Exercise 6: Changing the world and/or ourselves
The Prompt
Using the tips Natalie Duarte provides in “The Secret Structure of TED Talks” (above) as a guide, write a script for a TED Talk on a topic of your choice. You can choose pretty much any topic (pending my approval), so long as you aim to teach your audience something new about it that you can make relevant to them.
If you've watched a lot of TED Talks, you may have noticed, for all their variety, they tend to be about change: how we have changed, culturally and socially or as individuals; what we can change, culturally and socially or as individuals culturally and socially or as individuals; why we should change, culturally and socially or as individuals — you get the point. So, as you brainstorm topics, you might think especially about ones that can be framed in terms of change — changing ourselves and/or changing the world.
Your audience
Like the audience for your "This I Believe" piece, the audience at a TED Talk is diverse in all sorts of ways. But in two respects they're united:
- First, they're thirsty for new ideas, with an emphasis on new. they don't want to hear the standard positions in familiar debates, no matter how seemingly controversial ("Social media: Is it damaging our self-esteem? Some experts say yes, but I have a different view"). Rather, they want to learn something from you. So think about topics that you know something about but that most folks don't: Better a talk about how obscure late 90s British musical genre "neurofunk" stealthily influenced all the most popular genres of today than about why marijuana laws should be relaxed nationwide.
- Second, although your audience may know little about your topic, they're nevertheless smart and knowledgeable about their own areas of interest; therefore, they respect and expect ideas that are deep and complex — provided that you can make your idea clear and relevant to non-experts.
By next class, submit THREE paragraphs about THREE possible topics to your folder. Each paragraph should include and clear and detailed description of the topic/idea, why you believe it'll be a new, exciting, and relevant to a TED audience, and how you'll structure the talk to make your audience feel that newness, excitement, and relevancy.
By the start of the class after that, you'll choose one of the three ideas and draft a full script. It should be at least 1,000 words. More is OK; fewer isn’t.
Remember: An effective talk will blend appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos, in an artfully, purposefully crafted sequence.
Also remember: An effective talk won't seek to bludgeon the audience into submission; it will (like the "This I Believe" and "Changing minds" exercises) seek to promote understanding, first and foremost, and perhaps to inspire
Want to see some really good TED Talks? Try some of these.
As always, follow the formatting guidelines here.
Extra credit: For 20 extra-credit points, video-record your TED Talk, post it on YouTube (having sett the video to "public"), and email me the link. But please note that it’s not enough merely to read your script into a camera; you must deliver your talk with all the lively energy you would bring to a public performance before a live audience.
