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TED Talks Presentation Analysis


While trying to find TED Talks to analyze, I decided to look for topics relating to gaming. I found a page on the site full of presentations about video games, toys and board games, and they dealt with the connections game mechanics have with the real world. After watching all of the videos on the page, I chose a few presentations that stood out to me the most.

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The first TED Talk that I came across was Paola Antonelli: Why I Brought Pac-Man to MoMA. This was an interesting look at the thought process behind introducing video games into the Museum of Modern Art. Though there have been critics that have spoken against it, Paola argues that design is the highest form of creative expression, and gaming is a prime example of modern design.

I particularly liked this presentation, because it deals with my major (game design). That immediately helped me relate to it on a personal level. I also found the comparison of game design and machinery design to be very enlightening. It made me think of design in a way I hadn’t thought of before. And in comparing the two, she helps the audience (particularly those who may be unfamiliar with gaming) understand the importance and relevance of game design.

The presenter was also entertaining to listen to. Not only was she knowledgeable about the content, but she frequently used jokes to keep the audience’s attention and draw people in. Since I am a fan of humor, this helped make this presentation stand out among others. There are often presentations that seem very dry, but I find that making the audience laugh helps to keep the mood of the presentation enjoyable.

She also made a habit of repeating the message she was trying to get across to the audience. In consistently reminding the audience that games deal with interaction design, there is never any misunderstanding about what the presentation is dealing with. She uses it to keep the audience focused on the message she is trying to get across.

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The next TED Talk I want to write about is Ze Frank: My Web Playroom. This one seemed to have been mistakenly listed under gaming, though it was certainly a welcome surprise. The topic was about connecting to other people, primarily through online mediums.

The first time I watched it, I wasn’t quite able to figure out what the message was supposed to be. Unlike with Paola, he didn’t repeat what he was trying to get across. In fact, I don’t think he ever specifically mentioned it. Even the title was ambiguous, and had little to nothing to do with his presentation.

Now, as Peter Guber once said, “the ending of a great narrative is the first thing the audience remembers”, and he wasn’t wrong. Ze’s incredible final story about Laura and the Chillout song was the most memorable and moving part of every one of the presentations I watched. It was a clear S.T.A.R. moment. In fact, it resonated with me on a personal level, because of my own struggles with anxiety.

My second time watching his presentation, I actually managed to find multiple different messages. One of which was that meaningful connections are possible over virtual spaces. Another was how you can make something good out of anything bad.

However, the most prominent message was humanity’s incredible ability to work together to make things happen. At first, he showed this through silly projects like making an Earth sandwich by having people collaborate and lay down bread on opposite sides of the world. But he later goes on to show how connections with people can make an impact, making the world a better place.

With his presentation, he primarily tried making the audience feel his message rather than simply telling them what it was. He did so through humor, sharing personal stories about his connections with other people, and ending it with a tear jerking and very sweet song that he and others made together to bring happiness and relief to anyone having a rough day. Instead of focusing on facts, he focused primarily on emotional connection. And I feel as though his presentation benefitted tremendously from that. It was an emotional roller coaster that would not have been possible without him presenting it.

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The final TED Talk I wanted to analyze was Jane McGonigal: The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life. The message of her presentation was about how game mechanics can be applied to real life to help people live healthier and happier lives. Even in the title and at the beginning of the presentation, she announces her “big idea” as having a game that can give you 10 extra years of life. She uses her own post-traumatic experiences to deliver her message, and the delivery of the presentation was really powerful because of that.

I also found the content of the presentation to be very interesting. She used a lot of thought provoking scientific evidence to back up all of the points she used. I particularly liked the use of the top 5 regrets of the dying, and showing how gaming and increasing your own resiliences help to prevent those types of regrets, thus improving your quality of life and life span.

I found it easy to relate to Jane, as she is a game designer. But she truly draws in the audience by sharing her personal story about her traumatic brain injury, her struggle with suicidal thoughts, and her creation of her real life game SuperBetter. In doing so, she delivers a presentation that wouldn’t be nearly as effective otherwise.

I want to talk about one last technique that Jane used, and that was getting the audience to participate in the presentation. While discussing each type of human resilience and how to improve them, Jane frequently asked the audience to do activities relating to them. In doing so, she made the audience “the hero”. This made the audience an active participant, and this wouldn’t be possible in any other medium.

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10 Qualities, Techniques, and Presentation Skills

Here are the 10 qualities that I feel were used effectively in the presentations I analyzed:

  1. Resonance: Ze’s story about Laura resonated with me on a personal level, helping me relate to the message he was trying to convey.

  2. Emotional Connection: Ze accomplished this through humor, and talking about his personal connections with other people. Jane accomplished this through her inspirational story about her own struggles. It made them seem more relatable, allowing the audience to better connect with the speaker.

  3. Hero/Mentor Relationship: Jane making the audience an active participant in the presentation, and leading them through the steps to a longer and happier life was a good example of the hero/mentor relationship.

  4. Humor: Humor was used by all three of the presenters to varying extents. For example, Paola joked often with the audience, much of Ze’s content was comical, and Jane and Paola made use of a few funny visuals. It helped to keep the audience’s attention, and keep them from getting bored of the presentation.

  5. Big Idea: Jane actually stated her big idea to the audience, along the lines of “If you do this, you will add 10 extra years to your life.” It was also an emphasis on a reward for the audience to work towards.

  6. S.T.A.R. Moment: Ze’s Chillout song was something to always remember.

  7. Repeatable Sound Bites: Paola’s frequent use of the words “interaction design” caused them to stick with me, much like a repeatable sound bite is supposed to do.

  8. Emotive Story Telling: Ze and Jane recounting their own personal stories made for memorable presentations.

  9. Shocking Statistics: Jane’s use of the 5 top regrets of the dying was a powerful use of shocking statistics, and were effectively used to further her message.

  10. Story Pattern: Jane’s story about her experience followed a story pattern. She was a relatable hero (a game designer), who encountered a roadblock (brain injury), and emerges transformed (enlightened, and happier). Her data about post traumatic growth also follows this same set up.

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