Jill Bolte Taylor gives one of the most moving talks I’ve ever seen on TED on the subject of her stroke and recovery.  The talk is brilliant in spite of some limitations in Jill’s delivery and all serious students of public speaking should study it for an understanding of what makes a talk work – and what makes a talk memorable.

You can see the talk here:  http://bit.ly/blR3hR. 

Taylor, a brain scientist, begins by explaining that she got into the field because her brother was schizophrenic, and she wondered why she could have dreams and realize them in the world, while her brother had dreams that ended as mere delusions.  We’re hooked from that moment on; the simple truth of her brother’s suffering and her quest to find some way to help frames the talk beautifully. 

Taylor then brings a real brain on stage – a real human brain – and shows us the 2 hemispheres.  The right, she says, is in the here and now, the moment, and takes in all the sensory information it is able to embrace our connectedness as a species. 

The left hemisphere, on the other hand, is all about the past and future, thinks in language, and identifies us as separate individuals. 

Then comes the stroke.  Taylor’s description of it is extraordinary – courageous, precise, funny, and heartbreaking.  The character of the woman is revealed in these moments that would terrify most of us completely.  When she says, a moment later, quite dryly, “I realized I was no longer the choreographer of my own life,” the understatement packs a real wallop. 

Had Taylor stopped here, the speech would have been extraordinary enough.  But she uses her stroke, what she experienced during it, and her recovery, to make a plea for universal understanding and to educate us all in how we can “slip the surly bonds of earth” and achieve real bliss in the here-and-now.  That makes both the speech, and her suffering, transcendent. 

There’s much to learn from Taylor’s speech and her delivery.  She is nasal, and her voice grates a little, but soon we’re swept up in the drama of her story and we don’t care.  Her humor and courage both win us over in spite of the limitation of her voice. 

Watch her body language – it’s extraordinary.  She stands quite still much of the time, and is unafraid to use her body almost as a dancer would.  Her hand gestures powerfully evoke the openness that underlies her message – a classic instance of body language and message aligning to make a memorable speech.  So we don’t mind that the gestures are almost too big.  She’s putting it all out there, and we can only respond by giving her an audience’s unconditional love and support.  The audience in the room leaps to its feet once she’s done – not a typical response from a TED audience. 

Taylor’s speech demonstrates how to weave the personal and the global together to make a speech authentic and yet not self-absorbed.  Listen to her speech to receive a master class in structure and construction.  It’s a thing of beauty.  Don’t miss it. 

Do you think it’s the best speech on TED?  Please vote for Taylor, or nominate an alternative, by leaving a comment.