🎥 How to Speak by Patrick Winston

VIDEO INFORMATION

How to Speak
MIT OpenCourseWare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY&ab_channel=MITOpenCourseWare
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/res-tll-005-how-to-speak-january-iap-2018/

Additional Lecture Material: https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/index.html

Approximately 63 minutes

HOOK

Your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas, in that order. Challenging conventional wisdom that prioritizes the quality of ideas above all else.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Effective speaking is a learnable skill that can be mastered through knowledge and practice, far outweighing innate talent, and is the primary determinant of success in both professional and personal contexts.

SUMMARY

Patrick Winston, the late MIT professor who passed away in July 2019, delivers a masterclass on effective speaking techniques in this compelling lecture that transcends typical presentation advice. While the reviewer had previously covered Winston's Star concept from this renowned professor, this talk provides a more general and comprehensive treatment on how to speak and present effectively. Winston begins by establishing a provocative hierarchy of success factors: speaking ability first, writing ability second, and quality of ideas, and third, a reversal of conventional thinking that immediately captures attention. He introduces his communication formula of success equals Knowledge plus Practice plus Talent, with talent being the smallest factor. This is illustrated through a personal anecdote about skiing better than Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton despite her superior natural ability, because he possessed knowledge and practice she lacked.

The lecture progresses systematically through Winston's personal "armamentarium" of speaking techniques, each supported by vivid examples and demonstrations. He begins with how to start a presentation, advocating for empowerment promises over jokes, explaining that audiences care about what useful things they can learn from a talk, not about the talk itself. This audience-centered approach requires looking at the presentation from the audience's perspective and clearly stating what they will gain. He then introduces four core techniques: cycling (repeating key points multiple times to ensure retention), building fences around ideas (distinguishing one's concepts from others'), verbal punctuation (providing landmarks to help listeners who may have "fogged out" re-engage), and strategic questioning.

Winston importantly differentiates between presentations that aim to expose (such as job talks or conference presentations) versus those that aim to inform (such as lectures). For exposition talks, he emphasizes the critical need to get across the message in the first five minutes, explaining the problem being solved, why it's important, why the approach is new and effective, and providing a preview of contributions. This five-minute window can make or break a presentation's effectiveness.

The lecture addresses practical aspects of presentation design, advocating for minimalistic slides with almost all text cut out. Winston explains that using a lot of text on slides distracts audiences who try to read while listening, effectively dividing their single language processing center. This suggests preparing two versions of slides: one for live presentation and another for handouts or posting online. He specifically advises against laser pointers, which require turning away from the audience, recommending instead the use of arrows on slides or modern tools like the LogiTech Spotlight pointer that highlights on the laptop screen without requiring the speaker to face away.

For presentations that aim to inform, Winston argues that chalk and blackboard are more appropriate than slides, allowing for better pacing and interactivity. However, he acknowledges that slides are still more convenient for many purposes, as long as they are well-prepared with minimal text. He emphasizes keeping the pace slow and incorporating strategic questions to maintain engagement.

Winston devotes significant attention to minimizing audience distractions, particularly advocating for disallowing laptops in lectures. Since humans have only one language processing center, those reading emails or social media will miss the presentation content. While this isn't practical for conference talks—where the setup is already disadvantageous with tired audiences, laptops, and poorly lit rooms—the defense is to make content and presentation exceptionally interesting.

The use of props receives special attention as a way to create visceral reactions in audiences. Winston demonstrates how physical objects that can be touched and shown make presentations more engaging and memorable, though he acknowledges this may require creativity for those in fields like distributed systems and cloud computing.

For concluding presentations, Winston insists on ending with a contributions slide that reminds the audience what was argued, how it was argued, and why it matters. He advises against finishing with "thank you," considering it a weak move that suggests the audience stayed only out of politeness.

While Winston's talk focuses primarily on the mechanics of giving a talk, the reviewer notes that they have previously written about framing presentations and storytelling, which complement Winston's more mechanical approach. Together, these perspectives provide a comprehensive guide to effective presentations that addresses both delivery mechanics and content structure.

