Scaling the Conversation

I typically listen to TED talks on my iPod. Unfortunately, the 5th generation device is getting a little long in the tooth and apparently can no longer play the video format that TED publishes to its podcast feed. All of that to say that I have fallen behind on my TED talks.

Fortunately, Garr Reynolds wrote about an interesting talk on his Presentation Zen blog that crystalizes some of the thoughts that were rattling around after my discussion with Nancy Duarte. The talk, "How web video powers global innovation," was given by Chris Anderson, curator of the TED conference.

Chris points out that there is a hidden magic in face-to-face communication "fine tuned by millions of years of evolution," but the invention of the printing press changed everything. "Print scaled," allowing it to become the dominate form of communication for innovators. As a result, "the art of the spoken word pretty much withered on the vine." However, he believes there is still hope, because "what Gutenberg did for writing, online video can now do for face-to-face communication."

What does all of this have to do with my conversation with Nancy? After the podcast recording, I was thinking about the difference between lecturing vs. teaching and presenting vs. conversing. There is obviously an art to communicating with a crowd, but is it really the same skill as discussing something with a friend or tutoring a struggling student? From my own experience, communicating with a crowd and an individual are two very different things. In many ways, presenting is more of a performance than a conversation. Presenting is scripted and idealized – not at all as innate and comfortable as a conversation. In fact, it is probably closer to the truth to say that millions of years of evolution have fine tuned us to flee from any prospect of speaking in public.

Regardless, I do agree with Chris Anderson that online video is allowing us to scale communication in new and exciting ways that will accelerate inovation, but my guess is that the most impactful conversations will look more like Sal Kahn videos than TED talks. Of course, I'm happy that both exist and look forward to seeing how this will all play out.

The video: