Tedx Rhetorical Analysis

“A speech should not just be a sharing of information but a sharing of yourself” (Archbold, n.d.)
The above quotation really exemplifies the beauty of having thoughts spoken out in different ways to convey messages to benefit not only others, but ourselves. In the modern era, there are many platforms for us to share information and thoughts such as physical newspaper and magazines, online reading through websites and social media as the most popular medium. For the purpose of this essay, discussion will be thoroughly focused on the critical aspects of communication and presentation skills, and the platform of choice is TEDx. TEDx is a program hosted to spark interest in conversations to help individuals and group connects through sharing of
experience and ideas in local community via series of talks from live presenter or videos (TEDx, n.d.). Talks varies in each place according to themes such as technology, humanity, education and health. Differences in themes will therefore be a good a point of view to analyze how communication is conveyed differently through each speaker. This essay will compare and contrast four speakers of different presentation topics and years.
Firstly, the style and quality of language is vital to create a common understanding between speakers and target audiences.
For Sir Ken Robinson, David Eagleman, and Tim Urban generally all three of them uses language that is simple, straight to the point and informative. Robinson whom is a professor of education, has a very natural accent but not too overpowering. As an educator himself, we could see how he composed his words in a manner as such he paced out his words so that the audience is always on par with his speech. Eagleman on the other hand, as a neurologist, he uses language that incorporates a lot of scientific terms. He gave simple definitions of the words which help the audience to gain better perspective of his topic relating to technology invention. Similarly, Urban as writer and a blogger, he uses a more up to date language or urban slangs as it is called, to suit a wider range of audience for him to make them feel relatable to his topic on procrastination. However, in contrast with Bailey, he uses very formal and a proper communicative language. The reason for formality is because he is doing a senior monitor’s speech for his graduation day. Hence it can be observed that the nature of event has an influenced on the language, attire and protocols of the
event.
Secondly, the aspect that are going to be analyzed is on attire and style of presentation. In relation to Petroleum business industry, looking presentable and confident is the key to having a successful business meeting besides delivering a good presentation. First impression is very important and as a professional, it is part of the process to gain trust from our investors. From all the fours speakers, Robinson and Bailey wore a formal attire whereas Urban and Eagleman wore a smart casual outfit. As mentioned in the previous point, formality and casualty usually depending on the nature of event, hence influenced the type of attire worn. Nonetheless, though TEDx is not a formal event, Robinson seems to have been wearing a formal attire to have a good first impression and shows the role he’s playing as an educationalist. Moving on to presentation skills, from my observations, only Bailey uses notes in form of written script for his speech on the stage. The other two speakers did not use notes but instead uses visual aids which were projected on the screen for the audience. Robinson on the other hand did not use any aids. From Bailey’s speech on using notes, it is of no doubt that to maintain strong eye contact with the audience is very hard. Reading also has made his voice projection to be monotone. Nevertheless, he countered his lacking by successfully paced his speech so that each one of his words were clear to the audience.
Furthermore, it can be noticed how each speaker uses different style of presentation to show their technical expertise. Robinson uses a lot of his personal stories to emphasize on his main points. As an example from the video footage (03:30), he uses his own experience with his daughter to demonstrate how creativity of a child is not influenced by the fear of doing mistakes. This technique is known as storytelling which uses emotions to connect with the audience. In contrast, Eagleman whom wore a casual shirt, at minute (11:46), he surprises the audience with a prototype underneath his shirt and demonstrating his invention, making his scientific research presentation more legitimate. Audience were left in awe which sparks a higher interest on his talk. Urban on the other hand, showed his creativity as a writer and blogger by using slides in form of cartoons to thoroughly explain his topic on procrastination. He is noticeably very good in controlling his body language and tonal variation which is translated into lots of mini acting on stage.
In addition, behind a good presentation, there is always a benefactor which makes the audience felt more attentive to the speaker.
Humour is thought to be a very strong skill that should be mastered as one of the art in doing an impactful presentation. Having a good sense of humour will not only makes the presentation lively but also diminish some tense in the room. Consecutively, information sharing is easily transferred plus making the listeners felt more energetic and responsive to your talks. All four speakers managed to incorporate this skill but the most successful would be Robinson. I hardly hear any silence in the room as giggles are maintained throughout his talks which is never a dull situation. Moreover, in addition to humour, an effective communication should have a strong engagement session between the speaker and target audience. This is to ensure that the audience maintain their focus and able to receive information shared. Since TED talks are mostly a one-way communication where by audiences were not given a chance to ask questions or personally in contact with the speaker during talks, it is vital that the speaker maintains a good connection in the room. This can be made successful by using humour, slide projection and maintaining good eye contact with the audience. However, uniquely after David Eagleman’s talk, the emcee had asked few questions related to his invention which is a good representation of a simple two-way communication. It is believed that
asking questions effectively to guide listeners to solutions is one of the way to have an effective communication skill. (Effective Communication Skills, n.d.) Therefore, the speaker is then able to know the thoughts of the listener and clarify further on those questions. In contrast with Bailey’s speech, even though he did not use slides or props, but he maintained a good authorization of his speech as a senior monitor in a formal event, whereby the audience is expected to give full attention and respect to the speaker.
In practical, when we were given a chance to talk about our passion in class, it can be noticed that each and every one of us uses similar techniques to all the speakers mentioned above. One of the most important details that is being emphasized is on our attire since the first day of class. I believed that looking presentable will not only gives a good impression but it will also boost my confidence. Next, to my understanding, there is no specific rules in giving presentation. It is all based on creativity and being comfortable with yourself. Based on my observations, some of my peers showed their passion by performing, story-telling, using props and the most outstanding one is doing his own cooking show. I find it remarkable on how creative young adults can be and this shall be maintained until adulthood in the real working environment. We can never go wrong with having to take a little bit of creativity and not going dull in a business meeting. In addition, one of the most impactful quote said in class was “How you present tells the world of what you think about yourself”. This has been coinciding with the quote in the introduction. I believed everyone thinks differently, and differences leads to changing of perspective. From in class presentation, one of the presenter talk about culture differences and how he faced oppression in his own country. We can feel the honesty in his presentation and I personally were lost in thoughts thinking of his beautiful crafted words. His presentation has given me a reminder that not everyone is living a comfortable life and it is our duty to always strive and fight for what it is worth. In conjunction with that, I also learned that as an audience, we should always respect the speakers. Firstly, we must give our full attention to the talk and secondly, by giving positive feedback for their hard work. It is not just about being courteous but it is a way to tell the presenter to be better in a certain angle. I truly believed that giving feedback should be a practice in the future of working world. It may come in form of compliments and guidance, for which it will not only boost the productivity level but also create an effective surrounding for the workers.

As a closure, both research and practical in class led to a better understanding of different aspects of communication and presentation skills. This is entirely for the benefits for us as a petroleum engineers-to-be and a constant learning for self-improving. Hopefully in the near future, these skills can be utilized at a maximum potential making us an all-rounder.