Tag Archives: ted talks

RCL #9- Ted Talks

Ted Talks have advantages and disadvantages in rhetorical analysis. Some advantages are that they can reach a lot of people quickly, they are short, and they are easy to understand. Some disadvantages to Ted Talks are that you can’t pick your audience, the majority of your audience can’t communicate with you, and you may not be able to get your point across clearly/completely.

Ted Talks are recorded and able to be put online. This allows many people to watch them and with little effort. If more people watch them then our point/story is getting to more people and can be spread more quickly. People now a days have very short attention span so being able to make you point in a short presentation is a good way of getting and keeping and audiences attention. Also one of the main reasons for Ted Talks is to explain an idea or story. These presentations can be made so the majority of the population can understand what you are talking about. These advantages make Ted Talks a good method of rhetorical analysis.

There are also disadvantages to this method. One of the disadvantages is that the speaker can’t pick their audience. Although the Ted Talk may be reaching a lot of people, these people may not be the audience you were looking for. If you aren’t reaching the correct audience the message may become lost and the presentation will lose its importance. Another down side to Ted Talks is that the majority of your audience isn’t live. People that watch Ted Talks online can’t converse with the speaker during or after their presentation. This leads into another disadvantage, not being able to get your point across. Some people may not understand what you are trying to say, and if they can’t ask questions then they most likely won’t understand and your message will be lost.

Overal Ted Talks are a good way to communicate with a lot of people in a short amount of time, but there are also some disadvantages to them.