45 pages • 1 hour read
Carmine GalloTalk Like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds
Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Index of Terms
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaIntroductionChapter Summaries & Analyses
Introduction Summary: “Ideas Are the Currency of the Twenty-first Century”
Carmine Gallo begins by stating that ideas are critical in the modern marketplace and the ability to express them is even more valuable. He highlights his purpose for writing the book: sharing the skills and techniques used by TED speakers with the reader to give them better communication abilities. He says he compiled the tips in the book by examining 500 of the most successful TED presentations. He also refers to interviews with experts on why the elements of presentations he talks about in the book work. He rounds it off by referencing his experience teaching successful individuals in business. The most critical point of the book is to teach the reader how to sell themselves to an audience.
He follows by briefly explaining the TED conference’s founding in 1984 and its following popularity. Its already growing popularity skyrocketed in 2006 when the conference began posting videos of the talks on its website. He links TED’s success to highlighting presentation abilities like those of Steve Jobs, which Gallo wrote about in his prior book Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. The difference between it and Talk Like TED is that, while Presentation Secrets focused on the presentation abilities of one person, this book analyzed a wide range of speakers with different backgrounds and approaches to give a broader view of success. He also connects this book to Dale Carnegie’s 1915 book The Art of Public Speaking, considered the first self-help book. Gallo describes Talk Like TED as a 21st-century update of that work.
He follows the background of the book by laying out its structure. It is broken up into three parts, which each reflect a vital element of the most successful presentations: emotional, novel, and memorable.
Under each section, he breaks down what each of these terms means. Part 1, “Emotional,” covers the aspects of presentations that connect the speaker and the audience, such as a passion for the subject, using stories to highlight your point, and how to create a comfortable and conversational tone. Part 2, “Novel,” includes how to make a presentation unique and stand out to the audience. It includes using new information, highlighting “wow” moments, and the best ways to incorporate humor. Part 3, “Memorable,” covers making a talk “stick” with the audience, including ensuring it is the correct length, using more than one sense in the presentation, and appearing genuine and authentic.
Gallo closes the chapter by noting that good communicators see more success in their careers. By using the tips he provides in the book, his readers can become better communicators and, as a result, achieve greater success in their own live
Introduction Analysis
As the introduction’s title and the first line of Talk Like TED says, “Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century” (1). Ideas are critical, but even more crucial is the ability to communicate them. Gallo positions the book as the ultimate guide in gaining this ability, using his coaching background to provide the reader with information on the art of public speaking. To illustrate his points, he analyzes a broad range of presentations, the majority of which are TED Talks, interviews with some of the speakers, and anecdotes from his years coaching professionals on how to communicate correctly.
Gallo situates his text as the successor to Dale Carnegie’s The Art of Public Speaking, written in 1915. This was the first mass-marketed self-help book, and Carnegie went on to write other influence texts, such as How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948). Carnegie’s approach to public speaking emphasizes the importance of Distilling Information into Clear Messages, one of Gallo’s main themes. Carnegie also emphasizes engaging storytelling and connecting with listeners on a personal level. Through numerous real-life examples and relatable anecdotes, he illustrates how to overcome common fears and anxieties associated with public speaking, enabling readers to deliver impactful and persuasive presentations. These concepts are essentially identical to those Gallo presents in Talk Like TED, but he distinguishes himself from Carnegie by emphasizing the importance of the internet—something Carnegie lacked—as a tool to enhance one’s public-speaking skills. By analyzing TED Talks, which are the epitome of internet-based presentations, Gallo offers readers insights Carnegie cannot.
In addition to positioning Gallo’s text in the lineage of great public-speaking aids, the introduction establishes the book’s material and tone. This is obvious because much of the opening focuses on selling the book to the reader. It is a self-help book, and Gallo wants you to buy into his ideas. He accomplishes this goal by using the techniques he outlines later in the book. For example, he uses strong language in his assertions of how the reader can become a fantastic public speaker to appeal to the emotions of his audience. He also provides context and his credentials by reviewing the TED Talks’ history, his experiences writing about Steve Jobs, and coaching high-ranking people in the business world.