INSIGHTS

The Communication Formula: Success in speaking is determined by Knowledge + Practice + Talent, with talent being the smallest factor. This democratizes effective speaking, making it accessible to anyone willing to learn and practice.
Cognitive Limitations: At any given moment, about 20% of an audience will be "fogged out" regardless of the presentation quality, necessitating the cycling technique of repeating key points multiple times.
Empathetic Mirroring: Physical demonstrations and blackboard work engage audiences more deeply than slides because mirror neurons in listeners' brains activate, creating a sense of participation rather than passive observation.
The Five-Minute Rule: In job talks and persuasive presentations, speakers have approximately five minutes to establish both their vision and accomplishments—failing to do so risks losing their audience entirely.
Slide Psychology: When slides contain many words, audiences focus on reading rather than listening to the speaker, effectively dividing their attention and reducing comprehension due to humans having a single language processing center.
The Power of Props: Physical objects create memorable moments in presentations because they engage multiple senses and create visual anchors for concepts.
Passion as Inspiration: The most effective way to inspire an audience is through genuine passion about the subject matter, which transcends technical proficiency.
The Contribution Principle: Ending with contributions rather than conclusions shifts focus from abstract findings to concrete achievements, leaving a stronger impression of the speaker's value.

FRAMEWORKS & MODELS

The Communication Formula (K + P + T)

Components: Knowledge (what you know about speaking) + Practice (how much you've applied that knowledge) + Talent (inherent ability)
How it works: Success in speaking is primarily determined by knowledge and practice, with talent being a minor factor
Evidence: Winston's personal anecdote about skiing better than Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton despite her superior natural ability
Significance: Demystifies effective speaking, making it accessible to anyone willing to learn and practice
Application: Focus on acquiring knowledge about speaking techniques and practicing them deliberately rather than worrying about natural ability

Cycling Technique

Components: Repeating key points three times throughout a presentation
How it works: First introduction, then elaboration, then summary. Creating multiple exposure points
Evidence: Research showing that at any moment, about 20% of an audience will be disengaged
Significance: Ensures that the entire audience receives critical information regardless of momentary attention lapses
Application: Structure presentations to revisit important concepts at different points with varying levels of detail

Building Fences Around Ideas

Components: Clearly distinguishing one's ideas from similar concepts or alternative approaches
How it works: Explicitly stating what your idea is and what it is not, creating clear boundaries
Evidence: Winston's example of distinguishing his algorithm from Jones's algorithm by highlighting exponential vs. linear complexity
Significance: Prevents confusion and ensures the audience understands the unique contribution of your idea
Application: When presenting concepts, explicitly address similar approaches and clearly differentiate your own

Winston's Star

Components: Symbol (visual representation), Slogan (memorable phrase), Surprise (counterintuitive element), Salient idea (distinctive concept), Story (narrative framework)
How it works: Incorporating all five elements makes ideas more memorable and impactful
Evidence: Winston's observation that his arch learning work became famous because it contained all five elements
Significance: Provides a comprehensive framework for ensuring ideas are remembered and recognized
Application: When developing presentations, deliberately incorporate each element of the star to enhance memorability

The Contribution Slide Framework

Components: Clear statement of contributions rather than conclusions
How it works: Ends presentations with concrete achievements rather than abstract findings
Evidence: Winston's analysis that "conclusions" suggest theoretical findings while "contributions" emphasize practical value
Significance: Leaves the audience with a strong impression of the speaker's value and accomplishments
Application: Structure the final slide to highlight specific contributions, not just conclusions, and allow time for the audience to read them

