Talk Like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds

The first chapter covers the importance of a speaker’s passion for their subject and how it allows them to better connect with their audiences. Gallo states that his first secret is to be passionate about the topic of one’s presentation. The reader should find the ways they connect with their subject on a personal level, which Gallo notes may not be immediately apparent. The reason for its importance is that passion is contagious. If one is enthusiastic and presents their subject as such, they stand a better chance of persuading their audience. His examples are Aimee Mullins, an athlete with double leg amputations who gave a TED Talk about disability and prosthetics, and Cameron Russell, an underwear model who spoke about image. Both are successful in their respective fields, but their success in their talks came from a passion for their topic: human potential and girls’ self-esteem, respectively.

Gallo notes that the crucial question he poses when coaching clients is what they are passionate about or, as taken from a quote by Steve Jobs, “what made [their] heart sing” (20). The product didn’t matter if the enthusiasm was there. In business, that passion might be for employee engagement, customer service, or the ability to achieve the American Dream.