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How Ken Robinson Delivered His TED Talk

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With over 20 million views, Sir Ken Robinson holds the record for the most popular TED Talk of all time. In this post, I deconstruct the factors that made his speech so powerful and so viral.

 

Tip 1: Share an idea worth spreading

Ken Robinson’s talk is entitled “Schools Kill Creativity.”  That is a powerful statement of a important problem.  Knowing that something bad is happening might catalyze change; however, it does not tell you what to actually do about it.  A much better way to express an idea worth spreading is with a call to action that combines a “WHAT” and a “WHY”.  With a nod to fellow TED star Simon Sinek, a darn effective way to do this is by using the framework: “To (action) so that (outcome).”

Using this framework, Mr. Robinson’s idea worth spreading is: ‘To educate the whole being of children so that they can build a brighter future.”  There is nothing less at stake here than the future of civilization as we know it.

 

Tip 2: Build to your revelation by raising and then answering audience questions

Rather than state his big idea up front, Ken built up to it progressively. To see that, let’s strip his talk down to its logical essence:

  • Introduction: Creativity in education is as important as literacy.
  • Part 1: And, children are inherently creative.
  • Part 2: However, we are educating children out of their creative capacity to meet the needs of our industrialized society.  Rather than creating a better world, we are simply fueling academic inflation.
  • Part 3: Instead, we should embrace the diversity of human intelligence.
  • Conclusion: Therefore, we must educate the whole being of children so that they can build a brighter future for themselves and for the planet.

Mr. Robinson begins his deductive situation-complication-resolution narrative structure with the first noncontroversial statement he can make about the subject of creativity in education.  Starting with something that any reasonable listener would agree with is a proven best practice in the art of persuasion.  Every statement generates a multitude of potential questions.  The speaker’s job is to address the most pressing question first.  In this case, it is reasonable to assume few listeners need to know why creativity is as important as literacy.  Ken can take that as a given.  The more pressing question is ‘Do we actually need to teach kids the basics of how to be creative?’

In Part 1, Mr. Robinson answer this question with a definitive no.  Children are born a creative beings.  That is the end of the ‘situation’ part of his argument.  However, this  raises the next logical question, “Then what is the problem?”  Part 2 lays out the complication that our current education system fosters left brain logical development and casts aside right brain creative expression.  This raises the new question, “Well, is that necessarily a bad thing?”  Still within Part 2 of his speech, Ken answers by arguing the present system is not making us happier and more productive;  quite the contrary, it is simply leading to academic inflation.

Feeling the intensity of the problem at its peak, the audience is now seeking a resolution. Part 3 of Ken’s speech reveals that our greatest hope lies in embracing the diversity of human intelligence.  Though his case is complete, audiences appreciate when a speaker wraps up his conclusion in a nice little package by explicitly stating it.  That is precisely what Mr. Robinson does with his final words:

 “What TED celebrates is the gift of the human imagination. We have to be careful now that we use this gift wisely and that we avert some of the scenarios that we’ve talked about. And the only way we’ll do it is by seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are and seeing our children for the hope that they are. And our task is to educate their whole being, so they can face this future. By the way — we may not see this future, but they will. And our job is to help them make something of it. “

 

 Tip #3: Support your logical argument with proof points

If the idea worth spreading is the spine of the talk and the logical essence constitutes the ribs, then proof points are the soft tissue that gives beauty to the form.  Proof points come in many forms. The most powerful proof point is a personal story.  However, well told stories about others are a close second. In addition, there are other forms of proof as well including factoids, quotes, and even activities.

Though they are not mutually exclusive, there is some degree of trade off between the persuasiveness of a speech and its entertainment value.  Talks are often most persuasive when built around a single story told in sections.  Sharing self-contained story vignettes in each part of a speech is another reasonably sound approach.  When the quantity and variety of proof points increases, a speech becomes more entertaining and less able to affect change.  Stand-up comedy takes this principle to its extreme.  After a great routine, the audience feels very satisfied and eager to tell others what a great time they had. Entertainment is viral.  However, if you asked them what they learned, then you will get a blank stare.

Ken Robinson choose to pack proof points very densely into his speech.  It took some of the impact of his message away but certainly made his talk more likely to be shared. Here is how he supported his logical arguments with proof points tightly coupled to his core message.

  • Introduction: Reminded the audience of three themes running through the conference including – (a) extraordinary evidence of human creativity; (b) an uncertain future; (c) exceptionally talented children. 
  • Part 1: Shared stories about – (a) six-year-old girl who drew a picture of G-d; (b) his son playing Joseph in a nativity play
  • Part 2: Packaged up a mix of – (a) a quote by Picasso; (b) a story about moving to America; (c) a statistic from UNESCO
  • Part 3: Told a story about Gillian Lynne who developed a successful career as a dancer and choreographer
  • Conclusion: Cited – (a) Al Gore’s climate crisis TED Talk; (b) a quote by Jonas Salk

Keeping the body metaphor going here, Mr. Robinson also added a few decorative tattoos to the flesh including a digression in the introduction on talking about education at a dinner party, two brilliant comic interludes in Part 2 about Shakespeare as a child and about university professors at a discotheque, and personal commentary about how his wife is superior at multitasking.  It is not that these elements were completely irrelevant.  Rather, the issue is that they existed to entertain rather then to inspire.

