TED Talk Analysis
Her focus was that everyone has the power to change to world with just an idea. As she stated
though you need to pull the idea out of you and communicate the idea. You want to need to
communicate your idea well. To do this you want to have one good idea and one very good
visual aid. Your idea will need to spread throughout the world to be effective. So, you need to
get your idea out of you and out into the world for all to see. The best way to do this is to tell a
story. Stories cause physical reactions. Such as racing heart, eyes dilating, chills down your
spine or a feeling in the pit of your stomach. Therefore, you will want to incorporate story into
your presentation. The hero of the story is not the presenter but the audience. Being a
presenter, you are the mentor.
There are 3 parts to a story. The first is there is a likeable hero who has a desire. Next you have
that hero must encounter roadblocks throughout the story. Lastly that hero needs to emerge
transformed. However, Freytag believed there was a 5-part story structure shaped like a
pyramid. This included exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and denouement or the
ending.
Do presentations have a shape? The answer to this is yes, they do just as stories have shapes
and music has shapes. The first thing you want to do in a presentation is establish the what is
and compare it to the what could be. This would be like saying here is the problem but look at
this solution. The middle of the presentation will go back and forth between the what is and
what could be format. You do this to make the “problem” look unappealing to the audience and
your “solution” appealing to them so that they will want to adopt your idea. Another reason
you move back and forth between the what is and what could be is because you will encounter
than they were the first time.