Four awesome lessons in communication from Benjamin Zander’s TED Talk
To speak effectively in public is not about having an incredible voice or an extraordinary and calculated corporal position; it’s more about passion, emotions and authenticity.
Today, I’ll share four simple, easy and powerful ideas from Benjamin Zander’s TED Talk; one of my favorite speeches to explain a different way of communicating.
1 | He believes in his own completely insane idea!
To be crazy is important to maintain passion in your ideas. You can’t speak so well if you don’t think that you can change the whole world with them.
It’s amazing to see Zander talking convinced about the fact that you, me and even people who hate classical music, can fall in love with it.
For your next talk, do you think that everyone in that room can dream, jump and change their lives with your concept?
2 | He did things!
This is not a joke. If you want to have credibility speaking in public, better than improving your body language, succeed or fail with a project. Do things!
Great communicators speak from experiences, not from concepts.
3 | He starts directly!
One common piece of advice is to have a good start on your talks. Normally one tries to start with a question or a story. Then, a lot of people begin like this: “I would like to start with a question”. That isn’t starting with a question! “ How many of you think that you can fly?” That’s a question.
Zander begins directly with a perfectly selected story that guides us to believe that classical music is for everyone. One minute of talk and you already smile, know the topic, the goal, and you feel great. Conclusion: Zander rules.
4 | He makes you travel in an invisible emotional line
As much as I see the video again and again, I understand that he didn’t write a speech, he played a song. A song that starts amusingly, continues inspiring, delivers a big emotional moment, and ends with a perfect finale. What is the song of your talks? Think about it before playing your next talk!
Extra | He’s the happiest person in the entire auditorium
Are you the most passionate person in the world in your topic? Yes? Congrats! No? In that case, it’s more difficult to become a leader who can inspire an entire auditorium like Zander. We should work on our passions, emotions and happiness to become great educators and communicators.
| Speak direct, crazy and happy! Play your own and unique song.
Javier Cebreiros
www.cebreiros.com/en
| About Javier Cebreiros
Ph.D. in communication, is a partner of Impact Hub Vigo; he gives talks and trains business teams; always delivering his own message based on emotions and authenticity. Author of “Forget your body language” (only in Spanish), in this video you can see one of his talks | Visit his web page.
| Information for magazines or blogs
If you want to share this article in a magazine or blog, please respect the content, links and authors information.
