Book SummaryTED Talks, by Chris Anderson

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of TED Talks

Published in 2016, TED Talks is a nuts-and-bolts guide to public speaking that takes you from the initial idea to your final bow. A great speech has the power to inspire and change the world, but most people believe that public speaking is an innate talent. Chris Anderson wrote this book to derail that self-limiting belief.

Chris Anderson has been the TED Conference curator since 2002. One of his primary responsibilities in this role is to select speakers for the nonprofit’s premier medium: TED Talks. When Anderson’s company acquired TED in 2001, it was a struggling organization. He turned the nonprofit around and helped make it the international success that it is today. After watching hundreds of successful (and failed) talks, Anderson believes he knows the secrets to a spectacular speech.

In this guide, we’ll take you through Anderson’s advice piece by piece, from scripting to wardrobe and everything in between. We'll explain what works in public speaking and what doesn’t, while condensing his advice into thematic sections. In addition, we’ll compare his advice to that of other public speaking experts and supplement his ideas with actionable methods.

Why Is Public Speaking So Scary?

Anderson says the fear of public speaking is two-fold: There is the in-the-moment fear of temporary humiliation—stumbling over words, forgetting what to say, and so on. Then there is the long-term fear of a damaged reputation. Most people care deeply about what others think of them, and they worry that a public flop will change the way they’re viewed. While these fears are normal and common, Anderson stresses that they must be overcome. Why? Because you’ll likely have to speak publicly at some point, whether you fear it or not, so you might as well reap the rewards of good public speaking.

(Shortform note: If you have an intense fear of public speaking, psychologists recommend that you attack the speech and the fear separately. Attack the speech by preparing as much as you possibly can—practice the words and movements, and visualize yourself delivering the speech successfully. Attack the fear by learning how to manage your emotions—for example, if you tend to become overly energized with adrenaline, make a plan for how you will handle that excess energy before speaking.)

Misconceptions and Their Truths

Anderson says the first step is to face your fear by debunking common misconceptions.

Misconception: Great public speakers are eloquent and perfectly polished.

Truth: Incredible speeches can be delivered in a conversational style.

(Shortform note: To avoid being overly formal, write your speech as if you’re talking with a friend or colleague whom you deeply respect—you won’t be too casual, but you also won’t be speaking as if you’re addressing the President.)

Misconception: You need to have a stage and an audience to be a public speaker.

Truth: The internet is available to anyone, and there’s always an audience waiting.

(Shortform note: Online public speaking is so common that it now has a name—digital oratory—and it’s being taught as a skill in all levels of education.)

Misconception: To be worthy of a public speech, your idea must be revolutionary.

Truth: Small but meaningful ideas and observations have value.

(Shortform note: People love to learn—in fact, neuroscientists have shown that humans receive a rush of [restricted term] (the feel-good hormone) in their brains when they learn something new. As Anderson says, this isn’t to say that the idea needs to be new to the world; it need only be new to your audience.)

Begin With an Idea and a Throughline

Your idea is the topic you want to discuss. Some ideas are big—for example, an invention that will save lives—and some ideas are subtle, like an observation about human behavior. Both have the potential to influence or move an audience.

(Shortform note: In one of the most popular TED Talks of all time, “Looks Aren’t Everything,” model Cameron Russell illustrates an old idea in a novel way by detailing how a team of professionals manipulated her photo to make her look older, sexier, and more glamorous than she really was.)

After coming up with an idea, Anderson says the next step is to determine your throughline, the lesson you want your audience to take away. Think of it as the point of your speech. For example, if your idea is, “I want to talk about my trip to Alaska and how the Inuits live,” your throughline could be, “People who live in small, self-sufficient communities live more creatively than people in big cities.”

Avoid predictable throughlines and keep them to one sentence. Additionally, Anderson says an element of surprise ensures your audience’s curiosity from the beginning. For example, which speech sounds more interesting: The Dangers of Procrastination or The Benefits of Procrastination?