QUOTES

"Your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas, in that order."
- Context: Opening statement establishing the lecture's central thesis
- Significance: Challenges conventional wisdom by prioritizing communication skills over idea quality
"It's a matter of how much knowledge you have, how much you practice with that knowledge, and your inherent talent, and notice that the T is very small."
- Context: Introduction of the communication formula
- Significance: Democratizes effective speaking by emphasizing learnable skills over innate talent
"If you want to ensure that the probability that everybody gets it is high, you need to say it three times."
- Context: Explanation of the cycling technique
- Significance: Highlights the importance of repetition for ensuring audience comprehension
"It's extremely hard to see slides through closed eyelids."
- Context: Argument for keeping presentation rooms well-lit
- Significance: Humorous yet compelling rationale for maintaining audience engagement through proper lighting
"Your ideas are like your children. And you don't want them to go into the world in rags."
- Context: Discussion on the importance of effective presentation of ideas
- Significance: Vivid metaphor illustrating why proper communication of ideas matters
"When you say thank you, even worse, thank you for listening, it suggests that everybody has stayed that long out of politeness and that they had a profound desire to be somewhere else."
- Context: Advice on how to conclude a presentation effectively
- Significance: Reveals the subtle psychological impact of common closing phrases
"We are storytelling animals. And that we start developing our story, understanding and manipulating skills with fairy tales in childhood and continue on through professional schools like law, business, medicine, everything."
- Context: Explanation of how teaching people to think involves providing stories
- Significance: Connects effective speaking to fundamental human cognitive processes

HABITS

Start with Empowerment Promises: Begin presentations by clearly stating what the audience will know or be able to do by the end, rather than with jokes or icebreakers. Focus on what the audience will gain, not what you will present.
Practice with Strangers: Rehearse presentations with people unfamiliar with your work, as colleagues who know your research may hallucinate content that isn't actually there.
Use Blackboards Effectively: When teaching, use blackboards rather than slides to control the pace of information delivery and provide visual anchors.
Design Slides Strategically: Minimize text on slides (using large fonts, at least 35-40 point), eliminate unnecessary elements, and ensure slides complement rather than replace your spoken content. Consider preparing two versions: one for live presentation and another for handouts.
Avoid Laser Pointers: Instead of traditional laser pointers that require turning away from the audience, use arrows on slides or modern tools like the LogiTech Spotlight that highlights on the laptop screen.
Employ Strategic Questioning: Ask carefully chosen questions that are neither too obvious nor too difficult, and wait up to seven seconds for responses.
Case the Venue: Visit speaking locations beforehand to understand the environment and address any potential challenges.
Express Passion: Demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for your subject matter, as passion is a key element of inspiring presentations.
Use Props Purposefully: Incorporate physical objects that demonstrate concepts, as they create memorable moments through empathetic mirroring and visceral reactions.
End with Contributions: Conclude presentations by highlighting specific contributions rather than abstract conclusions, and avoid saying "thank you" as the final words.

REFERENCES

Mary Lou Retton: Olympic gymnast mentioned in Winston's anecdote illustrating the relative importance of knowledge and practice versus talent.
Seymour Papert: MIT professor referenced for his effective use of pointing at boards and his demonstration with a bicycle wheel to illustrate problem-solving approaches.
Alan Lazarus: MIT instructor mentioned for his dramatic demonstration of conservation of energy using a pendulum and steel ball.
Julia Child: Celebrity chef referenced in Winston's anecdote about fame, illustrating the importance of effectively presenting ideas.
Political Speakers: Chris Christie and Bill Clinton referenced as examples of effective speech conclusions, particularly their use of benediction-style endings rather than "thank you."
Henrik Ibsen: Playwright mentioned in the context of effective prop use in "Hedda Gabler," particularly the potbellied stove as a memorable prop.
Mirror Neuron Research: Implicitly referenced in Winston's discussion of "empathetic mirroring," explaining why physical demonstrations engage audiences more effectively than slides.
Cognitive Load Theory: Implicitly referenced in discussions of attention limitations and the importance of cycling key points.
Visual Perception Studies: Referenced in Winston's discussion of font size and slide design, particularly the recommendation for 35-40 point minimum font size.
Educational Research: Implicitly referenced in Winston's discussion of teaching methods and the importance of storytelling in learning.

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