TED talks are presentations or speeches given by top people from different industries, experiences and backgrounds. The talks range from light-hearted stories to difficult topics such as global warming or the state of education in America. Below is a list of our picks for top 10 PR and Marketing TED Talks!
Andrew Stanton: “The Clues to a Great Story”
This TED talk focuses on storytelling. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve been, everyone from every different walk of life loves a good story. A good story creates good content. If you produce good content, people wil take note and come back for more.
Since the dawn of time, humans have been wired for story telling and as a whole, we respond to good storytelling. Facts and figures, however, put us to sleep. You may or may not know Andrew Stanton. He is the writer of the first film produced entirely on a computer, Toy Story. The technology isn’t what made the film such a success, it was the story behind it. The film was so widely accepted that Stanton went on to produce the two Toy Story films created after the original film.
Kevin Allocca: “Why Videos Go Viral”
This TED Talk is given by Kevin Allocca who works with YouTube trends every day and speaks about what goes into creating viral videos. The digital world changes so fast that even a popular video that was produced last year can lose traction, according to Allocca.
Three ways a video can go viral according to Allocca:
1. The influence of tastemakers – The people who are influencing their audience and seen as authorities in the industry have huge power.
2. Community participation – It’s key that your content inspires some sort of reaction from your audience.
3. Unexpectedness – Branded content can get boring fast. Keep your audience engaged and constantly surprised by providing unexpected content on the regular.
Julian Tresures: “How to Speak So That People Listen”
Speaking and communicating, we do it every single day. But are we really speaking in a way that encourages people to listen? Sound consultant, Julian Tresures speaks about the fundamentals of speech, the do’s and the don’ts, he goes over all that you need to know about speaking in a way that is well received.
Whether you have a pitch coming up that you want to really land, or want to be a better communicator with your team or even family. This TED talk will help not only the business side of you, but also the personal and family side of you with Treasure’s tips on how your pitch can alter people’s perception of your trustworthiness, for example.
How to speak so that people want to listen
Tim Leberecht: “3 Ways to (Usefully) Lose Control of Your Brand”
While losing control of your brand sounds terrifying and absolutely mad, Tim Leberecht talks about how it can ultimately end up benefiting you in the long run. Not only just benefitting you, but your client and message as well. With the rise of social media and the easy access to it, the message you once put out there, can be so distorted and changed that it is nothing like you had originally began with.
As the old saying goes, “all PR is good PR”, do you believe that? In the beginning, when a message is produced, it is primarily talked about and supported by people who believe in your brand. Then, it turns into people who may not support your brand, but still talk about it. If you center that and use that information as well as your message that you speak out and cater to that, the essence of your message will survive no matter what.
The 3 ways Tim speaks about in regard to how to usefully lose control of your brand are:
1. Give people more control : This means trusting your employees and your customers to collaborate towards better solutions
2. Give people less control (and more meaning) : Trust is earned by predictable behavior, so this is a wonderful way to counter the abundance of choices customers face every day.
3. Be transparent: Staying true to the brand’s self is the only true value proposition. As Leberecht says, “Openness is paramount but radical openness is not a solution”. He suggested in this talk that each brand should find the level of transparency that works for them.
3 ways to (usefully) lose control of your brand
Simon Sinek: “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”
Most people go to work and know what they have to do and how they do it, but few actually know why they do it. Beliefs and values are two of the top ideals that people hold and that motivate them to work hard each and every day. Simon Sinek talks about how he believes great leaders inspire action.
Simon created the idea of the “Golden Circle”, and that is what he calls “a naturally occurring pattern, grounded in the biology of human decision making, that explains why we are inspired by some people, leaders, messages, and organizations over others.” He also has began something else, what he calls “Circles of Safety”, which he explains is exploring how to enhance feelings of trust and confidence in making bold decisions.
How great leaders inspire action
Tristan Harris: “How Better Tech Could Prevent Us From Distraction”
Design thinker Harris is trying to figure out a question that many have: How can technology help us avoid distraction and spend time more efficiently. He explains it in his talk by saying this: “We want to have a relationship with technology that gives us a choice about how we spend time with it.”
Harris’ theories focus on one core idea: net positive contribution to human life. He wants a world where designers are first and foremost asking themselves what good this will bring. How will their creations positively impact the lives of real human beings.
How better tech could protect us from distraction
Laura Vanderkam: “How to Gain Control of Your Free Time”
Laura Vanderkam, a time management expert believes that successful time management is not about finding more hours in the day, but figuring out where your priorities lie. The ideas of Vanderkam lie on the importance of work-life balance and helping people find time for what matters most. The two key steps she provides are:
1. Pretend you are one year in the future – Write next year’s performance review as if you’re looking back on the year. What were the things that made it great? What were your accomplishments? When you think about what a successful year looks like, you know what to plan for.
2. Break down your goals into doable steps – Treat your goals as priorities and carve room into your schedule for them. Make a three category list including career, relationship and self-improvement goals, and see where you can make time to work on them.
How to gain control of your free time
Seth Godin: “How to Get Your Ideas to Spread”
If you seek action and movement from your audience, you first must find a way to get your ideas to spread. Godin explains that seemingly simple concepts have the potential of spreading like wildfire.
During the TED talk, Godin explains the simple steps that he has found to work for him and others. Brands need to find a group that cares about what they have to say. Godin encourages brands to talk to their audience and then make it easy for them to want to tell their friends.
How to get your ideas to spread
Dan Cobley: “What Physics Taught Me About Marketing”
Dan’s first passion was physics and then that turned into a passion for marketing. He uses Newton’s Second Law: “The force equals mass times acceleration”. According to Cobley, he believes this is the same for marketing for a brand. He says “The bigger the brand, the more difficult it is to reposition it.”
Cobley then goes on to speak about Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, the scientific method and the second law of thermodynamics to explain the fundamental theories of branding. He finishes the ted talk by saying this: “his distribution of brand energy gets your brand closer to the people, more in with the people. It makes this distribution of energy a democratizing force, which is ultimately good for your brand. So, the lesson from physics is that entropy will always increase; it’s a fundamental law. The message for marketing is that your brand is more dispersed. You can’t fight it, so embrace it and find a way to work with it.”
What physics taught me about marketing
Rory Sutherland: “Life Lessons from an Ad Aan”
Rory Sutherland works as an advertising professional, and during his ted talk, he speaks about the lessons he’s learned during his work career has helped outside of his career as well. Rory uses humor and examples to explain his thinking and how it has helped not only him, but has helped others as well.
Sutherland focuses on the value of intangibles, specifically from the perspective of advertising. All value is subjective, but an intangible change can be just as satisfying as a physical change. He finishes this TED talk with this statement, “When you place a value on things like health and love and learn to place a material value on what you’ve previously discounted for being merely intangible … you realize you’re much, much wealthier than you ever imagined.”
