Jarod Thompson - TED Slideshow - Public Speaking - September 2012

1. Jared Ficklin
“New ways to see music (with color!
and fire!)”
Jarod Thompson

2. About Mr. Ficklin
Jared Ficklin is a Senior Principal Design
Technologist for frog, a design company
based in Austin, Texas.
Mr. Ficklin’s passion for music, combined
with his interest in technology, led him to
start exploring the visualization of fire.

3. Seeing sound... in flames.
Mr. Ficklin believes that sounds, when visualized in fire
and heat patterns, can tell a story with equal or more
emphasis than the sound by itself. In fact, his theory is
that emotions and inflections in music can be visualized
through the heat patterns of soundwaves.

4. Getting the crowd going... or
laughing...
Mr. Ficklin, while intriguing, is fairly
monotone and does not “come out
swinging” when it comes to his introduction.
The way that he captures the audience at
the beginning of his speech is by starting
with a joke about his interest in playing with
fire.

5. Maintaing the engagement of the audience...
Mr. Ficklin chooses a variety of different popular culture
figures and activities to demonstrate his concept of audio
visualization. His on stage fire demonstrations as well as
his visual presentation that he shows the audience during
his speech keeps the audience engaged.

6. Thou shalt...
Mr. Ficklin exemplifies the third TED
commandment.
III. Thou shalt reveal thy curiosity and thy
passion.
Mr. Ficklin uses examples such as Nirvana
songs and jazz guitar, combined with
propane flame tracks and Ruben’s tubes, to
demonstrate his passion for music and
mixes in his curiosity for audio visualization.

7. Almost perfection...
While some of it can simply be credited to
his personal nature, Mr. Ficklin’s rather
monotone voice is the only thing that keeps
me rating him as a 4 in terms of dynamism.
However, his creative visuals and
interjections make him a very intriguing
speaker.

8. I got something out of it!
Mr. Ficklin did a fantastic job of following Garr Reynold’s
delivery style where he left the audience feeling smarter
after his presentation. He gave practical and relatable
examples that left myself, and the audience, with a sense
of understanding when it comes to audio visualization.

9. Using visuals to get the point across...
Mr. Ficklin’s visuals, both with the fire as well as the
slideshow, help demonstrate his theories to the audience
in a manner which is both engaging and educational.

10. Ficklin vs. Robinson
Mr. Ficklin vastly differs from Sir Ken Robinson in terms
of how he engages his audience vocally. Sir Ken
Robinson is excited throughout his presentation and his
vocal inflections are far different than Mr. Ficklin, who is
far more calm and monotone. Even when joking, Sir Ken
Robinson uses more practical humor while Mr. Ficklin
has a more dry sense of humor.

11. Ficklin vs. Robinson
However, Mr. Ficklin and Sir Ken Robinson share a great
understanding of how to use visuals to engage the
audience. Mr. Ficklin uses more on stage visuals,
however, which makes up for his vocal differences from
Sir Robinson (as mentioned in the previous slide.)

12. What to take away...
I took away several key factors from Mr. Ficklin’s speech
starting with a better understanding of how to utilize
visuals during a public speech.

13. What to take away...
Use visuals that are engaging but also do not drift
away from the point of your presentation.
If you are not an excitable person, that’s okay, simply
make sure that you show your interest in the material.
Make sure the third TED commandment is noticeable.
Don’t be afraid to play with fire... when it comes to
your ideas. Explore different options and don’t be
afraid to think outside of the box.

14. What to take away...
If visuals aren’t your cup of tea, than following Mr.
Ficklin’s lead might not be a good idea. The visuals are
what keeps his presentations engaging if you are not
equally interested in the same field. Remember that your
presentation should be able to speak to all audiences,
not just people with the same interests.

15. Thank you
Remember Mr. Ficklin’s favorite phrase...
“Sound moves in all directions and so do
ideas.”

16. Jared Ficklin
TED Talk Presentation:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_ficklin_new_w
Sources for images: Google Images