The 30 Most Watched TED Talks That Will Change Your Life
By Juliet Smith
2 years ago
Do schools kill creativity? - Sir Ken Robinson
Image Source/ TED.comThe prestigious author Sir Ken Robinson tops the TED most watched talk list with his eye-opening discussion on implementing an education system that hones in on creativity, rather than undermines it. While talking on the serious topic, Robinson finds the balance with entertainment and humour.Your body language may shape who you are - Amy Cuddy
Image Source/ TED.comThis talk really puts the "fake it till you make it" phrase into action. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy puts forward an argument about power posing, which utilises the way that others perceive our stance and encourages you to take a confident posture, even at times of insecurity.How great leaders inspire action - Simon Sinek
Image Source/ TED.comBritish-American author Simon Sinek actually put forward his own tailored model for inspirational leadership. The pivotal question the model asks is... Why? He uses examples of Apple, Martin Luther King Jr and the Wright Brothers to base his evidence on.How to speak so that people want to listen - Julian Treasure
Image Source/ TED.comEveryone's been in a position where they've been speaking but feel like nobody is listening. Julian Treasure is here to help you overcome the barrier. Being a sound expert, Treasure details how-to's when it comes to powerful speaking, with vocal tips.The power of vulnerability - Brené Brown
Image Source/ TED.comBrené Brown examines human connection, more specifically our necessities of empathy, belonging and loving. Brown draws from her own personal research she felt obliged to carry out, wanting to know more about herself as well as humanity. She balances the sentimental topic with humour and thought.Inside the mind of a procrastinator - Tim Urban
Image Source/ TED.comProcrastination baffles the best of us, putting off the ever-so important tasks before they get the better of us. Hilarious and insightful, the talk reflects on our incessant need to stare out the window before turning to the work that needs to be done.The next outbreak? We're not ready - Bill Gates
Image Source/ TED.comThe Ebola outbreak narrowly misses it's global status of a pandemic. However, Bill Gates talks on how we should move forward in the future in order to save ourselves from a global outbreak of another virus, utilising vaccine research and health worker training.Looks aren't everything, believe me, I'm a model - Cameron Russell
Image Source/ TED.comCameron Russell gives us a honest and heart-breaking discussion talk on what happened when she broke into the modelling industry in her youth. While acknowledging the privilege she had of being born tall and pretty, she speaks distastefully about the the industry that sexualised her at 16 years old.What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study of happiness - Robert Waldinger
Image Source/ TED.comPsychiatrist Robert Waldinger, who headed the 75-year study on adult development, discredits the belief that fame and money lead to a happy life. With his research on true happiness and satisfaction, Waldinger details three important life lessons in order to build a fulfilling life.10 things you didn't know about orgasm - Mary Roach
How to spot a liar - Pamela Meyer
Image Source/ TED.comLiespotting author Pamela Meyer draws on liars and the signs of the lies they put forward. She shows how the techniques that people use who are trained to recognise deception, arguing that honesty is inherently valuable. On average we are lied to from 10 to 200 times per day.The art of misdirection - Apollo Robbins
How I held my breath for 17 minutes - David Blaine
Image Source/ TED.comStuntman and magician David Blaine explains to the audience what techniques he adopted in order to hold his breath for an astonishing 17 minutes (around the entire length of the talk). The World-record holder goes on to describe what the dangerous work means to him.The power of introverts - Susan Cain
Image Source/ TED.comWe're all aware that the more outgoing you are, the more socially successful you're considered. Susan Cain describes what it means to be an introvert, and how it can often be perceived as difficult and even shameful. She explores how introverts harbour extraordinary talents and abilities.My stroke of insight - Jill Bolte Taylor
Image Source/ TED.comJill Bolte Taylor suffered a massive stroke and used the experience as a research opportunity to delve into her recovery and how it shaped her. The stroke left her brain functions affected, motion, speech, self-awareness, all shut down one by one in succession.The puzzle of motivation - Dan Pink
Image Source/ TED.comDan Pink, the career analyst, looks at motivation, its complexity and how we can maximise motivation in the workplace. A fact that many social scientists know around the world, yet a lot of managers lack the knowledge is that traditional rewards aren't as effective as we think.Strange answers to the psychopath test - Jon Ronson
