TEDTalks

New stats! Sebastian Wernicke’s TEDTalk analysis updated

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In his legendary presentation “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics (About TEDTalks),” stats head Sebastian Wernicke breaks down the phrases that make up the highest- and lowest-rated TEDTalks — offering a foolproof blueprint for creating a can’t-possibly-fail TED moment of your own.

To celebrate TED video’s 5th birthday, he’s updated his research to include the first 970 TEDTalks published. Above: note the new optimal duration for your TEDTalk, sorted by keyword. Below: The list of top 10 “good” and “bad” words, based on the highest- and lowest-rated 50 talks in the 970-talk archive. Next, the previous version of this analysis, containing the best and worst possible sentences to say onstage based on the first 525 talks posted to the site. And at bottom, the optimized sentences now.