《TED TALK 》By Chris Anderson, curator of TED.

This book explains how the miracle of powerful public speaking is achieved, and equips you to give it your best shot. There is no set formula; no two talks should be the same. The goal is for you to give the talk that only you can give. But don’t be intimidated. You may find it more natural than you think.

Notes:

Presentation Literacy

1.

How can this be?There is no tarantula hidden behind the microphone.You have zero risk of plunging off the stage to your death.The audience will not attack you with pitchforks.Then why the anxiety?

We are profoundly social animals. We crave each other's affection, respect, and support. Our future happiness depends on these realities to a shocking degree. And we sense that what happens on a public stage is going to materially affect these social currencies for better or worse.

2.

NO MATTER how little confidence you might have today in your ability to speak in public, there are things you can do to turn that around. Facility with public speaking is not gift granted at birth to a lucky few. It's a broad-ranging set of skills. There are hundreds of ways to give a talk, and everyone can find an approach that's right for them and learn the skills necessary to do it well.

3. The boy with the lion heart

Richard, a twelve-year-old Maasai boy who had come up with a suprising invention was invited to give a speech. Though he couldn't describe his invention coherently, people just stood and cheered.

Richard's tale can encourage us all to believe we might be able to give a decent talk. Your goal is not to be Winston Churchill or Nelson Mandela. It's to be you. If you're just an ordinary person, don't try to fake some big intellectual style, just be you.

4.

Presentation literacy isn't an optional extra for the few. It's a core skill for the twenty-first century. It's the most impactful way to share who you are and what you care about. If you can learn to do it, your self-confidence will flourish.

Idea building

1.

Your number-one mission as a speaker is to take something that matters deeply to you and rebuild it inside the minds of your listener. We'll call that something an IDEA.

That is the core reason that the scariest talk I ever had to give turned out to be effective. Because it planted an Idea inside the minds of those listening.

2. start with the idea

The central thesis of this book it that "anyone who has an idea worth sharing is capable of giving a powerful talk."The only thing that truly matters in public speaking is not confidence, stage presence, or smooth talking. It's having something worth saying.

The word "idea" here doesn't have to be a scientific breakthrough, a genius invention, or a complex legal theory. lt can be a simple how-to. Or a beautiful image that has meaning. Or an event you wish might happen in the future. Or perhaps just a reminder of what matters most in life.

3.

Maybe you are just lacking confidence. There's paradox here: You have always been you, and you only see yourself from the inside. The bits that others find remarkable in you may be completely invisible to you. To find those bits you may need to have honest conversation with those who know you best. They will know some parts of you better than you know them yourself.

4.

＊Many of the best talks are simply based on a personal story and a simple lesson to be drawn from it. Did you observe anything that surprised you? Maybe you watched a couple of children playing in the park, or had a conversation with a homeless person. Is these something in what you saw that might be interesting to other people?

＊Think back over your work of the last three or four years , what really stands out? What was the last thing you were really excited by? Or angered by? What are the two or three things you've done that you're most proud of? When was the last time you were in conversation with someone who said, "that's really interesting"?

5. Procrastinate no more

Any chance at speaking to a group you respect can provide the incentive you need to get off your butt and work on something unique to you!

6. The astonishing efficacy of language

＊Language works its magic only to the extent that it is shared by speaker and listener. And there's the key clue to how to achieve the miracle of re-creating your idea in someone else's brain. You can only use the tools that your audience has access to. If you start only with your language, your concepts, your assumptions, your values, you will fail.

＊The power of language alone conjured up the same mental experiences that others had while watching a movie. This is amazing evidence of language's efficacy. It is a power that every public speaker can tap into.

7. The journey

＊There's one other beautiful metaphor for a great talk. It is a journey that speaker and audience take together.

Whether the journey is one of exploration, or persuasion, the net result is to have brought the audience to a beautiful new place. And focusing on what you will give to your audience is the perfect foundation for preparing your talk.

总结以上两节:

开篇，作者解释了大部分为何会对“public speaking”如此恐惧，是因为我们自身很在乎别人的评价，所以会担心在公众面前的一言一行。但是他提出通过一个正确的思维模式，我们可以把恐惧变成动力，并促使自己能更好地在公众面前演讲。

接下去，他刷新了大家对于public speaking的认知:

1.演讲能力并非生来就有的天赋，它是一项可以习得的技能。有几百种公开演讲的方式，并且每个人都能找到适合他们的途径并且不断得学习，以便做得更好。

2.我们每个人也可以进行有深度的演讲，你的目标并不是成为丘吉尔、曼德拉，如果你只是个普通人，不要假装你有多大的才华，做好你自己。

很多人觉得自己无法找到演讲的话题，对于此，作者给出了很好的建议:

1.“Idea”并非一定要是科学上的重大突破，或者是一项天才发明、复杂的理论等等。可以是一个特别有意思的故事，或是一张蕴含深刻意义的图片，甚至是一件你认为可能会在未来发生的事件……

2.如果你还是没有灵感，可以试着想想最近三四年来，有哪些事情对你影响深刻？你最近一次做得做兴奋的一件事是？你曾做过值得你为自己骄傲的两、三件事是？或者你和别人交谈时，他们对你的哪个话题特别感兴趣？

在演讲中，作者还谈到了其中涵盖的一些重要部分：

1. 演讲时要站在观众的角度，用观众能理解词汇、语句和比喻等把自己的观点解释给他们听。如果只是沉浸在自己的世界中，这样你的核心观点不会被观众所接受和理解……

下期预告：Four talk styles to avoid