Title: The little risks you can take to increase your luck
Presenter: Tina Seelig
Evaluation
Delivery
- I really like how you vary your speaking rate. You speed up with excitement or when rattling off your list and slow down when talking about caution, and you completely pause at appropriate times. This is very effective in story-telling and makes it easy for me to listen to you.
- I especially like the glow in your face when you refer to your students, and I can see your pride and excitement to tell us about them.
- You have simple and effective gestures throughout this presentation. Be aware of a couple of things. You don't stop gesturing much, but when you do, I saw you clasp your hands in front of you a few times. It wasn't terribly distracting to me because of the volume of your natural gestures. But recognize that the clasp isn't a natural gesture for people in a conversation, so it risks drawing some attention away from what you're saying at those points. It may feel uncomfortable, but simply putting your arms at your side when you aren't using them is natural looking and not distracting.
- I also want you to avoid making air quotes when you introduce your “riskometer.” It's a trite and cliched gesture. To me, it's a very annoying gesture because people also use it when they want to speak condescendingly about a topic they don't agree with, and you don't want to trigger that type of reaction.
Content
- In your introduction, you established your credentials by telling us that you teach entrepreneurship and defined luck for us. I'm naturally interested in the topic (because I tend to be lucky). I'm wondering if a short story would have been more effective though, a story that describes two very similar entrepreneurs starting businesses and one succeeding and one failing. You could tell us that the owner of the failed business blamed luck, but that you could see the other owner following your tips that the casual observer could easily mistake as luck. I really don't have anything to complain about the introduction you used, but I just want to suggest an alternative to try out and see how the response you get differs.
- Very good use of forecasting. You told me your thesis and then that you're going to share three tips. I was confident that it would be easy to follow along your speech.
- I liked your metaphor about catching the winds of luck.
- You have wonderful, fresh stories to demonstrate your tips and make them memorable. Sharing the before and after transformation of bad restaurant ideas to good restaurant ideas is very effective.
- I agree with you that these are all small, natural activities. To me, what you call small risks, is using networking skills; appreciation comes through thank you notes (I'm curious if the thank you notes you send are by email or written); and, the relationship to new ideas is your reminder to be creative. That simplicity makes your topic appealing to me.
- I felt like the transition to your second point was abrupt. The transition itself was good enough; you had completed the first point and now you told us that this is the second thing to do. I'd like a longer pause before you start the transition to give me a chance to mentally "wrap up" the first point, and then I'm ready to move to the next tip. If this weren't a TED talk, I'd recommend that this is the point where you can shift your position on the stage to visually emphasize that this is a new point.
- Just as your introduction laid out your path very well for me, I liked how you summarized and reviewed your points between the second and third point. I very rarely see anyone do this.
- I liked the conclusion. You summarized the three points well and tied back to your wind metaphor to motivate the audience.
- Overall, I'm very impressed with the presentation — much more than I expected at the start. And I look back and ask why did I have low expectations. I think it's the title; I don't think it matches your speech well enough. I was expecting small ways to play the odds or a presentation encouraging boldness. Sure, the first point you have is about taking risks, but it's really networking, and that's not a risk. Nor are the other two items; they are the simple skills that you see that remove the need for luck and not really risks. Your wind metaphor is so strong that I'm looking for a way to incorporate that into the title. The other option that comes to me is to emphasize the simplicity of making your own serendipity. I'd like a title that uses either of those ideas, such as It Doesn't Take Luck to Catch [or to Capture] the Wind. Or maybe Just Don't Call it Luck. You've shown such a fantastic creativity in what you do, and I'd like to see you apply it to find a more inventive and interesting title. (And if you get stuck, ask your class for the worst titles they can think of!) Thanks for the presentation.
Chuck Hinkle has been formally evaluating and coaching speakers worldwide for over thirty years.
“Chuck took my story I was giving at a TEDx conference and turned it into a powerful presentation. Then he coached me so that I could deliver it confidently and effectively. It was the most impactful presentation of all the speakers.” Sr. Business Analyst & TEDx Presenter
“Even more than being terrified of public speaking I am more terrified of sharing my personal past with others. That was until I encountered Chuck Hinkle. Chuck listened to my ideas for my first TEDx talk and gently coaxed me to share part of me that was not a part of my work persona. He helped me develop the skills I needed to convey a message that would reach the hearts and minds of folks literally around the globe. My New Years resolution was to overcome my fear of speaking in public by possibly talking to a group of school children or at a senior center as part of a group. By working with Chuck, I gained the confidence and skills to stand on the stage alone and reach out to over 17 different countries and Dare them to make a difference. And what is even more amazing is they took the challenge and told how they did. Chuck used a combination of presentation techniques on how to use PowerPoint and pictures, to what stories to tell and how to paint a visual picture. I grew personally and was able to land an amazing new role professionally thanks to Chuck.” Commercial Contract Manager & TEDx Presenter