Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

“You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.

”This was the claim that video game designer Jane McGonigal presented to the crowd during her June 2012 TED talk. As the camera panned over the members of the audience, their faces showed universal skepticism: Was this lady serious?

There was something else interesting about that crowd. Despite their doubtful visages, everyone in the audience was drawn in by McGonigal’s words. No one was checking their email, talking to their neighbor or looking at the camera circling in front of them; all eyes were fixated on the (potentially crazy) speaker.

Great hooks, like McGonigal’s provocative opening statement, get audiences on the edge of their seats and give them a sense of what’s coming. They allow you to win a crowd’s attention right away and give you a legitimate chance to have a lasting impact....

One of the difficulties in understanding how inspirational leaders communicate has been our casual definition of inspiration. Many confuse this word with motivation or operate under the assumption that anyone can "just be inspiring."

Dr. Todd Thrash and Andrew Elliot of Rochester University are two of the leading researchers studying the psychology of inspiration. that there are three distinct stages that an individual will go through in the experience of inspiration: evocation, transcendence, and approach motivation....

No matter your topic, successful PowerPoints depend on three main factors: your command of PowerPoint's design tools, your attention to presentation processes, and your devotion to consistent style. Here are some simple tips to help you start mastering each of those factors, and don't forget to check out the additional resources at the bottom of this post....