TED Talk Communication Skills in Scotland

Admin
February 25, 2026

We all have a TED talk in us.

A cause we would shout about, if only we had a megaphone.

What’s your TED talk?

And crucially, how are your communication skills to be able to construct it?

Very few of us will be invited by TED to speak.

But having this pitch up your sleeve when you meet a decision-maker can be the difference between affecting change or accepting the status quo.

Here are three critical questions your audience will have about your pitch – and how to answer each of them.

TED talk communication skills in Scotland, public speaking training, TED Talk training London, Pink Elephant Communications

TED Talk Q1: What’s the big idea?

Here’s a challenge for you.

Consider a cause you care about deeply.

The cause you would quit your job for if the chance came along.

Now ask yourself: how would I explain that decision to people in my life?

To my family. To friends. To neighbours who might ask.

To stand up to the scrutiny of multiple audiences, your message must be simple and repeatable.

Just ask any political strategist out there who comes up with slogans such as:

“Yes, we can”.

“Make America Great Again”.

“Get Brexit done”.

Like them or loathe them, they cut through in large part due to their simplicity.

They’re repeatable, licensable, printable.

Put your own message under the same level of scrutiny.

Replace jargon and technical language with a simple, actionable message.

TED Talk Q2: Why should I care?

OK, so you want to save the penguins, but what’s in it for me?

This is often the most difficult question of all to answer.

We need to be specific and pull on the emotions.

Let’s say, for example, you’re highlighting a cause about climate change.

To someone sitting in Dhaka or Valencia, for example, the plight will be obvious.

What about an audience in Scotland, sitting cosily in Glasgow or Edinburgh?

That might affect them in terms of weather changes, insurance premiums, energy security, holidays, council tax, property flooding, travel disruption or many more.

If we attempt to sell all of these ideas to each audience, they’ll quickly become saturated.

Perhaps overinformed.

That, in turn, leads to boredom and apathy.

Find the one, two or maximum three reasons people should care about your topic.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs tells us that people are fundamentally motivated by the need to survive, feel safe and love others.

Yet how often do we pull on these factors when we write a speech?

In my experience: rarely, if ever.

So ask yourself: what’s in it for them?

TED Talk Q3: Where’s the proof?

There’s a reason we check TrustPilot before we book a holiday: we want to know other people have been and enjoyed themselves.

We do the same for presents, restaurants, kennels, and coffee shops. Even our taxi drivers now carry a rating, as do we as passengers.

In one sense, this is bizarre.

We trust complete strangers, with whom we likely have little in common, who will have completely different tastes and needs from us, to help us make our own decisions.

Why?

To put it simply, we love shortcuts.

We’re calculating our time researching in full against the opinion of members of the public.

Statistics have the same effect.

They’re a shortcut to convincing someone you’re right.

Especially if you’re the expert in the room.

Choose percentages if accuracy is vital.

Otherwise, convert them into numerals and pictures.

If you tell me, for example, that there are an average of 2000 spiders living in an average house at various points during the year, I’d be interested.

If you told me it’s likely there’s one in my bed right now, I’ll be moved to act, most likely with a slipper.

Bad for the spider; good for me, and great for you as the speaker. You’ve cut through the noise.

So turn dry stats into memorable images and stories that convince the listener to act.

They’re the shortcuts we all need.