Zombie Keynotes vs The TED-Style
6 Silver Bullets To Keep 'em Buried
By Devin D. Marks | Published Feb 14, 2025
In the eerie world of public speaking, it's best to battle the living dead and keep Zombie Keynotes buried.
The TED-Style sent 40-minute lectures to the graveyard of YouTube, long ago.
Today, most traditional presentations (with PowerPoint bullets and handheld mics) are largely unwatched and certainly not viral. Actually, they’re in the same cemetery plot as all the iffy TEDx Talks that keeled over with 133 views.
"BIG" TED changed everything.
You see, today’s audience is well-versed in the “short talk” style — at the highest level of TED delivery. Even a “Mehhhh” TEDx Talk won’t cut it. Viewers want the Simon Sinek-level delivery (or Brené Brown) whenever they open a browser.
A 40-minute speech isn’t going to reach people anymore.
Attention wanders.
The traditional 1990s keynote style is...
DEAD. (Or should be.)
So consider these Zombie-killing "Silver Bullet" recommendations:
𝟏. CHANGE THE APPROACH.
Yes, planners may want a 40-minute keynote with ten minutes of Q&A. But again, I say reverse that model. Give 'em 15 of sculpted presentation. Then move to 30+ rich minutes of Q&A! The audience will love it; producers will love rave reviews.
More on TED Approach here.
2. USE TED MESSAGING METHOD.
Now note, this is *not* just a countdown clock. The short length is immaterial to this point. If you embrace the TED Messaging Method™ for a normal stage, it’ll work. The following suggestions and links will help you zone in and cleanly deliver at a deeper and more engaging level than ever before.
More on TED Messaging Method here.
3. HYPER-FOCUS YOUR CONTENT. Messaging of the TEDster sort is hyper focused on, well, focus. Suggestions to get you started? A singular insight supported by a limited trio — Rule of Three — is a winner. (There’s more to TED-like focus, but start there.)
More on Clearly-Focused here.
4. STORY-WRAP THE BIG IDEA. A TEDster story should be wrapped around that big idea and the key points. Don't open and close with stories that are swappable. After all, a distinctly fitting story will smoothly move your insights coherently forward — as opposed to merely serve as a hook.
More on Story-Wrapping here.
5. BE ACTION-IGNITING. A TED-style CTA points to baby steps toward a larger goal. You may be talking about saving whales, but give us actionable steps. Audiences should feel they can bust out of the auditorium and take action immediately — not 5 months down the road.
More on Action-Igniting here.
6. SET A STORY BUFFET. Have a pre-determined set of stories and research findings that you can reference in the Q&A. These are layer-on points that would have been part of a 40-minute keynote, but that didn’t make the TED-Style cut.
Apply those 6 Silver Bullets to your next center stage moment. With them, you’ll be safe from haunting the graveyard of dull speeches. (Same goes for Zombies.)
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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