDShawn Achor

Wait, who’s this guy again?

Shawn Achor is a TED speaker who speaks mostly about positive phycology and the study of happiness.

I see…what’s so special about his

talks?Shawn opened up with a humorous short story about playing “war” on his bunk bed with his 5 year old sister when he was 7 years old.

She fell off the bed and in order to stop her from crying and waking up his parents, he convinced her she was a unicorn.

With that in mind, she did not cry and resumed play.

Oh…go on.The story itself was a start off point into how something negative could be turned into something positive based on how we think.

But wasn’t that boring?

Shawn Achord maintained a very well paced, humorous speech.

He cleverly inserted jokes and puns into his statements and charts that he claimed had “fake data” on it in order to get a laugh out of the audience.

Now, about these commandments?

In the TED universe, there are simple but effective “commandments” that every speaker follows.

In this case, Mr. Archord mostly followed #4: Thou Shalt Tell a Story

Got proof?Shawn mentions several stories that signify key points in his life that led to his degree.

He opened up with the story of his little sister and him.

He also stated his inability to attend a college due to financial issues until he joined the military and got support from there.

His use of pictures depicting his time in college also added extra enjoyment to his story.

His last story was about how he was asked to study students by living with them in college.

Ok, ok you made your point. Rate

him 1-5As for dynamism I would give Shawn Achord a 5 because of his use of entertaining charts and his ability to make me laugh.

His voice was also enjoyable to listen to because it added a comforting yet an intellectual feel to it.

Gotcha, anything he could improve

on?As exciting as the speech was, there was room for improvement.

Shawn could have used more movement during his presence.

Also, his tone never really changed much. He could have stressed certain aspects of his speech to show greater enthusiasm.

What did you learn?

His delivery was fast and effective.

Because of his speed and word use, his witty remarks during his presentation was much more funnier.

The eye contact was gave me a sense he was speaking directly to me.

The use of his hands and the gestures he made were right on with everything he was saying when it came to encouraging the audience.

How did he compare to Sir Ken Robinson?The 2 gentlemen both engaged in a

humorous yet intellectual speech.

They also both started their presentation off with a good laugh from the audience.

Their use of hand gestures and body posture added extra enthusiasm to their speech.

Go on…Shawn Achord used more personal stories of his life to captivate his audience.

Sir Ken Robinson had stronger story details when he spoke about his life, which generated a greater laugh from his audience.

Oh there’s more, go ahead…

Shawns speech delivery was faster than Mr. Robinsons speech.

Sir Ken Robinson had less of a problem speaking with enthusiasm.

Along with Sir Ken Robinsons accent, his jokes poked fun of family members, teens and friends.

Any tips for the classmates?

Don’t be afraid to creatively make fun of yourself.

Include funny moments in your life where you were the center of attention to engage your audience in laughter.

Think of your speech as a movie. It has a strong intro, action, humor and seriousness.

What else?Practice, practice, practice

Say your speech in front of friends and family

Avoid putting your hands in your pockets. If you get tempted to do that, use them as a gesture.