From the head of TED and based on expertise drawn from the best TED Talks, an entertaining and practical guide to speaking, pitching and telling stories, filled with valuable insight for salespeople, leaders, teachers and writers

Amid today’s proliferating instant-communication channels, one form has emerged as the most effective way to communicate—a brief, polished, live-audience video talk. Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has tapped the world’s most brilliant minds to share their expertise on myriad subjects. Anderson discovered early on that the keys to getting an audience to sit up and pay attention are to condense a presentation into 18 minutes or less and to heighten its impact with a powerful narrative: in other words, to tell a terrific story.

TED Talks is chock full of personal presentation suggestions from such TED notables as Sir Ken Robinson, Mary Roach, Amy Cuddy, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Dan Gilbert, Matt Ridley and dozens more—everything from how to focus your speech’s content to what you should wear onstage. This is a lively, fun read with great practical value, from the man who knows what goes into a great speech. In TED Talks, Anderson pulls back the TED curtain for anyone who wants to learn from the world’s best on how to prepare a top-notch presentation.

“This is not just the most insightful book ever written on public speaking-it’s also a brilliant, profound look at how to communicate. If you ever plan to utter a sound, this is a must-read. It gives me hope that words can actually change the world.” — Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of GIVE AND TAKE and ORIGINALS

“The TED Talk may well be the defining essay genre of our time: what the pamphlet was to the 18th-century, and the newspaper Op-Ed was to the twentieth. TED Talks is the guidebook to this new language, written by the man who made it into a global force.” — Steven Johnson, bestselling author of HOW WE GOT TO NOW

“[Anderson] covers important topics such as making a personal connection with audiences, explaining complicated subjects to laypeople, priming people to accept counterintuitive ideas, and cultivating a sense of showmanship. . . . This is an invaluable guide to effective presentations, and catnip for all the TED fans out there.” — Publishers Weekly

“This is a must read for anyone who presents.” — cbc.ca

“For anyone who’s got a story to tell, or an audience they want to engage—this book is a must-read.” — Forbes

Your ideas matter . . . make your presentation unforgettable

Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has shown how short, carefully crafted talks can be the key to unlocking empathy, stirring excitement and promoting a shared dream. Done right, a talk can electrify a room and transform an audience’s worldview; it can be more powerful than anything in written form.

TED Talks 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. But there are tools that can empower any speaker.

Chris Anderson has worked behind the scenes with all the TED speakers who have inspired us the most, and here he shares insights from such favorites as Chris Hadfield, Sir Ken Robinson, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Khan, Jamie
Oliver, Mary Roach, Monica Lewinsky and dozens more—everything from how to craft your talk’s content to how you can be most effective onstage. This is the twenty-first century’s new manual for truly effective communication, and it is a must-read for anyone who is ready to create impact with their ideas.