The organizers of TED send upcoming speakers a stone tablet, engraved with the ‘TED Commandments’ which are as follows:
- Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick
- Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou
- Hast Never Shared Before
- Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion
- Thou Shalt Tell a Story
- Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Skae of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy
- Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success
- Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desparate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness
- Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good
- Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech
- Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee
The TED Commandments - rules every speaker needs to know
A quick checklist that might help you better accomplish your goals, in context of more modern conferences and/or events where people might be even vaguely connected to the Internet.
27 things to do before a conference
- Show up early
- Clearly tell the audience what the problem is, who cares, and what your solution is
- Write out your own introduction
- Never apologize
- For complex information use: Particular, General, Particular
- Always provide a handout
- Match your presentation to the level of The New York Times or Wall Street Journal
- Audiences are precious: respect them
- Humor—make sure it’s on point, not nasty or gratuitous
- Do not use masculine pronouns—use plurals
- Questions need to be treated very carefully
- There must be a better way than using the overhead projector
- Show your enthusiasm!
- Finish early
- Work hard
- Innovate
- Drink enormous amounts of water
Read the full article at Edward R. Tufte’s Presentation Tips