Considering all the time and energy you put into finding supporting materials for your speech, you want your audience to get the most out of it. One of the best ways to do that is to clearly organize your speech. This will help audience members understand your points and stay engaged while listening.

Our chapter opener on Jane McGonigal mentioned that she gave her speech on the importance of gaming at a TED conference. TED is a nonprofit organization that “believe[s] passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world (ted.com, n.d.).” And what’s the best way to spread such ideas? Inspiring speeches! At annual TED conferences, leading thinkers and innovators like McGonigal give presentations on their area of expertise, usually lasting 18 minutes or less. The talks have a reputation for being passionate, engaging, and often exhilarating, as New York Times columnist Virginia Heffernan (2009) describes the experience of viewing the speeches online:

Help. Here I go. My pulse is racing. I’m completely manic. Oh why oh why have I been bingeing on TED talks again? I promised myself I would quit watching the ecstatic series of head-rush disquisitions, available online, from violinists, political prisoners, brain scientists, novelists and Bill Clinton. But I can’t. (p. 13)

TED talks cover everything from online gaming to studying 10,000-year-old ice in Antarctica. (You can watch many of them at ted.com.) But it’s not just the interesting topics that inspire such a devoted following. TED talks also grab and hold audiences’ attention because they are easy to follow and understand. You don’t need to be a leading innovator or scientist to do that; you just need to develop a clear organization for your speech, transition smoothly throughout the presentation, and keep your audience engaged.