TED Talks

April 18, 2016
This guide to effective public speakingâinformed by the wildly popular TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) Talksâgives readers tips for winning over audiences big and small: wedding guests expecting a great toast, a client waiting to be wowed, or a lecture hall full of multitasking students. Anderson, whose nonprofit organization, the Sapling Foundation, runs TED, has a plethora of excellent advice to offer based on past TED talks, including some of the most successful and popular ones. He covers important topics such as making a personal connection with audiences, explaining complicated subjects to laypeople, priming people to accept counterintuitive ideas, and cultivating a sense of showmanship. He also addresses aspects of preparation, such as knowing what vocal styles to avoid, planning attire, and managing nervousness. The prose can be hard to muddle throughâtrue to the topic, it reads more like a transcript of a speech than a bookâbut this is an invaluable guide to effective presentations, and catnip for all the TED fans out there. Agent: John Brockman, Brockman Inc.

May 15, 2016

Anderson is the curator of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), the nonprofit known for its TED Conference and eponymous TED Talks lecture series. In this first book, the entrepreneur offers advice on acquiring and honing public speaking skills, while also delivering a history of TED Talks themselves, including profiles of several speakers and public feedback to their presentations. The text is structured along the lines of Rule 1, Rule 2, etc., throughout 21 chapters. As a guide to public speaking, the work is conveniently searchable through its section titles, and many well-received TED Talks are represented. The author documents TED's progress, from its origination as an on-site conference in California to the development of TEDx events in communities around the world. For instance, in the section on the power of stories, he references author Elizabeth Gilbert's statements that storytelling is key to persuasion. He later notes actor Salman Khan to explain the significance of focusing on main ideas. Though some mundane details are included, the book still provides solid public-speaking wisdom. VERDICT For readers who appreciate TED's mantra of "ideas worth spreading" and those who are inspired to improve their own performances, no matter their line of work.--Jesse A. Lambertson, Metamedia Management, LLC, Washington, DC

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