The TED Commandments – rules every speaker needs to know

I’m a huge fan of TED.  I don’t mean my brother (though I am a fan of his).  I mean TED Talks.  (If you live under a rock, TED stands for technology, entertainment, design.)

Not long ago, the 10 Commandments of TED Talks was posted at one of their events, and an intrepid scribe wrote them down and subsequently posted them.  As someone who frequently speaks to groups, they are a brilliant list of Shalts and Shalt Nots.

1. Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick
2. Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before
3. Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion
4. Thou Shalt Tell a Story
5. Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Skae of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy
6. Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
7. 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.
8. Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
9. Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
10. Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee

via The TED Commandments – rules every speaker needs to know.