AJ Jacobs opens his TED talk about how he almost died trying to be healthy by using humor to grab the audience's attention and make them laugh. He maintains their attention by being personable and relatable through self-deprecating jokes. He follows the TED commandments by showing his authentic self. On a scale of dynamism, he ranks a 2.5 out of 5 for having a dry personality, though he was entertaining at times. The speaker connects with the audience by keeping them engaged and exposing aspects of himself while still coming across as believable. He recommends being yourself, being real, not being afraid to have fun, and presenting information in a way that people can relate to.

1. NATHANIEL SIMPSON
TED Slide show Assignment 8/8/2012

2. The Speaker
The Speaker I chose to present about is AJ Jacobs.
The thesis of AJ Jacobs speach is how he almost died trying to be
healthy

3. The Speaker
AJ opens up grabbing the audience attention
by using humor to open up. He quickly cracks
jokes about himself to break the ice cause
some laughter and bring the audience to
attention.

4. The Speaker
AJ continues to maintain the audiences
attention by being very personable. He
consistently make’s relatable jabs at himself
while keeping the audience amused and
engaged.

5. TED Commandments
AJ follows the TED commandments by
SHOWING THE REAL HIM..

6. TED COMMANDMENTS
From the very start AJ makes it clear that what he’s talking about
and how he will be delivering it is in fact who he is and how he
lives.
He uses slight humor and exposes himself throughout his entire
speech, he revels personal information and lets us know the
status of his family.

7. Dynamism
On a scale of 1-5
I rank AJ at a 2.5

8. Dynamism
Not to say he was lacking of energy
completely but AJ seemed to have more of a
dry personalty. He was entertaining at times
but he definitely could have added some pep
to his step. Perhaps changing his vocal ton or
moved around more.

9. TIPS
He connected with the audience
He kept them engaged
He exposed him self while still making himself
believable.

10. Delivery
Delivery doesn’t have to be done 1 way.
You can be funny while still driving home a point.
Dry humor works at times.

11. Delivery
People relate to what the believe is possible.
It’s a great ice breaker to use yourself as the example.
Making jokes at topics people can relate to is a plus.

12. Compare and Contrast.
The first two speakers I observed seemed more scientific.
The were believable because the way the spoke, it demonstrated
a great deal of knowledge.
They seemed scientific and looked it which gave them instant
credibility.

13. Compare and Contrast
AJ at first sight I was unsure of.
Although he didn’t look extra ordinary, it wasn’t until he spoke
did I make the decision to believe him.
He used much more dry humor to get his point across but did so
in clever ways.

14. TIPS
Be yourself
Be real
Don’t be afraid to have fun.
Talk about info and present it in such a way that people can relate
to it.

15. Nathaniel Simpson 8/8/12
TED Assignment: A.J. Jacobs: How healthy living nearly killed me