I’m not a big TED talk fan. First, the speakers don’t talk conversationally. They rapid-talk which reminds me too much of commercials. Second, it’s rapid-fire delivery makes me almost wait for them to say it “causes cancer, heart attack and death, but doctors agree…”, so again advertising. And finally, the appearance of jokes and trying to make you laugh to goad you into agreeing with them. So why is this a problem? It’s like politicians goading you into voting for them. Its bad enough to get this on tv and radio, but to make this kind of communication mainstream is worrying - even if it is entertaining.
Thanks for this! I’m admittedly a bit of a nerd when it comes to analytics and a little obsessed with engaging with great stories. Story telling is perhaps the oldest form of communication and if you wanted society to move forward, you had to make your story compelling. If you didn’t want your family to get eaten by the lions, they had to believe the lions were dangerous. I believe humans are hard wired to respond to a well told story and your analysis confirms that for me. What makes a great story? The ability to connect with the audience in both an intellectual and emotional way. The only way to know if you’re making that connection is to wait for or ask for a response. It will be interesting now to analyze some of the stories we write about our business and see if we are meeting the connection metric.
Below is a link to my most recent TED Style Talk (aka my Sunday Sermon as a guest preacher). I’d be interested to see if other members of our Understandably community, that take the 11 minutes to watch, report that I hit on the marks of engagement you note in your column. https://wct.coach/2022/03/27/sermon-the-fourth-sunday-in-lent-march-27-2022/
Interesting metrics on the TED talks. I love info like that. though I have to admit I haven't watched too many of them (yet!) Agreed that there is so much truth in wanting to connect, feel heard and listened to, engage with another person and have a conversation (TED talk or with others). So much of our lives is information driven that's it's a good feeling when you can actually connect with someone. In my line of work (therapist and like jobs) we are always looking to connect and engage with the other person(s) and have them do that if they are a couple (for example) or as an individual (with others) as a way not to deliver information but again, connect, engage and be heard. I feel/think we are missing that in our ever fast pacing and changing world. And I find that whenever we can have a conversation with another person, it feels good. We feel connected to the world and to others. I really enjoy the 7 other things going on in life! So much to learn and read.
What fun statistics, Bill! I'd never thought of TED talks in this way! But I'm thrilled to learn that laughter tops the list, even if it is purposeful and designed to engage the audience.
Speaking of statistics, did you know that kindergarteners laugh about 300 times a day? That's a giggle about every 3 minutes. 🤣 Adults? Just 17 times per day. ☹ I wonder who is more engaging? (https://bit.ly/bestedby5yearolds)
Author, Matthew Dicks, who is the 36-time Moth StorySLAM champion, wrote "Storyworthy, Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling". For those who want to up their engagement game, this book is a great read.
Great point on communications. I remember learning years ago the key point that communication requires understanding to actually take place; otherwise, it’s not communication. More important is how we communicate. Statistically, people remember 58% of what how a presenter comes across visually, 35% of what they sound like and only 7% of what they actually say.
A really interesting analysis. Intuitively, the result is expected, however to have such level of engagement, audience involvement must be taken to the extreme. Not just a few questions but literally, "exhaust" the audience.
I love the summary, more than a presentation you have to do "a guided conversation". Thanks for the inspiring study and thoughts.
Hi Bill, Today’s newsletter really resonated with your TED talk piece. It occurred to me that your letter is successful for exactly the same reason — you ask for lots of reader engagement on a wide variety of subjects. Loving it and today I was motivated to go through the quick (it turns out) steps to become a paid subscriber! Keep the great value coming! And thank you! Adam
Loved your story on the Top 25 TED talks Bill. Great that you thought of collecting all the transcripts and analyzing them. Thank you for the work. Would you be open to posting all 200 pages or sending a link to that document. I'm sure me and some of us would love to read all of it
I’m not a big TED talk fan. First, the speakers don’t talk conversationally. They rapid-talk which reminds me too much of commercials. Second, it’s rapid-fire delivery makes me almost wait for them to say it “causes cancer, heart attack and death, but doctors agree…”, so again advertising. And finally, the appearance of jokes and trying to make you laugh to goad you into agreeing with them. So why is this a problem? It’s like politicians goading you into voting for them. Its bad enough to get this on tv and radio, but to make this kind of communication mainstream is worrying - even if it is entertaining.
