An explain article

"Do schools stifle creativity?"
"Our body language shapes who we are."
"How leaders inspire action."

These are the titles of arguably the most popular talks in the world – each with its own "idea worth spreading." Concise and limited to 18 minutes, well-structured, novel, and entertaining, specialized talks – even those on highly scientific topics – suddenly reach unprecedented audience sizes. Already 40 million people worldwide have watched the talk by British education expert Sir Ken Robinson, who passionately advocates for an education system that fosters creativity.

A great idea becomes reality

It's about the increasingly well-known conference format TED, an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, Design. TED began more than 30 years ago as a small innovation conference, founded by American Richard Saul Wurman. His idea was to counter the monotony of isolated conferences and bring together thought leaders from various fields. Wurman was convinced that this could lead to innovations. In 1984, he organized the first conference with 300 attendees.

Among the early TED speakers were luminaries such as the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry, and technology visionary Nicholas Negroponte. Meanwhile, exhibitors presented the latest technology in the form of Compact Discs, E-Books, and 3D-Graphics. Steve Jobs showed interested visitors the first steps of the Macintosh. Despite this lineup, the first TED promptly incurred such a large financial loss that the next conference took place six years later.

Today, TED has become a global phenomenon that has changed presentation cultures worldwide. Al Gore, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Daniel Kahnemann, Elon Musk, and Jamie Oliver have all stood on the iconic red circle in front of the giant letters on the TED stage. Their talks are among the more than 2000 presentations that, through the platform TED.com launched in 2006, now reach over eight billion viewers. That's more than the world's population.

The world's largest innovation conference receives even more momentum from its little sister TEDx, which are independently organized TED events. Nowadays, ten TEDx talks take place daily worldwide. Their popularity is also growing in Germany, with over 50 events in about 25 cities in 2017. Simultaneously, the range of topics has become more diverse. Whether "The best kindergarten you have ever seen" or "The power of vulnerability," TED and TEDx talks today go far beyond topics of technology, entertainment, and design. Talks covering architecture, health, literature, as well as pop culture, captivate more and more people.

TED is becoming the gold standard of presentations

In short: TED Talks are all the rage. For many, they have become the gold standard in the world of presentations and are a model for presenters from all areas. The increasing number of guides like "Talk like TED," "The TED Effect," or "TED Talks" are a clear sign. TED's appeal also influences the message senders. The invitation to speak at a TED or TEDx – as one cannot apply – is considered a knighthood for any speaker. Few, however, practice speaking as a profession. Instead, TED/TEDx traditionally brings "experts who speak" to the stage rather than "speech experts" or even motivational speakers. An enthusiastic speaker passionately discussing their specialty – often with a scientific background. Ideas with the potential to "change the world."

An impressive call for sustainable social change, personal stories, emotion, and vulnerability. The use of humor, props, and visual aids. A seemingly casual speaking style in a well-choreographed and highly professional performance. The time limitation to a maximum of 18 minutes. The extensive preparation and coaching of the speaker. These are all aspects characteristic of a TED Talk. Even in the world of science, TED has arrived as a subject of study. There is already talk of the "TED Talk" as a new presentation genre with high recognizability.

TED-ification of the business world?

This innovative quality of TED certainly affects not only many enthusiastic followers. It naturally also rubs off on the business world. The carefully curated talks make consumers more discerning recipients of presentations and raise expectations to new heights. They carry this demand back to the workplace, into business meetings or conferences. Although "Talk like TED" boot camps are far from standard in training departments of German companies. Awareness of presentations following TED rules is increasing. Not least due to the growing number of German company board members from DAX-30 companies who have spoken on the TED stage themselves. It is therefore likely: Just as these people prepared for their stage, more and more managers, executives, experts will engage in the coaching process. Especially for the important stages in the business world. So let's be curious about how the TED phenomenon will inspire communication in the business world. See more at WWW.TED.COM.