It doesn’t sound possible, does it?

In the grand scheme of things, 18 minutes is a tiny amount of time

Yet if you listen to, or watch a TED Talk, or you get the opportunity to attend a TEDx event in person, then an 18 minute talk really does have the power to change your outlook on life, help you overcome obstacles, or challenge your thinking..

The power of storytelling is huge, which is why TED Talks have become so legendary and create so much credibility for those who take the coveted TED stage.

Contrary to what many people believe, a TED Talk isn’t an opportunity for you to talk about yourself and your business, it’s an opportunity to share stories, your experiences and really engage the audience.

WHY 18 MINUTES?

It’s a very specific amount of time, yet it feels like an incredibly short amount of time to deliver a motivational and impactful talk.

But there’s a method to the madness!

TED Talks are limited to 18 minutes to align with research on attention spans. Or as TED curator, Chris Anderson says: “it’s short enough to hold people’s attention, including on the internet, and precise enough to be taken seriously.”

We’ve all sat in lecture theatres, in meeting rooms and on Zoom calls that require us to be present for 60-90 minutes at a time. It’s exhausting! It can feel like we’re running a mental marathon, with most of us switching off after 10 minutes.

So if we switch off after 10 minutes, why are TED Talks 8 minutes longer than what our attention spans can cope with?

BRAIN RULES

Dr John Medina, a molecular biologist has written a book called Brain Rules that delves deeper into the human brain to explain how it works. In the book he goes into detail on 12 brain rules, one of which states that we don’t pay attention to boring things. 

He says: “We’re better at seeing patterns and abstracting the meaning of an event than we are at recording details. Emotions and meaning get our attention and help us learn” Which makes so much sense as it’s more common to remember how an event made you feel, rather than the exact words the speaker used to communicate their message.

He goes on to say that people check out after 10 minutes and that optimal learning happens with less information and more time to connect the dots. 

He suggests that the best way to do this is to focus on one core topic, spend the first minute of your talk explaining the core concept, then go into detail for the next nine minutes. If your talk is longer than 10mins (which most are!), break it up with a relevant story or joke to carry the audience’s attention into the next segment.

For those speaking on the TED stage, it’s their responsibility to ensure the audience stays engaged for the full 18 minutes. Their assignment is to keep us on the edge of our seats for the duration of their talk.

COMMUNICATING WITH IMPACT

The very best talks are the ones that connect with those of us in the audience, which is a skill that needs to be finely tuned, especially if there’s an 18 minute time limit!

The first rule of storytelling is to capture the attention of the audience. When we read stories as children there was always a beginning, a middle and an end, but when you’re stood on stage with hundreds of eyeballs on you, the best way to create impact is often to start at the most messy part – the place where conflict first happens, then weave the rest of the story around it. 

It can feel chaotic because it doesn’t follow the linear formula we’re so used to with storytelling, but it’s definitely the most engaging. For us in the audience, we’re kept on our toes and on the edge of our seats, desperate to know what happens next. Just like watching a psychological thriller or an action movie, there’s no time to feel bored when there are so many unexpected twists and turns!

When we hear other people share their experiences, we have no idea what we’re going to learn because we haven’t walked their path, or experienced what they’ve experienced. That’s what makes storytelling so special. That’s how we’re able to connect to others, physically and emotionally.

Although we may not have similar experiences to those speaking on stage, we can at least have empathy for what they’ve lived through, taking what we need from the lessons they learned.

BE PART OF THE EXPERIENCE

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to speak on stage, you’ll know that the experience is just as life-changing for you as it is for those in the audience.

Not only do you get to use your voice and share your message with a live audience, but you also get to raise your profile and enhance your credibility too, which often opens doors to other opportunities.

If speaking on stage isn’t on your bucket list, but you want to be part of a life-changing experience, then why not join us and an incredible lineup of speakers on Saturday 28th September at Hoxton Hall and be inspired by this year’s theme: Be true to who you are.

You can see the lineup of incredible speakers that will be gracing the TED stage by clicking here. 

If your life can change in just 18 minutes, imagine how you’re going to feel after experiencing a full day of life changing TED Talks.

Buy your ticket now to be in the room at the life changing event.