Thursday, December 8, 2011

Nancy Duarte - The Shape a Great Presentation

Listen to this inspiring TED talk given by Nancy Duarte, author of slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations:


Duarte explains that great presentations share the same basic shape - a movement between what is and what could be. She analyzes Steve Jobs' iPhone launch keynote and MLK's I Have a Dream peech - and demonstrates how - in very different ways - both speeches share that up-down shape.

While I find her analysis fascinating, what interested me even more was her ultimate takeaway: This is the shape of overcoming obstacles. By moving back and forth from what is to what could be, the speaker enables the audience to move past the resistance of the present reality - and into the possibilities for the future.





3 comments:

mgmvoice said...

Wow! What a fascinating analysis of powerful speeches. And I agree, Sarah, that it's a template for change itself. The slide and idea about boats harnessing the wind was so powerful. Thank you for sharing this - I want to read her book!

Sarah Gershman said...

Thank you for your comment! I also look forward to reading her book.

J. Benjamin Lee said...

Great Post. Thanks for sharing this.

You should check out this website. (www.crowdspeaking.com). It helps people improve public speaking skills through video feedback.

Thought you might be interested.