A521.7.4.RB - Secret Structure
Nancy
Duarte in her TedX Talk: The Secret Structure of Great Talks (Links to an
external site.) describes a few different structures/outlines. She also
describes techniques used by Steven Jobs and Martin Luther King, Jr. In your
Reflection Blog, discuss the structure and techniques shared and how you might
use them.
Duarte’s TED talk validated what I
have always believed, that you can be the smartest person in the world with the
best idea ever conceived…but if you can’t effectively communicate it to anyone,
the idea will be meaningless. “So a single idea, from the human mind, it could
start the ground swell, it could be a flash point for a movement, and it can
actually rewrite our future. But an idea is powerless, if it stays inside of
you. If you never pull that idea out for others to contend with, it will die
with you.” (Duarte, 2011)
This video made me so happy! I love
that she took two enigmatic speakers, Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King Jr. and
analyzed one of their most impactful speeches. She noted that the speeches had
a similar flow and a similar shape. They started with a current situation,
elevated to a great new situation, and then repeated that formula to invigorate
and motivate their audiences. (What are the odds that someone who was at MLK’s
famous “I have a dream” speech was also at Steve Jobs’ 2007 iPhone launch
speech? Just a random thought.) The brilliance of the pattern is that the
audience doesn’t realize that that’s what’s happening…but they will remember
the experience.
I think that I will do more
research on this phenomenon and seek out more from Nancy Duarte. In my line of
work, I have to do presentations on mostly pretty dry topics such as behind
schedule metrics and recovery plans, or schedule/capacity planning scenarios. I
do my best to make sure that my presentations aren’t full of eye charts and I
don’t read verbatim off of the slides. But how to tell a more compelling story
with the data would absolutely make my job a lot more interesting and add a new
element to what and how I present. “I was fired up about presentations back
when it wasn't cool to be fired up about presentations. I really think they
have the power to change the world when you communicate effectively through
them. And changing the world is hard.” (Duarte, 2011) I couldn’t agree more.
Reference:
Duarte, N. (Nov.
2011). The Secret Structure of Great Talks. TED talks. http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks
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