 

Tip #4: Bring your stories to live with description and dialogue

Ken Robinson is an expert not only at retelling but also at actually reliving stories with his audience.  Doing this is difficult enough with a personal story.  It is harder still with a story about others.  However, true masters are able to do this even for hypothetical stories.  Ken’s comic interlude about Shakespeare is an outstanding example that includes spoken as well as internal character dialogue:

You don’t think of Shakespeare having a father, do you? Do you? Because you don’t think of Shakespeare being a child, do you? Shakespeare being seven? I never thought of it. I mean, he was seven at some point. He was in somebody’s English class, wasn’t he? How annoying would that be?   “Must try harder.” Being sent to bed by his dad, you know, to Shakespeare, “Go to bed, now,” to William Shakespeare, “and put the pencil down. And stop speaking like that. It’s confusing everybody.” 

 

Tip #5: Customize your speech for your audience

As a professional speaker, Ken Robinson had probably delivered most elements of his speech countless times in the past.  However, when you watch the speech it feels custom built for the venue.  He achieved that effect in three important ways.

The first way was by engaging in conversational banter with the audience in a ‘pre-introduction’ to his speech.  Though it is generally better to launch right into your speech, there are times when you need to take a moment to bridge the audience energy level to that in your talk.  In Mr. Robinson’s case, he was the final speaker in the post-lunch time slot and was following a musical act.  He engaged the audience by staring with the following laugh inducer:

Good morning. How are you? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.

The second way he customized his speech was by giving his audience a contextually relevant summary of the themes running through a conference.  If you have ever been to a TED conference, or any other conference for that matter, there comes a point where you have been inundated with so much information that your head is spinning.  In sharing the three themes he pulled out, themes which related directly to his talk, he performed a valuable service for his listeners.

The final way he customized the speech was with frequent references to material from prior speakers and performers including 11-year-old violinist Sirena Huang, anthropologist Helen Fisher, and climate activist Al Gore.

 

Tip #6: Keep your audience engaged by previewing your roadmap and asking questions

Since he was building to a big conclusion using deductive logic, Ken Robinson never needed to provide an overall road-map for his talk. However, he provided road-maps for several of his individual sections as follows:

  • Introduction: There have been three themes, haven’t there, running through the conference, which are relevant to what I want to talk about.
  •  Part 1: [none]
  • Part 2: So the hierarchy [of our industrialized education system] is rooted on two ideas.
  • Part 3: We know three things about intelligence.
  • Conclusion:  [none]

In addition to providing road-maps, he also kept the audience engaged by asking questions throughout his talk.  Here are just a few of 38 instances:

  • Introduction:  I have an interest in education — actually, what I find is everybody has an interest in education. Don’t you?
  • Part 1: He [the speaker’s son James Robinson] was in the Nativity play. Do you remember the story?
  • Part 2: Are you struck by a new thought? 
  • Part 3: Following off from Helen [Fisher] , I think this is probably why women are better at multi-tasking. Because you are, aren’t you?
  • Conclusion: [none]

 

Tip #7: Boost your laugh count by riffing

As the passage about Shakespeare referenced in Tip #4 shows, Mr. Robinson does not just get a single laugh and move on.  When the audience laughs, he pauses, then expands in ever more exaggerated fashion several more times.  Even though there were several long stretches of serious content, he packed in an impressive 2.6 laughs-per-minute by riffing.

 

Tip #8: Repeat and elaborate on your most important points

Straight repetition is an effective and well known way to underscore a point while speaking.  You can add variety and kick the impact up a notch by paraphrasing.  My favorite illustration of this in Mr. Robinson’s talk is when he states the logical so-what for Part 1 of his speech in three ways:

What these things have in common is that kids will take a chance. If they don’t know, they’ll have a go. Am I right? They’re not frightened of being wrong.

 

Tip #9: Avoid slides

The TED conference has led to a slow but important revolution is the way that slides are used in presentations of every kind.  Bullets are disappearing and are being replaced by captivating imagery.  However, slides are best when they are absent.  Ken Robinson’s speech is just one of many most viewed TED Talks that use no slides at all.

 

Final Thoughts

Ken Robinson’s talk is not perfect.  As highlighted earlier, it is a bit more entertaining that it is inspiring.  It has not, as of yet, led to a massive revolution in education.  Moreover, there were various minor tactical imperfections including his rapid speaking pace, limited vocal variety, and propensity to put his hands in his pockets.  Still, these are simply nits in a powerful speech with an important idea worth spreading.

 

How To Draw During Your Presentation

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If you want to deliver the most inspiring and motivating presentation possible, then your best choice is to use no slides at all.  Doing so allows your audience to keep their eyes on you at all times and to use the visual portion of their brain to imagine how they will apply the amazing advice you are giving.

