Chris Anderson + Brené Brown

The Himalayan region is home to the longest epic in any culture, King Gesar, reportedly 25 times the length of Homer’s Iliad. Here, however, two consummate storytellers take the stage to tell us how a short talk can electrify a room and transform an audience’s worldview.

In this conversation, Chris Anderson, TED curator and master of the short talk, and storyteller and social researcher Brené Brown, share tips on how to communicate impactful ideas.

This conversation marks the publication of Chris Anderson’s TED TALKS: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking in which he shares insights from such favorites as Sir Ken Robinson, Amy Cuddy, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Khan, Dan Gilbert, Mary Roach, Matt Ridley, and dozens more—everything from how to craft your talk’s content to how you can be most effective on stage.

About the Speakers

Chris Anderson spent much of his early life in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. Trained as a journalist after graduating from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, Anderson launched more than one hundred successful magazines and websites before turning his attention to TED, which he and his nonprofit organization acquired in 2001. His TED mantra—”ideas worth spreading”—continues to blossom on an international scale.

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past thirteen years studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. Brown is the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers: Rising Strong, Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection.

She is also the Founder and CEO of The Daring Way and COURAGEworks ““ an online learning community that offers eCourses, workshops, and interviews for individuals and organizations ready for braver living, loving, and leading. Dr. Brown’s 2010 TEDx Houston talk, “˜The Power of Vulnerability’, is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world, with over 25 million viewers.