How to Deliver a TED Talk: Secrets of the World's Most Inspiring Presentations, revised and expanded new edition, with a foreword by Richard St. John

CHAPTER 15

Using Video Effectively

TIP 87: Keep your video clips short.

Since TED frowns heavily on commercial promotion, the organization rarely selects speakers from traditional corporate backgrounds who talk to promote what they do. Moreover, given the conventional wisdom that all advertising is evil, one would not expect to see the vice chairman of one of the world’s largest marketing agencies on the main stage. Rory Sutherland¹ of Ogilvy & Mather UK broke through by promoting ways to use advertising for good. The outline of his talk is provided in Table 15.1.

TABLE 15.1

Outline of Rory Sutherland’s “Life Lessons from an Ad Man” TED Talk