9 best TED Talks that will greatly inspire you

There can never be too much inspiration, right?

Whether for personal training or to reconsider behaviors and habits, which might be preventing your professional progress, hearing from experts can create new morale and spark up the energy one needs to change the course of their career.

In this context, watching a selection of the best TED Talks is a great option!

With a maximum duration of 18 minutes, the famous short talks’ motto is “ideas worth spreading”. Thus, the content presented by the invited speakers is usually enriching for those who are watching.

Therefore, we’ve selected 9 amazing TED Talks that can encourage your career, creativity, interpersonal relations, and much more.

In the list, the speakers are organized in alphabetical order, since it wasn’t our intention to rank them, but simply to offer suggestions of some of the best TED talks out there. Shall we get to it?

1. Amy Cuddy: “Your body language may shape who you are.“

The talk given by social psychologist and Harvard Business School professor, Amy Cuddy, is one of the most watched in TED Talk history.

With over 51 million views, her talk is about body language as a crucial part of communication in interpersonal exchanges.

During her 20-minute talk, Amy explains how the arm and leg position can change an entire interaction.

Even body posture makes a lot of difference when it comes to influencing your audience during a presentation, for example.

2. Ernesto Sirolli: “Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!“

In a humorous way, Ernesto Sirolli says that to make a difference in someone’s life, first, we must listen to what they have to say, and then explore our own entrepreneurial spirit. This is what he learned after years of voluntary work.

He’s a specialist in sustainable development and social entrepreneurship.

Additionally, he’s the founder of the Sirolli Institute, an NGO with dozens of projects in rural communities around the world.

3. Julian Treasure: “How to speak so that people want to listen.“

Julian Treasure’s talk is about the power of rhetoric.

In less than 10 minutes, he demonstrates several techniques to help you express yourself better in public: from vocal exercises to lessons on how to connect with others through empathy.

Julian is a sound expert. That’s right! He’s the president of The Sound Agency and a business communications consultant, he believes that, as necessary as the visual side of things, so is sound.

4. Kevin Allocca: “Why videos go viral.“

Now, if your wish is to venture into the world of video production, this is undoubtedly one of the best TED Talks to find inspiration for your work!

In this talk, the YouTube expert presents four reasons that make a video go viral on the internet.

Kevin Allocca opens his talk with a lot of humor and explains that making content go viral isn’t easy due to the number of videos uploaded on YouTube. However, he guarantees that anyone can become famous on the internet.

5. Seth Godin: “How to get your ideas to spread.“

For those seeking more creativity, Seth Godin’s talk is very inspiring.

He’s the author of several books on marketing and advocates an ideology based on respect for consumers: spam-free strategies, without manipulation and empty promises.

In his talk, Seth explains how come an idea attracts more attention than another. The answer is: being unexpected and noticeable, like a purple cow (certainly something that will be noticed, don’t you agree?).

To understand the example better, his talk is worth watching.

6. Shimpei Takahashi: “Play this word game to come up with original ideas.“

Still in the field of creativity, game designer Shimpei Takahashi explains how a simple exercise can help you have new ideas. To do so, he tells his own story: from childhood, he dreamed of designing toys that had never been seen before.

However, when he got a job at a toy company, he wasn’t able to create anything from the information provided by his boss. That was when he discovered the Shiritori word game, and since then, he improved his creativity significantly.

7. Simon Sinek: “How great leaders inspire action.“

This is one of the best and most popular TED Talks to inspire managers.

This talk already has over 43 million views.

What calls attention in its content is the simple model of inspiring leadership presented by Simon Sinek.

He is the author of books on management, a motivational coach and an organizational consultant, and is considered a preeminent expert in leadership.

In his talk, Simon explains that good leaders can create an environment of cooperation, trust, and change.

8. Susan Cain: “The power of introverts.“

Susan Cain’s talk is capable of eliminating the limiting belief that only extroverts are appreciated.

The author is passionate about the contribution of introverts to the world. She affirms that the “quiet ones” have incredible skills, and underscores this in her talk.

To begin with, she explains that introversion is not the same as shyness. While the latter has to do with the fear of social judgment, the former is a way of reacting to stimuli.

Unlike extroverts, who need social stimulus, introverts are focused within themselves. Therefore, they are more lively, creative, and proactive, even when they find themselves in quieter environments or alone.

9. Tim Urban: “Inside the mind of a master procrastinator.“

To conclude our list, this is one of the best TED Talks to deal with a widespread problem: procrastination.

You know when you plan a thousand things, but postpone everything until later, and in the end, it seems like everything is still the same? Well, procrastinators are experts in doing that.

In this talk, Tim Urban, who calls himself a master procrastinator, makes the audience laugh out loud when he tells them how he would always leave everything he had to do until the last second.

The final message will make you rethink this behavior, and it’s very inspiring for your day-to-day activities.

It’s high time you put what you learned into practice

In this list, we’ve selected some of the best TED Talks for your career. However, to really provide professional and personal development, you need to take the lessons learned and apply them in your everyday life.

So, how about starting the change today?

Oh, and before you go, leave a comment telling us which of the talks you enjoyed the most and if you know any others that might also be inspiring!