TED Commandments for speakers
For anyone who speaks, presents, or consults for work–be it to a small group or a huge auditorium: “The TED Commandments – rules every speaker needs to know.” (For those of you unfamiliar, TED Talks are a huge collection of video recorded talks from rather influential & well-known folks on their areas of expertise, on just about any subject imaginable. I have the Android App that lets me view TED Talks on my phone quite easily, which I use to better myself when standing in line at the post office or pharmacy counter.)
My favorite has to be #1: “Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick.” I am so tired of hearing the same library speakers talk, and give the same presentation they gave 5 years ago, on the same topic with the same slides and the same stupid jokes. New content = king. I never give the same presentation twice. Every time the slides change, the entire outline changes, or the recommended resources change…preferably all three.
via @librarianbyday on Twitter
May 10th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Amen! on your favorite commandment!
May 10th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
A slightly different take on that #1 commandment. I most definitely give the same presentation twice! For example, if I’m speaking at CIL and at IL in the same year, I will do the same (slightly updated) version of a presentation in both places. yes – bummer for you, cause you’ve already heard it. But most people that attend those events haven’t heard me speak, so it’s new content to the majority.
And sometimes I get invited to speak on certain topics (like at library staff days). I have a couple of presentations that I give quite often – they’re always slightly updated, most-current-versions, but still – the same presentation given more than once.
May 10th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alison. Alison said: Includes info on an #Android app for viewing TED Talks. TED Commandments for speakers http://bit.ly/ckYSLF (via @TheLiB) [...]
May 10th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Very true, David. Right on! But really…it’s never the same thing twice, there’s always something different… It’s the updating part, I think, that is key there–not letting the material get stale and outdated.
May 11th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
This for the tip here. I think one of the reasons I went to SXSW this year was because I needed something fresh. Something non-library. After so many years of library conferences and speakers, I needed something new. It’s not the specifics, as in David’s case but more the general tone and viewpoint that’s got me down.
Keep bringing us the interesting tidbits you discover.