How to Make a Ted Talk Style Presentation [Building Persuasive Decks]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Apr 21, 2025
- 8 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Mark said while we were working on his sales presentation, “I watch Ted Talks all the time and keep thinking how powerful it would be if my corporate and sales presentations worked like that. Same ideas but delivered in a way that actually persuades people.”
Our Creative Director replied, “That’s a great way to look at it. You absolutely can build presentations in a ted talk style, and when you do it right, they persuade far better than traditional corporate decks.”
So, in this blog, we will show you how to create a ted style presentation that turns complex ideas into clear stories, holds attention from the first slide to the last, and helps you persuade without sounding salesy.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
What Is a Ted Talk Style Presentation?
A ted talk style presentation is a way of sharing one clear idea in a simple, story driven, and persuasive way. Instead of overwhelming your audience with information, it focuses on helping them understand and remember what actually matters.
It's characterized by...
1. One clear idea
Everything in the presentation supports a single message. If it does not strengthen that idea, it does not belong.
2. Story first, slides second
The talk is led by a narrative, not the deck. Slides exist only to support what you are saying.
3. Built for memory
Language, examples, and structure are chosen so the idea sticks with the audience long after the presentation ends.
So How Can You Build a Ted Style Presentation That Persuades Well?
A ted style presentation that persuades well does not start with slides. It starts with a decision. You decide that your goal is not to impress people with how much you know. Your goal is to change how they think about something.
Most presentations fail right here.
They begin with content. Bullet points. Charts. Frameworks. Logic stacked on logic. And then the presenter wonders why the room feels cold and disengaged. The problem is not intelligence. The problem is direction.
If you want to persuade like a Ted Talk, you need to reverse how you build your presentation.
Start With the Idea, Not the Topic
A topic is what you are talking about. An idea is what you want people to believe after you are done.
“Sales strategy” is a topic.
“Most sales teams lose deals because they talk too early” is an idea.
A ted style presentation is built around one idea that feels slightly uncomfortable, surprising, or counterintuitive. If your idea feels obvious, it will not persuade anyone.
Ask yourself this question before you do anything else: What is the one sentence you want people repeating to others after this presentation?
If you cannot answer that clearly, stop. You are not ready to build slides yet.
Once you have that idea, everything else becomes easier. Every story, example, and visual now has a job. It either supports that idea or it gets removed.
Build Tension Before You Offer Solutions
Persuasion does not happen when you give answers. It happens when you make people feel a problem first.
This is where most corporate presentations completely miss the point. They rush to solutions because it feels productive. But without tension, solutions feel abstract and forgettable.
A ted style presentation spends time here intentionally.
You show the audience a pattern they recognize.
You name a frustration they already feel but have not articulated. You help them see the cost of continuing the same way.
For example, instead of saying, “Here is a new framework for better sales conversations,” you might say: “Most sales conversations fail before the product even comes up. Not because the product is bad, but because trust was never built.”
Now the audience leans in. They are not thinking about your framework yet. They are thinking about their own mistakes.
That emotional recognition is the door to persuasion.
Use Stories to Carry the Message
Facts explain. Stories persuade.
This is not a motivational quote. It is how the human brain works. We remember stories because they create context, emotion, and cause and effect.
A ted style presentation uses stories strategically. Not long, dramatic stories. Simple, relatable ones.
A client who lost a deal.
A moment you realized you were wrong.
A mistake you kept repeating until it cost you something.
Stories work because they remove resistance. When you tell a story, you are not telling people what to think. You are letting them arrive there on their own.
Here is a simple structure you can use for stories:
Set the scene quickly
Describe the mistake or tension
Share the realization
Connect it back to your main idea
If a story does not reinforce your central idea, cut it. Even if it is a good story.
Simplify the Language Relentlessly
Ted style presentations sound simple because they are designed that way. Not because the ideas are simple, but because complexity has been filtered out.
Persuasion dies in jargon.
If you would not use a word in a real conversation, do not use it on stage.
If a sentence needs to be reread to be understood, rewrite it.
A good test is this: Could someone explain your idea to a friend using normal language after hearing you once?
If the answer is no, you are still hiding behind complexity.
This does not mean dumbing things down. It means respecting the audience enough to make the idea clear.
Design Slides That Get Out of the Way
Slides in a ted style presentation are not the presentation. They are support.
If your slides contain paragraphs, you are competing with yourself. People cannot read and listen at the same time. They will always choose reading.
Strong slides usually do one of three things:
Visualize an idea
Highlight a key phrase
Create emotional contrast
One slide. One point.
If you feel nervous removing content from slides, that is usually a sign you are relying on them too much.
