In prepration of my TEDx talk Monday, today I watched two of my favorite TED talks. I selected these two. First watch them, and then read why I love them, because I might bias you 🙂

Dean Kamen on inventing and giving (http://www.ted.com/talks/dean_kamen_on_inventing_and_giving.html)

Hasan Elahi on getting tracked by the FBI (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/hasan_elahi.html)

Okay, have you seen them? Well, obviously the content of both talks is great. Both guys are inventors and creators of great ideas. So what is cool about the combination of these two talks, is that in my opinion they are are at two ends of the spectrum of presentation techniques. Hasan, for me, is such a great storyteller, that the first time I watched this video, the depth of his message (devaluating the ‘currency’ of the FBI) did not really reach me as deeply as the second and third time.

Dean on the other end, defies some rules that all presentation coaches tell you: like don’t look at the ground and don’t distract your audience by riding a Segway. Yet, despite coming across as a bit geeky, he still radiates passion. And ‘Hmmm… what statistic could impress you? How about….’ is definitely the best way of introducing boring facts I have ever witnessed.

(If you haven’t watched the talks, sorry, you are biased now. But they are still worth watching)