Talk Like TED

The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds

Gallo starts this book by asserting that "ideas are the currency of the 21st century". And TED (Technology, Education, Design) talks are the benchmark of how those ideas can best be communicated. Based on the author's analysis of over 500 of the best of these talks, this book identifies the key elements of how masterful communicators get their ideas over in a powerful and compelling way.

Gallo divides the book into three sections, each with three essential elements for effective speaking. The focus of the book is on public speaking, but many of these criteria are also applicable for other less formal contexts such as meetings.

Emotional

1. Unleash the master within - express an enthusiastic, passionate and meaningful connection to your topic
2. Tell stories - they engage and stimulate the human brain
3. Have a conversation, as if with a close friend - to do this, you must practice relentlessly until you are completely comfortable with your material

Novel

1. Teach your audience something new - people love novelty, so help them to see some aspect of their world in a fresh way
2. Deliver jaw-dropping moments - elicit surprise, joy, fear or some other strong emotional response that will be remembered long afterwards. (For example, Bill Gates giving a talk on malaria mentioned that it is spread by mosquitos - while opening a jar and releasing mosquitos into the auditorium!)
3. Lighten up - for instance, use humour (without telling a joke) and don't take yourself too seriously

Memorable

1. Stick to the 18 minute rule - which is the optimal time to be “long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people’s attention"
2. Use images over text - invoking or showing pictures helps people to make associations far better than lists or bullet points
3. "Stay in your lane" - by this, Gallo means be authentic, true to yourself and be the very best representation of yourself you can possibly be

"Stories are just data with a soul"