Talk Like TED

By Warren Bruhl, DC

Have a conversation. Speak with emotion. Ask your audience questions and keep practicing your delivery. These are some of the important messages conveyed in the recent best seller, Talk Like TED. As many doctors already know, TED is an international speaking forum bringing ideas of technology, entertainment, and design to the public with brief and powerful stage presentations. Speakers are often innovative and groundbreaking visionaries who are changing many of the social challenges facing our world today.

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The short, powerful TED talks (18 minutes or less) began in 1984 as a conference to cover a wide range of global topics from science to business. TED talks are now available in 100 languages and also provided locally through TEDx programming. The presentations are engaging and spellbinding in part because of the stories mixed with facts many presenters offer.

For our professional needs as educators to help teach and persuade our patients and members of the community, the methods used by TED presenters can be invaluable. As author Carmine Gallo writes in Talk like TED, the art of making a presentation look natural requires practice. Moreover, our presentation should come across as if we were having a conversation with our audience. In addition, we should vary the rate of word delivery and the volume to emphasize certain points or bring attention to a topic. Pitch and pauses can also stimulate emphasis in the art of delivery. Stories also become important to illustrate and help our audience come alongside our journey. Many of the most watched and talked about TED presentations include stories about underdogs, heroes, and a significantly large percentage of speaking time devoted to story. As Gallo shares, humans are drawn to stories, we relate to them and can imagine our selves being part of the experience when a story is shared with facts. In fact, Gallo recommends more than 50% of any presentation given have stories, which are salient to the message.

Chiropractic leaders have a tremendous duty to deliver an impactful message that inspires and persuades patients and others to learn the power of our healing work. As well, we have many of the solutions to health care challenges befalling the world today. By using the most innovative and scientifically proven methods to deliver our message like the TED talks, we can lead and be enormously persuasive. The Illinois Chiropractic Foundation is the voice for chiropractic in the state, which speaks to social action, health, and education. At this time, the ICF is looking into a possible TEDx forum to be hosted locally where we would be hosts for innovating discussions on health and other critical matters of community. If you would like to learn how you may participate as a volunteer with the ICF or provide tax-deductible gifts to further chiropractic’s message in Illinois, contact Dr. Warren Bruhl at dr.bruhl@dreamweaver911.org. Also, you can visit the ICF at chiropracticlegacy.org.

Bio: Dr. Bruhl is the director of Dreamweaver International.

Source: Talk like TED by Carmine Gallo