That data dive was cool and unique, I love weird info like that, thanks for collecting it
Thanks for this! I’m admittedly a bit of a nerd when it comes to analytics and a little obsessed with engaging with great stories. Story telling is perhaps the oldest form of communication and if you wanted society to move forward, you had to make your story compelling. If you didn’t want your family to get eaten by the lions, they had to believe the lions were dangerous. I believe humans are hard wired to respond to a well told story and your analysis confirms that for me. What makes a great story? The ability to connect with the audience in both an intellectual and emotional way. The only way to know if you’re making that connection is to wait for or ask for a response. It will be interesting now to analyze some of the stories we write about our business and see if we are meeting the connection metric.
Great newsletter today - one of the best
Below is a link to my most recent TED Style Talk (aka my Sunday Sermon as a guest preacher). I’d be interested to see if other members of our Understandably community, that take the 11 minutes to watch, report that I hit on the marks of engagement you note in your column. https://wct.coach/2022/03/27/sermon-the-fourth-sunday-in-lent-march-27-2022/
Interesting metrics on the TED talks. I love info like that. though I have to admit I haven't watched too many of them (yet!) Agreed that there is so much truth in wanting to connect, feel heard and listened to, engage with another person and have a conversation (TED talk or with others). So much of our lives is information driven that's it's a good feeling when you can actually connect with someone. In my line of work (therapist and like jobs) we are always looking to connect and engage with the other person(s) and have them do that if they are a couple (for example) or as an individual (with others) as a way not to deliver information but again, connect, engage and be heard. I feel/think we are missing that in our ever fast pacing and changing world. And I find that whenever we can have a conversation with another person, it feels good. We feel connected to the world and to others. I really enjoy the 7 other things going on in life! So much to learn and read.
What fun statistics, Bill! I'd never thought of TED talks in this way! But I'm thrilled to learn that laughter tops the list, even if it is purposeful and designed to engage the audience.
Speaking of statistics, did you know that kindergarteners laugh about 300 times a day? That's a giggle about every 3 minutes. 🤣 Adults? Just 17 times per day. ☹ I wonder who is more engaging? (https://bit.ly/bestedby5yearolds)
Author, Matthew Dicks, who is the 36-time Moth StorySLAM champion, wrote "Storyworthy, Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling". For those who want to up their engagement game, this book is a great read.
Great point on communications. I remember learning years ago the key point that communication requires understanding to actually take place; otherwise, it’s not communication. More important is how we communicate. Statistically, people remember 58% of what how a presenter comes across visually, 35% of what they sound like and only 7% of what they actually say.
One of your best!
A really interesting analysis. Intuitively, the result is expected, however to have such level of engagement, audience involvement must be taken to the extreme. Not just a few questions but literally, "exhaust" the audience.
I love the summary, more than a presentation you have to do "a guided conversation". Thanks for the inspiring study and thoughts.
Hi Bill, Today’s newsletter really resonated with your TED talk piece. It occurred to me that your letter is successful for exactly the same reason — you ask for lots of reader engagement on a wide variety of subjects. Loving it and today I was motivated to go through the quick (it turns out) steps to become a paid subscriber! Keep the great value coming! And thank you! Adam
Genius content!
Loved this story Bill. Great that you took thought about it, took the time to put them in a single file and the analytics. Thank you
would you be open to posting the full 200 pages of text or attaching a link, me and I'm sure a few of us would love to read the transcripts
Loved your story on the Top 25 TED talks Bill. Great that you thought of collecting all the transcripts and analyzing them. Thank you for the work. Would you be open to posting all 200 pages or sending a link to that document. I'm sure me and some of us would love to read all of it
Great newsletter today!! Very helpful to anyone seeking to communicate with others - all of us! Thanks much.
This was insightful, well framed, and actionable--what a great combination!