TED Conferences is a not-for-profit media organisation that now has branches all across the world, including in Malta as TEDxUniversityofMalta. The whole idea of these TED Talks is to get experts to ‘present a great idea in 18 minutes or less’.
Since TED Conferences was founded 39 years ago, there have been thousands of talks — each with its own inspirational, motivational, or compelling message. The three below are ones that have given us the most food for thought, so we thought we’d share them with you.
Amy Cuddy’s Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are: As a social psychologist and the proponent of “power posing”, Amy Cuddy knows a thing or two about body language — but one of her most fascinating theories is that our body language doesn’t just change how others see us, but also how we see ourselves. Cuddy’s TED Talk is now the second most watched of all time, with over 68 million views, and has garnered its fair share of criticism. Her idea that we should face our fears and stand in a confident manner even when we don’t feel confident – the confidence, she says, will follow – has not always been met with enthusiasm. That’s why, before watching it — and, yes, it’s still worth watching — you should also read the ‘Corrections & Updates’ section in the video’s notes.
Mary Roach’s 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm: In an incredibly interesting and absolutely hilarious TED Talk, American author Mary Roach goes through 10 obscure, surprising, and sometimes mind-boggling claims about the orgasm, ranging from human orgasm to animal orgasm. Obviously for adults, this talk sheds light on the science, the culture, and the myth behind sexual climaxing.
Sir Ken Robinson’s Do Schools Kill Creativity?: Among his many roles, Sir Ken Robinson is an international advisor on education in the arts, so it should come as no surprise that his TED Talk is about education and creativity. By now the most watched TED Talk of all time — 75,973,000 views and counting — the talk makes a case for putting creative subjects like dance, drama, music, and art on par with subjects like maths and languages, in a bid to keep creativity in children alive.
Are there any others you love? We’d love to hear about them!
