Full-Sail Assignment. Comparing TED presentations.

1. Week 2 Project
for Public Speaking
Comparing TED discussions
By Howard Livingston

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 .

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.