12/10/2023
How to get a standing ovation!
The Dominick method quick observation study!
Let’s talk about two aspects to great performance. Outstanding speech writing and charismatic and artful presenting. This speech is the epitome of both.
Though the message is significant, David Brooks sets the scene of his point through humour and intricate storytelling. To me his storytelling, is what it’s all about, not one long story that acts as metaphor to enhance the message, but more a cinematic description of short scenes, visually painting, scenarios and characters that we understand and resonate with.
Like a stand up comic, he leads us to a heightened state, carefully weaving his point through his entertaining observations - building us to the climax, at which point he effortlessly drops into the weight of his message. By this time we are ready to listen, fully in the palm of his hand, attuned to our own search for meaning and emotion we journey with him. He doesn’t let up, keeping us on emotional tenderhooks until the end. He shares quotes, philosophy, neuroscience research, even an art analogy through Picasso, his examples are relevant to his message and cover a diverse field, we are being entertained, yet the moral message is the underpin of it all.
As humans we need to operate from a place of connection first.
We do not make policy from a place of reality. We switch off emotional intelligence when policy making and that’s why policies fail time and time again.
So after my initial blurt of a response to a great speech, HOW does he manage to entertain us whilst rallying the part of us that wants to change. This speech is an artful call to action (which he does not just at the end, but subconsciously all the way through) that will resonate for days in the mind of the audience.
Notes
He has a high status, an appealing authority but not two high that we disconnect.
He is very still, his expression comes from his inward presence, not from an outward show of distracting gesture.
Archetypal mix is an interesting combination - the first half is Warrior strength and Jester, the second half after the turning point his performance moves into Warrior strength and Altruist warmth this gains our trust as an audience and resonates with our moral sense of how things should be, it connects us to our own reflection, taps our emotions and ignites our unconscious desire for a real connection.
Review by Tara Dominick
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http://www.ted.com Tapping into the findings of his latest book, NYTimes columnist David Brooks unpacks new insights into human nature from the cognitive sci...
