TEDtalks Ten Commandments for Presenters

Paper notes from #cebitweb

my notes for #cebitweb panel.

Please read, take note and follow. There are a variety of web published sources for these commandments; Laurel Papworth and Tim Longhurst.

Sent to presenters at the TEDTalks conferences, it has much to say to all panelists and presenters.

  1. Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick.
  2. Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before.
  3. Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion.
  4. Thou Shalt Tell a Story.
  5. Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy.
  6. Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
  7. Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desperate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness.
  8. Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
  9. Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
  10. Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee.

Thanks to the pink pixie on twitter for posting this list. Very precient. Oh, and I do note the irony of copying and pasting the commandments. I LOL’d too.

Please be respectful of the collective time your audience is investing by listening to you. Think deeply. Listen and learn from others before you copy-and-paste present.

How do you make money from your presentation? Here is a hint. Speak to people after your session, individually. One on one is where the real opportunity for solving a prospect’s problem really lies. And I suggest that more than 80% of any audience you have are not there to buy you, or your products. They want to learn, or just copy-and-paste your ideas.

Time to board the Presentation Cluetrain. And when I fall off, I fully expect you to help put me back aboard.

One thought on “TEDtalks Ten Commandments for Presenters”

Comments are closed.