TED2015 is next week. What’s our favorite TED talk from last year?

TED 2015

What’s your favorite TED Talk? TED – a nonprofit dedicated to spreading ideas – is known for its captivating and often awe-inspiring presentations called TED Talks. In our world, they’re also known for bringing the art of public speaking to a new level. Every year, TED holds a week-long conference where 50+ speakers deliver fascinating speeches centered on a single theme.

This year the theme is “Truth and Dare.” During the week of March 16th, speakers will “seek to challenge and reshape our core beliefs about today’s reality.” We are especially excited about the talks from Monica Lewinsky and Reverend Jeffrey Brown.

The Best of TED 2014

Last year, the conference focused on “The Next Chapter.” During this conference, TED speakers recapped the most significant developments of the last 30 years, and projected how these developments will affect the future. While there were many great talks, our favorite comes from management theorist Simon Sinek.

Simon Sinek – Why Good Leaders Make you Feel Safe

In just 12 minutes, Mr. Sinek describes Why Good Leaders Make you Feel Safe. This talk has been seen by over 3 million TED viewers. Its popularity is no surprise given Mr. Sinek’s expert employment of three key public-speaking elements:

1. Mr. Sinek tells stories. Stories are powerful. Mr. Sinek incorporates stories 89.2% more effectively than the average speaker in our database, which contains more than 100,000 pieces of comparable content. This means he appealed to the audience’s emotions, he personalized his content, and he used detailed imagery to help his audience picture his stories. Studies have found that statistics that are coupled with stories and anecdotes have a 65-70% audience retention rate.
2. Mr. Sinek demonstrates expert non-verbal communication skills.Mr. Sinek appears comfortable and in control on stage. He makes 89.5% more effective eye contact than the average speaker in our extensive database, and his movement and gestures are 79.3% more natural and effective than those of the average speaker.
3. Mr. Sinek is authentic. While there are guidelines anyone can follow when giving a presentation, if you don’t apply them in a way that feels authentic to you, the audience will feel as though something is “off.” In Mr. Sinek’s talk, what you see is what you get – we found his presentation to be 88.0% more authentic than that of the average speaker in our database.

Quantified Communications Analytics 2015

Using his skillful storytelling, his effective nonverbal communication, and his authentic speaking style, Mr. Sinek leaves his audience inspired to become better leaders.

In fact, our predictive analytics indicate that after hearing this presentation, 96% of Mr. Sinek’s audience would be moved to action. In other words, 96% of his audience would be willing to implement the strategies that Mr. Sinek suggests in order to foster better leadership. That’s the power of a well-crafted presentation.

With a lineup of speakers ranging from computer scientists, philosophers and jazz pianists to neuroscientists, we’re excited to see what TED 2015 has in store for us. What new star presenters may emerge in TED 2015?