Alex Jeon
Ulrich
APLang-6
18 March 2015
Ted Talk #1
1. Category: Inspirational
2. Speaker: Mel Robbins
3. Title: How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over
4. Length of Video: 21.39
5. Date Accessed: March 18, 2015
6. Summary: The thesis is that people should force themselves to achieve their desires, rather than ignoring them and regretting not acting upon them. She states that everyone is born for a reason and as long as they just got out of bed with a motivated attitude, they could achieve great things.
7. 3 Key Points: One standout moment was when Robbins picked an audience member and convinced him and everyone that they were each special from the moment they were born. I never saw the significance of my birth until she presented the statistic that proved the value of my life. I then felt the need to not waste my “valued” life, which was her goal for the speech. Another stand out moment from Robbins’s speech is when kept on mentioning the use of the “F-word” in our society, making the audience believe it was the curse word we are all familiar with, when she was actually talking about the word “fine.” This was a successful way of showing the audience the negative effects the word “fine” can have when trying to become productive. The last standout point was when she compared a person’s natural sense of “autopilot” and “emergency break.” She stated that everyone typically runs on autopilot through their daily routines and when something new comes along, we immediately pull the emergency break to maintain our normal routines. This made me reflect on my life to seek out those times where I did pull the emergency break and caused me to not want to in the future.
8. The original audience is the people at the ted talk and those viewing on Youtube. The intended audience, however, are people of all ages. As a high school student, I personally can connect to the topic Robbins speaks of and I am positive that there are individuals both younger and older than I am that want to be productive, yet struggle to do so.
Ted Talk #2
1. Category: Funny
2. Name of Speaker: Ken Robinson
3.Title of Video: How School Kills Creativity
4. Length of Video: 19:24
5. Date Accessed: March 18, 2015
6. Summary: The thesis is that our school system focuses mainly on academics and not on the arts. His talks about how we value art classes below science and math classes, which neglects the development of creativity in a child.
7. Standout Moments: One standout moment was when Robinson discussed how kids are brought up thinking that being wrong is the worst thing ever. He presents this idea through an anecdote about a play where a child forgot his lines and ended up making them up. This stood out because it showed how kids—when young—are not afraid to make mistakes, yet as they get older they become more ashamed of their mistakes. Another moment that stood out was when Robinson discussed how educators receive less respect than they deserve. Teachers are typically praised for the achievements in their students, but they most often than not get blamed for their children’s failures. Teachers do their best to prepare students for the future, but it’s unpredictable and is a different experience for every student. The last stand out point was when Robinson asserted that those who have college degrees live in their heads. Robinson humorously illustrates how higher educated individuals see black and white only and can never really understand the gray aspect of life. Professors view creativity as insignificant because of the way they were educated in the school system.
8. The original audience is those who went to the ted talk show and those viewing at home on Youtube. The intended audience are parents who have careers and their children who are either beginning to go to school or going through the system. This speech
