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Pictures can speak much louder than words can. My favorite quote is “what you are thunders louder than what you say”, and powerful images really do speak to that. In this image, you see a woman in her Military uniform holding a child, most likely her daughter, close to her. Let’s break this image down, starting with the background. You see white tile floor and a man in a suit holding a briefcase or bag of some sort. This implies that they are most likely in an airport. Looking at the child, her arms are wrapped around her mother’s neck and she is almost kneeling into her, trying to get as close as possible. Lastly, look at the woman. Her combat boots, backpack, and uniform obviously signify that she is returning from a military deployment. Her hands are wrapped around the child’s head and body, showing how tightly she is holding her. Notice the woman’s face, she’s smiling while also crying (tears of joy), signifying that she missed her daughter. This image is demonstrating how much those who serve our country sacrifice things that we often take for granted (i.e., a hug from our children). This picture is able to convey this argument because of the emotional appeal it evokes from anyone who views it. It makes you realize that you are lucky enough to be able to see and hug your family every day, which is something we often overlook. Another way it conveys this argument is through its ability to be interpreted. When I looked at this image, I viewed it as the woman coming back from her deployment, but it could also be her leaving for her deployment. This allows the audience to envision their own idea behind the image, but while still understanding the message behind it. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think that this one is speechless.

I remember watching this TED Talk in my World Literature Class my Senior year of high school, and it’s always stuck with mw. Not only is it an interesting topic, but Keith Berry is also an extremely intriguing speaker. In his talk, he shows how much power our brains have, to the point where our bodies don’t even realize what’s happening even if our brains do. A main point that he focuses on is that the majority of human communication comes from body language and social cues, rather than verbal communication. This expanded my understanding of human behavior and communication. As a psych major, I know that body language has a lot to do with how we understand each other, but I didn’t realize that the majority of our understanding of other people came from it. After watching this TED Talk, I now look more at people’s actions and attitude when they are talking, rather than just listen to what they’re saying.

Something that Barry does that is different from other TED Talks is the fact that he uses people from the audience in order to demonstrate his points. This literally engages the audience and compels them to pay closer attention to what he is saying. I think the use of visuals and demonstrations makes his TED Talk more of a presentation rather than a speech. To me, a speech is focused very heavily on what the speaker is saying, but a presentation relies on both what the speaker is saying and also relies on the visuals that the speaker uses. In this case, Barry uses visuals and a hands-on demonstration, which provides more of a demonstration vibe. Overall, I loved this TED Talk and found it personally very interesting not only because of the topic, but because of the audience-based and hands-on approach that Barry uses.