22-05-2025
3 Surprising Habits Of The World's Greatest TED Speakers
The road to public-speaking success on a TED stage is paved with small steps and deliberate practice.
When you watch a speaker whose TED Talk has attracted millions of views, it's easy to think the person is a 'natural.' In most cases, the opposite is true.
Great speakers make it look effortless because they put a lot of effort into making it great.
When I interview TED speakers, especially those who are sought-after business speakers, they acknowledge that their confidence on the big stage came after years of practice on smaller stages.
For example, famed astronaut Chris Hadfield gave a TED Talk about 'going blind in space' that attracted tens of millions of views. During a spacewalk, a chemical in his suit forced his eyes shut. Hadfield remained completely calm, discovered the source of the problem, and fixed it.
When I asked Hadfield during an interview how he developed extreme confidence on stage, he said mastering public speaking wasn't all that different from learning any other skill—including a spacewalk.
It takes time and practice…in small steps.
Hadfield reminded me that, as one of the few Canadian astronauts, he was popular on the speaking circuit and had accepted speaking invitations for decades. He honed his craft in lower-pressure situations, from classrooms to business luncheons.
The same strategy applies to high-stakes and high-pressure speaking opportunities such as giving a TED talk or delivering a presentation to attract investors or customers. Small steps yield big results.
Susan Cain, the bestselling author of Quiet, told me in an interview that public speaking did not come naturally to her. In fact, she was terrified of public speaking for much of her career.
Before Cain gave an 18-minute talk on 'The Power of Introverts,' one of the most popular TED Talks of all time, she had spent more than a decade as a lawyer and consultant. During the seven years between the time she started researching her book and appearing on TED, she attended Toastmasters meetings and spoke in front of small groups.
'The way to overcome any fear, but particularly public speaking, is to expose yourself to the fear in very small doses,' Cain told me.
'You can't start out by giving TED Talks. If you're a nervous speaker, your brain is acting like you're staring down a saber-toothed tiger. You need to get enough successful experiences in small bites that you retrain your brain, so it sees the stage as more like a daffodil than a tiger.'
Cain still finds it remarkable that she doesn't dread public speaking anymore. In fact, she finds it 'enjoyable.' It might be hard to imagine now, but you can enjoy public speaking, too. The secret is taking tiny, consistent steps to build your confidence.
Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist, once told me she rehearsed her TED Talk more than 200 times. 'My Stroke of Insight' has been viewed more than thirty million times, making it one of the most-watched TED Talks ever.
Now, you certainly don't need to practice a presentation hundreds of times. I often find that rehearsing a presentation from start to finish at least ten times prepares me to perform my best. But Dr. Jill's experience reinforces the lesson that speakers who look effortless have put in many more reps than you might think.
Great speakers don't just practice more than the average person. They practice deliberately by simulating real-world conditions.
For example, if your next presentation requires that you stand up in front of a group with a PowerPoint presentation on display behind you, then rehearse like it's the real thing.
Don't simply flip through the slides silently to yourself. Instead, stand up, put a clicker in your hand, and speak out loud. If you mess up or forget to make a point, keep going to the end because, in the real setting, you're not going to start over.
The more times you can make yourself feel just a little uncomfortable—adding a slight bit of stress to your rehearsals—the more your confidence will grow. When showtime comes along, you'll be ready for it.
Public speaking sparks fear in most people because it's a by-product of our evolutionary heritage. It triggers the fight-or-flight response, which makes your palms sweat and your heart beat faster.
As Susan Cain said, there's only one proven solution: train your brain to see the audience as a daffodil, not a tiger.
