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At a recent conference in Brandon, Manitoba, I was asked if I had a list of Ted Talks I could recommend. Even though I play them in my class ALL the time and still watch new talks regularly, I didn’t have a list! How weird! I kept referring to Ted Talks in my presentation (like a usually do) but this time I felt something was missing, a list, a reference of awesome talks that people could watch at their own pace. The last time I put a “Best Ted Talks” list together was on Jephmaystruck.com in 2012. So this is the six year update. Without further ado….
The 30 Best Ted Talks EVER
1
Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are by Amy Cuddy. My favourite Ted Talk to play for my class. Amy Cuddy changes the way you view yourself, your body language and your public speaking presence. Her story is emotional – you have been warned, watch with Kleenex near by.
2
Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce by Malcolm Gladwell. One of the most important Ted Talks to watch, this is one we make new Stratlabbers watch and even inspired a sticker that read: “We believe there is no such thing as ‘the perfect donut’, just ‘perfect donuts’.” Views of this world are 99% subjective, so be careful who you believe.
Gladwell is also one of my all time favourite authors. Blink, The Tipping Point, Outliers, and David and Goliath are some of his best!
3
On Being Wrong by Kathryn Schultz. The Ted Talk everyone needs to watch! Being wrong isn’t a bad thing, it’s very human and something we need to stop being afraid of.
4
How To Get Your Ideas To Spread by Seth Godin. Any of Seth’s videos are worth a watch, though you may need to watch it over a few times to fully get his points. He jam packs his talks with stories and examples of why thinking differently is a great thing.
5
The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown. Another Ted Talk everyone should watch at a young age. Being vulnerable is hard but it’s liberating.
6
How To Live Before You Die by Steve Jobs. One of the most retold stories in business (well, in my life!). The part where Jobs says “I’d look myself in the mirror and ask, ‘if today were my last day on Earth would I be doing what I want to be doing?’ If I’d answer ‘no’ too many days in a row then I knew I had to make a major change.” I’ve lived by this mantra for several years now. It’s helped me by giving me confidence every time we need to change things.
7
How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek. A Ted Talk I regularly show my class. The book Start With Why is even better!
8
Your Elusive Creative Genius by Elizabeth Gilbert. I show creatives this one all the time, probably the most important video for creative people to watch. I love Elizabeth Gilbert, she’s quite inspiring.
9
The Child-Driven Education by Sugata Mitra. Sugata is discovering the future of education, and some of the research he’s doing is on the forefront of how education is changing.
10
How Schools Kill Creativity by Sir Ken Robinson. The part where the kid draws God is simply amazing, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Made me think about the education system differently and also made me want to be on the positive side of change.
11
The Puzzle of Motivation by Dan Pink
12
Let’s Raise Kids To Be Entrepreneurs by Cameron Herold. A Canadian and an inspiring speaker. Cameron has a lot of tips packed into his talk, you’re going to want to take notes. You’re welcome.
13
How I Held My Breathe for 17 Minutes by David Blaine
14
Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams by Randy Pausch. Such a sad ending to this amazing human. I’ve loved Randy Pausch since the first time I watched the Last Lecture. The book, The Last Lecture is even better. It gave me a lot of confidence in myself, he’s that good.
15
How To Run a Company With Almost No Rules by Ricardo Semler. His book Maverick published in 1995 is one of the best business books I’ve ever read. Ricardo is a business leader more people should look up to.
16
The Emotion Behind Invention by Dean Kamen
17
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
18
The Riddle of Experience vs Memory by Daniel Kahneman. From the Author of Thinking Fast and Slow comes an interesting talk on how our brain works.
19
Are We In Control of Our Own Decisions? by Dan Ariely. The author of two books I really enjoyed AND that will make you think: Predictably Irrational and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty. I love how Dan looks at the world, very different and refreshing.
20
A Guerilla Gardner in South Central L.A. by Ron Finley. This talk inspired a great conversation with one Tyler Gray (when he was at Carmichael Outreach). We wanted to create gardens all over Regina that could feed people, just like in the video! This idea has lead to many great projects we’ve worked together on with Tyler.
21
Do What You Love (No Excuses!) by Gary Vaynerchuk
22
Why We Do What We Do by Tony Robbins
23
Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile by Chip Conley
24
How Social Media Can Make History by Clay Shirky. Mr. Shirky has been one of the “go to” people when it comes to Social Media research. His original Ted Talk is worth a watch as well.
25
How Algorithms Shape our World by Kevin Slavin
26
Life Lessons From An Ad Man by Rory Sutherland. One of may favourite talks to show in my marketing class. Rory has a unique way of getting his point across and is a brilliant mind in the marketing world. Definitely worth a watch!
27
The Surprising Science of Happiness by Dan Gilbert
28
Life at 30,000 Feet by Richard Branson
29
Everyday Leadership by Drew Dudley
30
How To Find a Wonderful Idea by OK Go