Image Source/ TED.comThe immersive and multi-sensory talk by Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test, delves into the fine line that divides sanity and insanity. Within this interesting, eye-opening and chilling discovery, Ronson highlights the grey areas and overlaps between the two.How to make stress your friend - Kelly McGonigal
Image Source/ TED.comStress, a common enemy everyone shares, raising our heart rates, making us anxious and sweaty. But what if that's what we're taught to believe? Kelly McGonigal, the psychologist, explores the villainization of stress, urging us to see stress as a positive, which in turn reduces stress.The danger of a single story - Chimamanda Adichie
Image Source/ TED.comChimamanda Adichie, a successful novelist, highlights the importance of an authentic cultural voice, explaining that we risk a critical misunderstanding if we hear just a single story about a person or country. She explores how are lives and cultures are a connection of overlapping stories.The happy secret to better work - Shawn Anchor
Image Source/ TED.comTurning the nation-wide believed formula that productivity equals happiness on its head, psychologist Shawn Anchor offers up an unusual perspective of work in this quick-moving and funny talk. He questions hard work's correlation with happiness and invites us to think about things backwards.10 ways to have a better conversation - Celeste Headlee
Image Source/ TED.comRadio host Celeste Headlee is a genius when it comes to conversation, unsurprising given her job's relying on verbal communication. In this surprising exploration of conversations, Headlee shares ten rules for having better conversations, inviting people to go out, talk and listen.Grit: the power of passion and perseverance - Angle Lee Duckworth
Image Source/ TED.comAngle Lee Duckworth left her upper-end job in consulting to teach seventh graders maths in a New York public school. Not only was she teaching, but she was learning too, about grit and perseverance. She realised that it wasn't simply IQ that separated successful and unsuccessful students from each other, but grit.Your elusive creative genius - Elizabeth Gilbert
Image Source/ TED.comElizabeth Gilbert offers a different perspective on what it means to be a genius, turning the question into what it means to "have" a genius. She encourages us to move away from the idea that a rare person is a genius and instead consider that every person has an inner genius.The surprising science of happiness - Dan Gilbert
Image Source/ TED.comStumbling on Happiness author Dan Gilbert takes the idea that we become miserable when we don't get our on way and challenges it deeply. He speaks about a proposed psychological immune system, which encourages our body to feel happy, even in moments where things don't go to plan.The thrilling potential of sixth sense technology - Pranav Mistry
Image Source/ TED.comPranav Mistry gave a talk at TEDIndia about technology and our relationship with it. He demonstrates tools that assist the physical world to interact and worth with the world of data. He looks deeply at the SixthSense device, along with a paradigm-shifting paper laptop.The orchestra in my mouth - Tom Thum
Image Source/ TED.comGiving a different type of talk at a TED event, Tom Thum offers Sydney a performance beyond imagination. The beatbox master tests the limits of human voice and showcases incredible music with just his beats and sounds, and a band to help him along the way.Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce - Malcom Gladwell
Image Source/ TED.comAuthor Malcom Gladwell mixes the complexity and inconsistency of happiness and choice with the banal, hilarious element of a perfect spaghetti sauce. He draws on a story from a man who refused to believe in a sauce that was perfect, and uses this to delve into discoveries about human behaviour.My philosophy for a happy life - Sam Berns
Image Source/ TED.comSam Berns has faced many adversities in his life, after being born with rare genetic disorder progeria. However, he didn't let his condition stop him from harnessing the happiness that life had to offer. Within a moving talk, Berns explains the three rules he followed in his own personal philosophy.What does it take to change a mind? - Lucinda Beaman
Image Source/ TED.comLucinda Beaman, fact-check editor, has a knack to read between the lines of belief and fact. She has implemented her own framework to further understand how our minds process information, which explores how we connect with the people that disagree with our opinions.What reality are you creating for yourself? - Isaac Lidsky
Image Source/ TED.comReality isn't perceived, but is something that's created in your mind. Isaac Lidsky offers an insightful talk into his own personal experiences of going through life's circumstances and using this to shape the way is mind perceived the world around him.What To Read Next
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