TED lectures, where participants gather to discuss the most interesting topics and hear inspirational stories, have now been held for more than 30 years. Вy 2019, the total number of lectures covering different material has surpassed 3300. However, in reality, there have been even more. This is because in the pre-internet days of 1984 it was impossible to publish lectures by TED speakers online. Fortunately, of course, modern technology allows you to save lecturers on the official conference website: https://www.ted.com/talks. And although it's been difficult to choose the best from so many excellent and useful materials, I personally have my favourites — I admit! Here, I have selected for you the top fifteen lectures of TED Talks, which are definitely worthy of your attention. I recommend them for everyone!
- Sir Ken Robinson: 'Do schools kill creativity.?' Coming in as our number 1 choice for a good reason - this lecturer was given almost ten years ago, and it still resonates today, as much as way back then. Sir Ken Robinson is very sincere and profound in his examination of the educational system and the question of whether it stimulates creativity in children, rather than nipping it off in the bud. To date, this lecture has had fifty five million views.
- Amy Cuddy: 'Your body language may shape who you are.' This talk is about body language and self-determination. The speaker, a social psychologist, discusses how our body language impacts not only how others see us, but also on how we see ourselves. Number of views: fifty-five million.
- James Veitch: 'This is what happens when you reply to spam email.' The writer and comedian entered into mischievous correspondence with spammers to play them at their own game. The result was he ended up with one of the most popular TED lectures ever. The number of views is fifty-four million.
- Simon Sinek: 'How do leaders inspire action?' The simple but effective and strong leadership model presented in this lecture allowed its author to take fourth place in the top TED lectures of all time. Number of views: forty-eight million.
- Bren Brown: 'The power of vulnerability.' A lecture on how knowing yourself enables for a better understanding of others interact teaches us how to more effectively interact with the world. The number of views is forty-five million.
- Julian Treasure: 'How to speak so that people want to listen.' Saying the right words are a powerful persuasion tool. Julian Treasure will teach you the 'how-to's of powerful speaking,' he also shows you some great vocal exercises, and how to speak with empathy. So far, this Ted Talk has had thirty-nine million views.
- Tim Urban: 'Inside the mind of a master procrastinator.' They say that a little procrastination is useful, but just how to identify just the little bit that's okay? Tim Urban's lecture is a hilarious and insightful attempt to figure what drives us to leave things to the last minute. As the talk tells us, 'Urban takes us on a journey through YouTube binges, Wikipedia rabbit holes and bouts of staring out the window' and finally he implores us to really think about the things we procrastinate about, and to stop doing them before it's too late and all our time runs out. The number of views is thirty-five million.
- Cameron Russell: 'Looks aren't everything - believe me I'm a model.' Appearance is not the main thing. Russell is a lingerie model who was lucky to win the "genetic lottery": she is beautiful. Of course, beauty is only skin deep - and just our superficial appearance. Cameron tells us how the reality of the modelling work is no fairy tale and that the reality of it is much darker. This talk has had thirty-two million views.
- Sam Burns: 'My philosophy for a happy life.' Another player in the 'genetic lottery,' who was a little less fortunate than the speaker above. Born with a rare genetic disease, progeria, this still didn't stop him from being happy. Burns is inspirationally tells you how to get take charge of your life. The number of views is thirty-one million.
- Robert Waldenger: 'What makes a good life? Life lessons from the longest study on happiness.' Based on 75 years of clinical research, Waldenger seems to be able to more or less unambiguously answer the question 'What makes people happy?' The number of views is thirty million.
- Mary Roach: '10 things you didn't know about orgasm.' Amazing, strange, funny - these are all categories of facts about sexual pleasure that you'll learn from this lecture. The number of views is thirty million.
- Pamela Meyer: 'How to spot a liar.' Statistics tell us that we're lied to between ten and two hundred times every day. Spotting a lie can be difficult to spot. Pamela Meyer, who is the author if 'Lie spotting' elucidates the 'manners and hotspots' that trained lie-spotters can employ to identify when someone doesn't tell the truth. Meyer argues there are far too many lies in this world and that truth and honesty are values worth defending. The number of views is twenty-seven million.
- Graham Shaw: 'Most people think they can't draw.' But why? Admit it, do you envy those who're able to create a work of art, and think that you can't do it? Well, Mr. Shaw thinks differently. The number of views is twenty-seven million.
- Tom Thum: 'The orchestra in my mouth.' Beatboxer Tom Thum's lecture is almost 12 minutes of music, fun, humour and incredible creativity. The number of views is twenty seven million.
- Jill Bolt Taylor: 'My stroke of insight.' An amazing story of how a brain researcher actually studied her own brain first hand after having a massive stroke. This Ted Talk has had twenty-six million views.
Do you have any Ted Talks lectures that you replay like your favourite songs? Share in the comments!