The Secret Structure of Great Talks

1.) How does Ms. Duarte suggest using a 3-act structure to grip and engage the audience? Ms. Duarte suggests using a 3-act structure to grip and engage the audience by referencing Aristotle’s Beginning, Middle, and End in effort to incorporate “story into presentations”. She recognizes that when people tell a story, the audience is much more focused, as opposed to when the audience is sitting for a presentation. She later gives her analysis of a “shape” she created with 3 stages for presentations to follow and bounce back on, she labels these stages as What is, what could be, followed by a call to action. She states it is extremely important to go back and forth between what is and what could be so that when you reach the point of a call to action, the audience truly understands what you are discussing. 2.) What does it mean to put listeners at the center of the presentation so your message is relatable? In order to put listeners at the center of the presentation so that the presentations message is relatable, you must figure out how your message connects to the wants and needs of your audience. Putting them at the center means that they are your main priority. 3.) Give an example of how one of the historical figures in the Ted talk structured their presentations? Martin Luther King I have a dream speech -moves back and forth from what is and what could be -Repitition so that ppl would remember certain phrases “ I have a dream” -made sure to include the audience he was talking to “The negro ppl” 4.) What does it mean to motivate listeners by comparing the status quo to a bright future? Motivating listeners by the status quo, is one of Ms. Duarte’s main points throughout her speech. She expresses this as a necessity, and that directly after establishing “what is” or what currently exists, the audience will have an idea of what you’re talking about, and what the status quo is. She then goes on to discuss how you need to compare what is, to what could be and provide a gap in between so that people understand the contrast of your presentations message. 5.) How does Ms. Duarte craft a "call to action" that moves people to act? Ms. Duarte creates a “Call to action” by stating that the presenter needs to “describe the world as a new bliss. This occurs at the end of the presentation, and she states that it is in effort for the speaker to state that this is what the world would look like with the idea/message of the presentation being adopted into it. She includes the audience and motivates people to act by stating “ this is how the world will work, when we join together” making sure to again keep the audience the center of the presentation, and continuously make the feel included. 6.) What does it mean to use repetition to boost retention? Give an example? Using repetition boost retention, means that the speaker repeats themselves in a tactical way, in effort so that the audience remembers certain things from ones presentation. For example, Duarte shows us how Steve Jobs consistently used his own emotional reaction to the product he was discussing, in effort to have the audience feel similarly, and view the product in the same way.