The Best TED Speakers Jettison PowerPoint

6 steps to help you speak without a deck

By Devin D. Marks | Published Aug. 30, 2022

TED killed PowerPoint as we know it.

The age-old 1990s IBM standard of:

  • 1 stock image.
  • 7 bullet points.
  • 7 words for each line.
  • Phrases underlined, italicized, bolded.
  • Colored, vibrating...

(You get the idea.)

It no longer applies.

When the first TED Talks bubbled into YouTube (in 2006), they marked a turning point in how visuals accent a message. (And that was more than 15 years ago!)

These days, a deck isn’t the default. And slide technology (whether PowerPoint, Prezi, or otherwise) is used differently in the TED context.

Only once the talk is in rehearsal mode, do we even consider slides.

In fact, when working with clients, I first ask some questions to challenge the assumption that slides are a default.

1. If the talk is fully formed and coherent, can it stand on its own without images?

2. If images must be used, are they moving the big idea forward?

3. Then I ask my client if words or data sets are truly necessary.

You see, we must consider what undergirding content must really be shared (research, citations, definitions, graphs, charts, etc.). Could that be packaged that as a digital leave-behind (or post-talk download) instead of a preso deck?

Keep in mind, data bogs down a message. It is much better to propel the message (through The TED Messaging Method™ toolset of focus, story, etc.)

Consider one of my breakaway clients, Harvard’s Dr. Robert Waldinger. His TOP 10 talk about a 75-year study on happiness is approaching 50 million views.

Dr. Waldinger's research boasts one of the largest statistical sets of its kind in the world.

Lotta data findings to share there, right?!

Nope.

There’s not a single pie chart or graph. Not one of the 15 images used has a phrase.

That's because all the TED Talk speakers I coach are encouraged to jettison PowerPoint as we know it.

After all, The TED Talk Generation expects a new form of communication on stage. (Any stage.) And the same applies on any screen.

So how should slides fit into your presentations? Use these 6 TEDster guidelines in prioritized order:

1. SCRIPT ONLY.

Fully craft your spoken message without opening a deck.

2. DRY RUN.

Then challenge yourself to deliver your message without slides.

3. SPRINKLE IMAGES.

Record, review, and then consider adding (only) images.

4. IMAGE ONLY.

Ask of those images can stand alone, without words or phrases.

5. STINGY WORDS.

If you must, "build" the deck so images preface the phrasing.

6. LEAVE-BEHIND.

For data, graphs, or research — use a post-talk handout.

After all, the best TED speakers jettison PowerPoint as we once knew it. And you now know six ways to do the same!


DEVIN D. MARKS is known as The TED Talk Whisperer. His firm, CONNECT to COMPEL, has served 100s of TED, TEDx, and short-talk speakers — including Harvard’s Dr. Robert Waldinger for his all-time Top 10 TEDx Talk. The result: 100s of millions of views for clients. He helps niche experts, authors, and leaders spread world-changing ideas. 

You can reach Devin at 617.804.6020, or DM him here. His newsletters are here.


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