TED Talks Worksheets

Core Standard

TED talks are short, recorded presentations that were originally developed at an annual TED (technology, entertainment, and design) event. Originally the talks centered around one of the founding disciplines, but due to the insane popularity of lectures it has been transformed more into an idea sharing mechanism and the topics are no longer narrowly focused. The TED Organization has since been founded to amass these ideas in a huge catalog. The mass majority of these talks are less than an hour with the average recorded session lasting about 17 and a half minutes. Teachers requested that we put this area together. It is often a good practice to allow your students to watch a single Ted talk that you feel would resonate with them each week. These worksheets will help your students organize their thoughts about what is presented and explore the topics deeper.

TED Talks Worksheets To Print:

The Review - Who is the speaker? Do you feel this person was a "good" public speaker? Why or why not?

Is it Valid? - What is one thing you heard in this talk that really resonated with you? Why?

Main Points - What was the purpose of this presentation. What did you get out of this?

Get It All Down - Write down the title of the talk, the name of the speaker, and briefly describe what the talk was about.

Before and After - See if you can make accurate predictions.

Key Ideas - Use this space to expand upon the key ideas you capture to strengthen your understanding. How do they relate to your life?

The 4 Keys - A great way to summarize what you have seen.

The Course - You will need time before, during, and after the presentation to sum up your thoughts.

What Would You Ask? - If you had the opportunity, what is one question you would ask the speaker about this talk?

Application - How can you apply and connect this to your everyday life.

Takeaways - What were the key takeaways fo you?

Rhetorical Analysis - See if you can determine the level of effectiveness of this presentation.

Analyze It - What is the exigency? What need is this talk fulfilling for the audience? For the speaker?

The Argument - What is the exigence for this argument? What does the speaker say about the need or demand for them to share this information?

Reflection - Which did you connect the most with personally? Which had the most application to your life? Why?


What Are TED Talks?

A TED Talk is everywhere and for everyone. However, the question is, who initially came up with the concept of TED in the first place? Who evoked this motivation among us all to inspire others? We've got answers to all your questions.


The Origin Story


If you believe that the TED organization was formed by a guy named "Ted," you are mistaken (though it's a good guess). Richard Saul Wurman, an American architect, planned to develop a public open space of ideas at the crossroads of Technology, Entertainment, and Design-abbreviated as TED.


Wurman had done more than most men twice his age by the time he was in his mid-20s. However, his most defining achievement, or at the very least, the one for which he will be remembered forever, occurred in 1984, when he was only 49 years old - the year in which he hosted the first-ever TED conference. It grew out of his love of communication and his curiosity for discovering and finding new patterns in technology - patterns that others had overlooked.


On June 27, 2006, the first TED conference (an invitation-only event) that Wurman co-founded with Harry Marks included cutting-edge 3D visuals from Lucasfilm, the compact disc, and the electronic book. Meanwhile, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot showed people how to map coastlines using his emerging theory of fractal geometry, which he created with Harry Marks during the conference.


Despite a fantastic roster, the event was a financial failure, and it was over six years before Marks and Wurman attempted to revive it. The world was prepared this time around, in 1990. On an annual basis, an influential audience from many different disciplines came together at the TED Conference in Monterey, California, united by their open-mindedness and curiosity to discover an exciting story.


The Rise in Popularity


TED began as an in-person conference of 18-minute speeches 33 years ago on a shoestring budget. Since then, the company has developed from a small start-up to a multimillion-dollar enterprise. All across the globe, TED produces speeches (which can be seen online), podcasts, and books, provides scholarships and awards, and the opportunity for lesser-known speakers to rise to the top of their fields just by appearing on the TED stage.


As a result, TED has grown into the most well-known and talked-about conference globally, extending to include other disciplines and serving as a status symbol and badge of success for those who have delivered speeches there.


Today


Wurman is not pleased with anything that TED has become today. He sold the rights to the major conference in 2002, and some have said that the conference has subsequently grown elitist and snobbish. But Wurman himself hasn't given up hope in the potential of conferences, as he likes to refer to them, to convey ideas and information. Indeed, he created numerous conferences, including TEDMED, EG conference, and the WWW suite of gatherings.


The Final Cut


To sum up, TED began as a low-budget, but the company has developed from a small start-up to a multimillion-dollar enterprise over the years. Do you have ideas worth sharing? Get started on the road to giving your own TED Talk. To begin, create a talk that is worthy of the stage. Then choose one of these three stepping stones; nominate yourself, register yourself to the TED Fellows Program, or participate at a local TEDx.