Your voice carries the persuasion. Slides should quietly help, not lead.
Structure the Talk Like a Journey
A persuasive ted style presentation feels like movement. The audience starts in one place and ends in another.
A simple structure that works well is:
Here is how you currently see this problem
Here is why that view is incomplete or flawed
Here is a better way to think about it
Notice what is missing. A long introduction. A list of features. A summary of everything you know.
Instead, you are guiding the audience from familiar ground to a new perspective.
Every section should feel like a step forward. If a part feels like a detour, remove it.
Show Conviction Without Trying to Convince
This is subtle but powerful.
Ted style persuasion works because the speaker believes the idea deeply. Not because they argue aggressively for it.
You are not trying to win a debate.
You are sharing a perspective you have tested, struggled with, and arrived at honestly.
This is why admitting mistakes is so persuasive. It signals confidence. It tells the audience you are not protecting your ego.
Saying “I used to believe this too, and I was wrong” is often more convincing than any statistic.
Practice for Presence, Not Perfection
The final piece is delivery.
Ted style presentations feel natural because they are practiced for flow, not memorization. The goal is presence.
You should know your structure well enough that you can speak conversationally within it. If you miss a line, nothing falls apart.
Practice out loud.
Time yourself.
Record yourself once, even if it feels uncomfortable.
Pay attention to where you rush. Those are usually the parts you are least confident about.
Slow down there.
Persuasion is not about speed. It is about trust. And trust grows when you sound grounded, calm, and intentional.
Bring It All Together
When you build a ted style presentation that persuades well, you are not copying a format. You are adopting a mindset.
You choose clarity over complexity.
You choose ideas over information.
You choose connection over performance.
And when you do that, something interesting happens.
People stop evaluating your slides.
They stop checking their phones.
They start listening.
That is when persuasion actually begins.
The Real Art in a Ted Style Presentation Is the Delivery
Delivery is not about being charismatic or dramatic. It is about making your audience feel like you are talking with them, not at them.
One of the best ways to improve your delivery is to observe great Ted speakers, especially some of the most well-known talks. Pay attention to how they open, how they pause, and how they let important ideas breathe. Notice how little they rely on slides and how much they rely on presence.
But observation is not imitation.
When people try to copy a famous speaker’s gestures, pacing, or tone, it often feels unnatural. That is because persuasion breaks when delivery does not match the speaker’s personality.
(We've also published guides on: Presentation Hand Gestures, Presentation Pacing and Voice Modulation in a Presentation)
Instead, adapt selectively.
Borrow elements that feel natural to you. Maybe it is the use of silence. Maybe it is a slower pace. Maybe it is how stories are told in short, grounded moments.
The goal is not to sound like a Ted speaker.
The goal is to sound like yourself, delivering a clear idea with confidence and intention.
When your delivery feels natural, calm, and present, your message carries far more weight.
When people hear “ted talk style presentation,” their first instinct is to prepare more.
More slides.
More data.
More backup points.
More talking.
That instinct is understandable and it is also exactly what weakens persuasion.
Overpreparation usually means you are preparing content, not clarity.
A ted style presentation does not reward how much you bring into the room. It rewards how much you leave out. The strongest talks are often the most edited ones.
A useful exercise is subtraction, not addition.
Take your draft and remove anything that does not directly support your core idea. Then remove one more thing. What remains should feel almost uncomfortable in its simplicity. That discomfort is a good sign. It means the idea is finally visible.
Another common form of overpreparation is scripting every word.
This often leads to robotic delivery and panic when something is missed.
Instead, prepare your structure deeply and your wording lightly.
Know your opening.
Know your key transitions.
Know your final takeaway.
Everything in between should feel conversational, not memorized.
Finally, overpreparation often hides fear.
Fear of forgetting.
Fear of silence.
Fear of being judged.
A ted style presentation works because it embraces restraint.
You trust the idea. You trust the audience. And you trust yourself enough to let the message breathe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a ted talk style presentation work for sales or corporate audiences?
Yes. In fact, it often works better than traditional corporate decks. Sales and business audiences are still human. They respond to clarity, stories, and ideas that make sense of their problems. A ted style presentation helps you persuade without overwhelming people with information.
Do you need to be a confident or charismatic speaker to deliver a ted style presentation?
No. Ted style delivery is not about charisma. It is about clarity and presence. Many effective speakers are calm, quiet, and understated. When the idea is clear and the delivery feels natural, confidence tends to follow.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.
How To Get Started?
If you want to hire us for your presentation design project, the process is extremely easy.
Just click on the "Start a Project" button on our website, calculate the price, make payment, and we'll take it from there.