The second best choice is to draw a simple picture.  My personal favorite example is Simon Sinek’s TEDxPugetSound presentation from 2009.  At exactly two minutes into his eighteen minute talk, Simon walks to a flip chart, picks up a marker, and draws his famous Golden Circle. Imagine a target with three concentric circles.  “WHY” is in the bull’s eye.  “HOW” is in the middle circle. In the outer circle is “WHAT.”  This simple drawing illustrates how great leaders inspire and how exceptional companies thrive.

Here are some simple public speaking tips for drawing during your presentation:

Tip #1: Make Your Drawings Simple

You do not need to be a great artist to pull this off.  Just make your drawing simple, obvious, and legible.  Make your text and figures as large as possible.

Tip #2: Pause While Drawing

One of the rules of public speaking is to never turn your back to your audience. There is no way to follow this rule when you draw.  If you are drawing on a flip chart, your head is going to be turned away even if you manage to position the rest of your body sideways.  Stop speaking while drawing.  Your audience will not even notice that you stopped speaking since they will be concentrating on the picture being created.

Tip 3: Draw One Picture Only

Many speakers make the mistake of drawing or writing too much.  The audience does not need you to take notes for them.  Your entire talk should have one central theme and the one figure you draw should completely express your core message.

Tip 4: Draw In Pieces

Since you will not be speaking while drawing (see Tip #2), you do not want to draw too much at any one time.  In Simon Sinek’s TED Talk referenced above, he actually draws out the entire why/how/what Golden Circle all at once.  A better way to do this would have been to first draw the the three concentric circles but hold back on the text. Then, he could have written just “WHY” and expanded on that.  He could have done the same thing for “HOW” and “WHAT” until the entire drawing was complete.

Tip 5: Remember To Put Your Pen Down When Not Drawing

This one is self-explanatory but you would be surprised at how many speakers hold onto their pen like Linus holding his security blanket.

Tip 6: Hide Your Drawing When You Do Not Need It

For as much good as the drawing does to create a visual representation of your core message, its mere existence takes your audience’s attention away from you.  If you are using a flip chart, create your drawing on the second page so you can hide it with a blank first page.  If you are using a whiteboard, there is not much you can do.  This is the same concept that applies to using the “B” key to blank your slides in PowerPoint and to hiding props when not in use.

Tip 7: Do Not Draw And Use Slides

In speaking, there is such as thing as ‘too much of a good thing.’  Either draw or use slides.  Trying to do both is clumsy and suggests that you forgot to put something into a slide.

Try It Out!

Outside of using no slides at all, drawing is one of the most powerful techniques you can use to reinforce your core message.  Next time you speak, come up with a simple graphic that you can use to gradually reveal the key points of your talk.

Avoid Using Different Slides On Different Screens

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On March 29, 2012, I attended the Post Advertising Summit hosted by media agency Story Worldwide.  The event featured flawless visuals created by Jon Thomas, founder of Presentation Advisors.

During the event, I saw a presentation trick that I had not previously come across in a smaller venue.  The stage was set up with two screens displaying visuals from two different slide decks.  To control the two sets of slides, speakers were given two wireless presenters – one for their left hand and one for their right.

My first reaction was “Wow, that is really cool!”  The first speaker had practiced thoroughly in advance to master the technique.  He changed slides effortlessly as he spoke – right, left, right, left.  Another presenter showed questions on the left screen then revealed answers on the right.

Before launching into criticism, I want to share how clever this idea is.  I kept thinking of dueling pianos as I was watching.  Moreover, I deeply appreciate that growth comes from risk taking and I praise the organizers for taking a chance.

As the event progressed, I began to see three significant challenges with the approach:

Challenge #1: Eye Contact

One of the fundamental rules of public speaking is to maximize eye contact with your audience.  Dueling projectors turn the stage into a tennis match with the audience’s eyes darting back and forth to the screens leaving the speaker as a lonely net in the middle.  Less experienced speakers kept turning back and forth when referencing the visuals. Though I was bathed in great visuals, I felt the presenters lost their connection with me as a listener.   It became about the technology and not about the audience.

Challenge #2: Hand Gestures

Another fundamental rule of public speaking is making natural, albeit magnified, hand gestures.  Even one wireless presenter device is inhibiting.  Two is downright distracting since the speaker looks like they are waving their fists around.  I especially appreciated a tip that Rory Vaden shared with me when I met him at a Toastmasters conference.  Rory keeps a super low-tech wireless presenter in his pocket so his hands are totally free.  To advance the slide, he very subtly clicks the button by pushing on the outside of his pocket. That is a great trick when you do not have a well-rehearsed production team to change the slides for you.

Challenge #3: Coordination

As the conference wore on, several presenters struggled with the dual screen, dual deck format. One speaker made the mistake of putting both wireless slide changers in the same hand and needed assistance recovering.  Others struggled with remembering which display the desired slide was being shown on.

The Bottom Line

Using two screens with two different slide decks is a clever presentation innovation.  If all the stars are aligned with expertly crafted material, a well practiced speaker, and slide control from the production team in the back of the room, then the technique can be effective.  I think this would be a reasonable approach in a very large keynote where most of the audience is relying on jumbo screens the entire time.  In my opinion, the trade off of eye contact for entertainment is not worth it in a smaller venue.