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Some people think that there's[br]a TED Talk formula.

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Give a talk on a round, red rug.

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Share a childhood story.

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Divulge a personal secret.

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End with an inspiring call to action.

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No.

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That's not how to think of a TED Talk.

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In fact, if you overuse those devices,

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you're just going to come across[br]as clichéd or emotionally manipulative.

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But there is one thing[br]that all great TED Talks have in common,

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and I would like to share[br]that thing with you.

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Because over the past 12 years,

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I've had a ringside seat listening[br]to many hundreds

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of amazing TED speakers, like these.

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I've helped them prepare[br]their talks for prime time,

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and learned directly from them

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their secrets[br]of what makes for a great talk.

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And even though these speakers[br]and their topics

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all seem completely different,

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they actually do have one key[br]common ingredient.

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And it's this:

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your number one task as a speaker

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is to transfer into your listeners' minds[br]an extraordinary gift.

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A strange and beautiful object[br]that we call an idea.

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Let me show you what I mean.

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Here's Haley.

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She is about to give a TED Talk

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and frankly, she's terrified.

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(Haley Van Dyck!)

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(Applause)

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Over the course of 18 minutes,

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1,200 people, many of whom[br]have never seen each other before

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are finding that their brains[br]are starting to sync with Haley's brain

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and with each other.

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They're literally beginning to exhibit[br]the same brainwave patterns.

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And I don't just mean that they're[br]feeling the same emotions.

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There's something even more[br]startling happening.

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Let's take a look inside[br]Haley's brain for a moment.

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There are billions of[br]interconnected neurons

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that are in an impossible tangle.

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But look here, right here,

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a few million of them are linked[br]to each other

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in a way which represents a single idea.

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And incredibly, this exact pattern[br]is being recreated in real-time

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inside the minds of everyone listening.

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That's right; in just a few minutes,

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a pattern involving millions of neurons

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is being teleported into 1,200 minds

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just by people listening to a voice[br]and watching a face.

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But wait, what is an idea anyway?

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Well, you can think of it[br]as a pattern of information

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that helps you understand[br]and navigate the world.

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Ideas come in all shapes and sizes,

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from the complex and analytical

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to the simple and aesthetic.

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Here are just a few examples[br]shared from the TED stage.

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Sir Ken Robinson: creativity is key[br]to our kids' future.

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Sir Ken Robinson: My contention[br]is that creativity now

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is as important in education as literacy,

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and we should treat it with[br]the same status.

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Chris Anderson: Elora Hardy: building from[br]bamboo is beautiful.

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Elora Hardy: It is growing all around us,

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it's strong, it's elegant,[br]it's earthquake-resistant.

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CA: Chimamanda Adichie:[br]people are more than a single identity.

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Chimamanda Adichie:[br]The single story creates stereotypes

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and the problem with stereotypes[br]is not that they are untrue

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but that they are incomplete.

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CA: Your mind is teeming with ideas,

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and not just randomly.

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They're carefully linked together.

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Collectively they form an amazingly[br]complex structure

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that is your personal worldview.

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It's your brain's operating system.

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It's how you navigate the world.

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And it is built up out of[br]millions of individual ideas.

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So, for example, if one little[br]component of your worldview

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is the idea that kittens are adorable,

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then when you see this,

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you'll react like this.

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But if another component of your worldview[br]is the idea that leopards are dangerous,

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then when you see this,

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you'll react a little bit differently.

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So, it's pretty obvious why the ideas[br]that make up your worldview are crucial.

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You need them to be[br]as reliable as possible,

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a guide to the scary but wonderful[br]real world out there.

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Now, different people's worldviews[br]can be dramatically different.

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For example, how does your worldview react

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when you see this image:

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Dalia Mogahed: What do you think[br]when you look at me?

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A woman of faith,[br]an expert, maybe even a sister,

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or oppressed, brainwashed, a terrorist.

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CA: Whatever your answer,

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there are millions of people out there[br]who would react very differently.

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So that's why ideas really matter.

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If communicated properly,[br]they are capable of changing, forever,

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how someone thinks about the world

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and shaping their actions both now

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and well into the future.

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Ideas are the most powerful force[br]shaping human culture.

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So if you accept that your[br]number one task as a speaker

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is to build an idea inside[br]the minds of your audience,

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here are four guidelines[br]for how you should go about that task.

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1. Limit your talk to just one major idea.

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Ideas are complex things;

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you need to slash back your content[br]so that you can focus

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on the single idea[br]you are most passionate about

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and give yourself a chance[br]to explain that one thing properly.

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You have to give context,[br]share examples, make it vivid.

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So pick one idea,[br]and make it the through line

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running through your entire talk

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so that everything you say[br]links back to it in some way.

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2. Give your listeners a reason to care.

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Before you can start building things[br]inside the minds of your audience,

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you have to get their permission[br]to welcome you in.

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And the main tool to achieve that?

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Curiosity.

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Stir your audiences' curiosity.

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Use intriguing, provocative questions

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to identify why something[br]doesn't make sense and needs explaining.

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If you can reveal a disconnection[br]in someone's worldview,

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they'll feel the need[br]to bridge that knowledge gap.

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And once you've sparked that desire,

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it will be so much easier[br]to start building your idea.

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3. Build your idea, piece by piece,

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out of concepts that your audience[br]already understands.

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You use the power of language[br]to weave together

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concepts that already exist[br]in your listeners' minds --

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but not your language, their language.

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You start where they are.

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Speakers often forget that many[br]of the terms and concepts they live with

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are completely unfamiliar[br]to their audiences.

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Now, metaphors can play a crucial role[br]in showing how the pieces fit together

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because they reveal[br]the desired shape of the pattern

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based on an idea that the listener[br]already understands.

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For example, when Jennifer Kahn

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wanted to explain the incredible[br]new biotechnology called CRISPR,

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she said, "It's as if, for the first time,[br]you had a world processor to edit DNA.

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CRISPR allows you to cut and paste[br]genetic information really easily."

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Now, a vivid explanation like that[br]delivers a satisfying "aha" moment

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as it snaps into place in our minds.

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It's important, therefore,[br]to test your talk on trusted friends

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and find out which parts[br]they get confused by.

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4. Here's the final tip.

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Make your idea worth sharing.

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By that I mean, as yourself the question,

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"Who does this idea benefit?"

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And I need you to be honest[br]with the answer.

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If the idea only serves you[br]or your organization,

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then, I'm sorry to say,[br]it's probably not worth sharing.

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The audience will see right through you.

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But if you believe that the idea[br]has the potential

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to brighten up someone else's day

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or change someone else's perspective[br]for the better

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or inspire someone to do[br]something differently,

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then you have the core ingredient[br]to a truly great talk,

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one that can be a gift to them[br]and to all of us.