Earlier on Twitter Mark Boulton asked “what are you top 10 TED talks?”
Now I can’t list ten, but I’d love to share with you absolute favourite TED talk delivered by Sir Ken Robinson:
This is a brilliant talk. Sir Ken’s delivery is wonderful; no notes, no slides and absolutely no Powerpoint. His charisma, style and humour combined with a thought provoking subject keeps you rivetted; “visual aids” would only be a distraction.
I’ve watched and enjoyed this talk many times. As somebody who enjoys presenting and public speaking it’s inspiring.
Sir Ken Robinson is speaking in the UK this Spring so I hope to have the opportunity to see him speak in person.
Who’s your favourite public speaker or particular talk?
Ever seen Marcus du Sautoy? Now there’s a guy who enthusiastically and eloquently delivers his passion for mathematics in a thoroughly engaging way. A very deserving successor to Dawkins as the Simonyi chair; also more interested in communicating science than anti-religion.
One of the best after-dinner speakers is of course Rick Wakeman – funny, full of stories and musically brilliant – but maybe that doesn’t quite fit into this category.
@jon
I must admit I’ve never heard of Marcus du Sautoy but I’m always hugely impressed by people that can explain complex ideas simply.
I have a friend that design silicon chips for a living who can explain very complicated ideas in a brilliant way. It’s not a skill I feel I posses mostly because of my limited patience :-/
One of the best after-dinner speakers I have seen was Ian Botham; yes it surprised me too. I also once had lunch with John Watson (ex F1 driver) who was hilarious and very scandalous; I don’t think even know I could publish the stories he told.