(Shortform note: In Talk Like TED, Carmine Gallo recommends incorporating a “shocking moment” into your presentation. This can include an unbelievable statistic, a startling photo, or a surprising story. He says that this shocking moment should drive home the message of your speech—or, in Anderson’s terms, your throughline.)

Engage Your Audience

Developing a solid idea and strong throughline are the first steps to a successful speech, but they don’t guarantee you’ll make an impact. Anderson explains that **you...

TED Talks Summary Shortform Introduction

A great speech has the power to inspire and change the world, but most people believe that public speaking is an innate talent. As curator for TED, Chris Anderson knows better—he has seen hundreds of speeches succeed and fail, and he has figured out the secret formula. Published in 2016, TED Talks is a nuts-and-bolts guide to public speaking that takes you from the initial idea to your final bow.

In this guide, we go through Anderson’s advice piece by piece, explaining what works in public speaking and what doesn’t. From scripting to wardrobe, and everything in between, we compare his advice to that of other public speaking experts and supplement his ideas with actionable methods.

About the Author

Anderson has been the TED Conference curator since 2002. One of his primary responsibilities in this role is to select speakers for the nonprofit’s premier medium: TED Talks. Anderson was born in a remote village in Pakistan in 1957 and traveled throughout his childhood with his missionary parents. He grew up in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and England, before attending Oxford University and obtaining a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.

He began his career as...

TED Talks Summary Part 1: Introduction—Face the Fear of Public Speaking

Published in 2016, TED Talks is a nuts-and-bolts guide to public speaking that takes you from the initial idea to your final bow. A great speech has the power to inspire and change the world, but most people believe that public speaking is an innate talent. Chris Anderson wrote this book to derail that self-limiting belief.

Anderson has been the TED Conference Curator since 2002. One of his primary responsibilities in this role is to select speakers for the nonprofit’s premier medium: TED Talks. Prior to TED, Anderson studied at Oxford and began his career as a magazine editor. He went on to found two publishing companies and a media nonprofit—the Sapling Foundation. In 2001, Sapling acquired the struggling TED Conference, and Anderson turned the nonprofit around and helped make it the international success that it is today. After watching hundreds of successful (and failed) talks, Anderson believes he knows the secrets to a spectacular speech.

In this guide, we’ll take you through Anderson’s advice piece by piece, from scripting to wardrobe and everything in between. We’ll explain what works in public speaking and what doesn’t, while grouping his advice into thematic...

Shortform Exercise: Challenge Your Misconceptions

Tackle your misconceptions about public speaking to release your fears.

What is one misconception that you’ve held about public speaking? Why did (or do) you believe it?

TED Talks Summary Part 2: Begin With an Idea

Once you’ve decided to face your fear of public speaking, it’s time to start planning your speech. Anderson says that all speeches begin with an idea, and they come alive with a throughline. So first, you’ll need to determine what your speech will be about—your idea. Then you’ll need to decide what message you want your audience to take with them—your throughline.

The Idea

Anderson says that too often, people believe their idea must be “big” to be worthy of a speech, and this simply isn’t true. Some ideas are big—for example, an invention that will save lives, or a civil rights issue that will affect future generations. But other ideas are subtle, like an observation about human behavior or a juxtaposition of landscapes.

For example, remember a time when your thinking was shifted, or you were delighted and entertained. Often, subtle ideas spark these life-changing moments. Both big and subtle ideas have the potential to influence or move an audience.

How to Make a Subtle Idea Impactful

In one of the most popular TED Talks of all time, “Looks Aren’t Everything,”...

TED Talks Summary Part 3: Strategies for Different Speech Types

Developing a solid idea and strong throughline are essential, but they don’t guarantee you’ll make an impact. Anderson explains that you must connect with your audience in order to be effective and memorable.

In this section, we’ll look at Anderson’s recommended strategies for engaging your audience. We’ll also explore how some strategies differ depending on the type of speech: explanatory (when you teach your audience something new), persuasive (when you try to change your audience’s mind), or “revelatory” or imaginative (when you aim to delight or inspire).”

