TED talks have taken over the Internet. Their success isn’t limited to America, where they started, but there are now TEDx talks held all around the world as well as many of the most popular talks having been translated into a plethora of languages.
Part of their success is in no short measure due to the subject matter and the experts who present their talks. Hearing a leading authority talking about the latest developments in a new area is exciting, but there is also a large role played by the format and skills that great TED speakers use. After all, these speakers give hundreds of talks a year, yet their TED talks are the ones which are widely spread.
As such, it would be silly for pastors and members of the church to ignore the lessons that could be learned from TED talks to try and improve their sermons and other presentation.
[Note: This doesn’t mean you have to adopt every aspect of TED talks and blindly completely change your churches service format, but maybe you can adopt aspects of TED talks in your own practice.]
In Carmine Callo’s book “Talk like TED”, he identified 9 traits which separate the greatest TED talks from the rest.
They are:
- Unleash the Master Within (if you’re not passionate about a topic, how do you expect to motivate and interest others?)
- Tell Three Stories (stories are very powerful, it’s much easier to remember a story than a plain fact and it helps show the persons viewpoint, making them more relatable)
- Practice Relentlessly (practice makes perfect and if you want to make sure you don’t forget that important part, or lose your place then you should practice. That’s not to say you need to recite verbatim)
- Teach Your Audience Something New (people love hearing something new, especially when it shakes what they thought they knew before. Sure it can be negative if it challenges too deep a notion or something which they hold as part of their identity, but a new fact will win you fans)
- Deliver Jaw Dropping moments (this is something which summons up a powerful emotion like joy, fear, shock or surprise. It will stand out if nothing else does.)
- Use Humour without telling jokes (humour makes you more approachable and likeable, but jokes are very subjective. Self deprecating humour and observations can be much more universal).
- Stick to the 18 minute Rule (I’m sure this is controversial but Gallo insists that 18 minutes is the most someone can concentrate on a subject for a set period of time, after that their minds will start to wander. Ted organisers believe that 18 is long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people’s attentions.)
- Favor Pictures Over Text (don’t you hate presentations where people just read from slides. I mean you or I could just do that in our free time. Besides pictures help provide a visual memory prompt to go along with what we are hearing and that’s powerful.)
- Stay in Your Lane (Gallo advises people to be authentic and open about themselves. People respect and trust that authenticity and often want to know more because of it.)
Should Our Sermons Be Like TED?
Although Carmin gives some great tips for delivering better talks I do still wonder if it’s really good to emulate TED? After all some people prefer longer sermons than 18 minutes (though Carmin does mention you could go for longer, but try to break up the time so it’s not just you speaking for 1hr). And other churches may not want the pastor making jokes during the sermon (especially if the pastor doesn’t have the best sense of humor).
Still maybe there are a few things we can all take from this idea, and talk more like TED.
Simon L Smith says
Yes, our sermons (or Sunday Schools) should be more like TED.
With the exception of time (and I think those of us who attend church regularly may be conditioned to pay attention longer than 18 minutes, especially if the material is interesting) this is pretty much what I was taught in my preaching class in Bible College.
Let’s be honest, a lot of TED talks do resemble a good Sunday morning sermon….
Chris Wilson says
I’ve heard non-christians say the same thing, and say they LIKE them for that (which is interesting when you think about all the moments away from sermons that are out there). I wonder about using 18 minute “chunks” or mini sermons? Maybe that would help people retain more information from each sermon. I’m just wondering aloud there. I’ve been in great hour long sermons and in terrible mini sermons so I know they don’t HAVE to be 18 minutes.
Eric Dye says
Yes.
Rachel Blom says
What I love about most TED talks is the focus. That’s what I miss in many sermons at the same time, unfortunately. One key message, that’s crucial to a successful TED talk, but also to a sermon that hits home.