For All Speech Types: Connect With Your Audience

To change a person’s mind about anything, you first need to get them to drop their protective walls. Anderson explains that people hesitate to open their minds to strangers because their mind is the most personal and important thing they own. He advises you to gain your listener’s trust by connecting to them on a human level.

Anderson provides five strategies to connect with your audience: Meet their eyes, drop your ego, be vulnerable, use humor, and tell them a story. You can use any or all of these strategies in your speech.

Strategy...

TED Talks Summary Part 4: Writing and Rehearsing Your Speech

At this point, you should have an idea and throughline for your speech, and you know what type of speech you’re giving. You’ve explored strategies to engage your audience based on that type of speech, and you might be considering an unconventional method. Now it’s time to decide whether or not you want to script your speech.

All speeches fall into one of four categories:

1. Scripted and memorized
2. Scripted and read
3. Unscripted but planned out
4. Unscripted and winged

Anderson defines an unscripted speech as one where you’re not trying to remember a prewritten sentence word for word. However, he makes an important distinction between the words unscripted and unprepared: He says there is no excuse for not preparing, and that you should never “wing” a speech (especially an important one). It runs the risk of not being high quality—and even if it is, your lack of preparation is disrespectful to the audience’s time and attention.

(Shortform note: Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh encouraged public speakers to “wing it” in his book, Delivering Happiness. He used himself as an example: He said that his own...

Shortform Exercise: Select a Script Style

Anderson has three script styles that he recommends (and one that he doesn’t). Think about which one works best for you.

Which script style are you drawn to (Scripted and memorized, scripted and read, unscripted but planned out, or unscripted with no plan)? Why?

TED Talks Summary Part 5: Stage Setup

You have your idea and a script (or an unscripted plan) and have considered your strategies. Before committing to all of your methods, Anderson says to consider the stage setup and visual aids that are available.

If you have your speech memorized and feel confident speaking without notes, setup isn’t important—it’s just you and the stage. Anderson says this method is the gold standard because it allows for the greatest connection with the audience. However, he concedes that not everyone is able to do this, and most people feel more confident with a strategic setup in place.

In this section, we look at Anderson’s setup suggestions and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

Note Cards

Advantages: Anderson believes that this is the most invisible way to reference notes. A small card held in your hand is less obtrusive than a lectern, and it’s less off-putting to the audience than your eye-line moving to a teleprompter.

Disadvantages: If you have multiple notecards, there is the risk of dropping them or getting them mixed up. For this, Anderson recommends you keep them in order on a keyring.

(Shortform note: How much information should you include on your...

TED Talks Summary Part 6: Stage Presence

If you want to give a great speech, it isn’t enough to have the perfect words, strategies, and setup—you also need stage presence. Anderson explains that the way you present yourself makes the difference between a forgettable speech and one that leaves your audience inspired. The final section of this guide discusses Anderson’s advice on what to wear, how to use your voice and body, and how to conquer your nerves.

Wardrobe

What you wear on stage sets the tone for your talk before a single word comes out of your mouth; it’s the audience’s first impression of you. Anderson points out that wardrobe is one factor of your speech that is completely within your control and that you can decide as far in advance as you want.

In this section, Anderson hands the “mic” to TED’s content director, Kelly Stoetzel, because he admits that he’s not an expert on wardrobe decisions. (Shortform note: In May of 2021, Stoetzel left TED after 17 years there. She’s now an executive for Clubhouse, a social media app based on voice.)

As content director, Stoetzel sent wardrobe recommendations to all of the TED speakers. We have distilled her advice into seven guidelines.

Seven...

Shortform Exercise: Craft Your Stage Presence

Stage presence is the charismatic combination of how you look, how you sound, and the image you project. How do you want to come across?

If you had to deliver a speech tomorrow, what would you wear? This can be something you already own, or from an imaginary shopping trip. (Check Anderson’s Do’s and Don’ts for inspiration.)