Why you should stop watching TED Talks

TED Talks: great stories that can transform you

Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist who personally experienced a massive stroke.
Simon Sinek challenges business leaders to start with their why.
Sir Ken Robinson teaches us how schools kill creativity.
Elizabeth Gilbert of the famed ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ contemplates a life where her greatest moment is behind her.
David Blaine stays underwater for about 16 minutes longer than I’m capable of doing.

Each of these powerful stories are available to you by simply visiting TED.com. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you this. TED.com has built an empire of fascinating content, and millions have responded by watching speech after speech.

TED Talks tell the stories of many of humanity’s greatest accomplishments. They spotlight injustices, tackle life’s perplexing questions, reveal ways we can improve performance, offer hidden clues into the psychology of happiness, and teach us about human potential. Great stories, told well, have the unique power to create real cultural transformation.

My advice? Stop watching them. Un-bookmark the tab. Consider doing other things with the 10 to 20 minutes it takes to ingest a TED talk. That’s right. And this is coming from the last person who should suggest such a tactic. I own a company that helps people create powerful presentations. I have a division that sources TED speakers for live events. I speak professionally for a living.

And you know, TED is GREAT for business. They are living examples of the power of presentation. A reminder that your CEO is not the best choice for the closing keynote at your annual retreat (he isn’t… at least not without training (from me)). I should love TED Talks. I do love TED Talks.

At the same time, there are hidden costs to ingesting the specific types of stories that TED offers.

First: The Hero Complex

While reminders of our potential as humans can inspire, too much of it will leave us setting the proverbial bar too high. We are saturated by the most heroic examples of life at every turn. We’re over-successed and under-accomplished as a society. It’s no surprise that we get depressed and feel like we’re not contributing anything significant when we’re constantly comparing ourselves to the outliers and the elites of the elite.

In the book I’m currently writing, one of the chapters is titled ‘Less Superman, More Clark Kent.’ The mundane of life is where life takes place. There’s something beautiful about having a job, a family, friends, a community. But that has never felt less satisfying for so many of us.

TED is not the only problem. Facebook is filled with happy babies, picturesque vacations, and delicious meals. And in a survey of over 500 people, 61% admitted that their mood was noticeably altered to the negative based on a simple check-in on Facebook. But TED is Facebook on steroids in this particular category.

Second: The Knowledge Rabbit Hole

Do you know the key indicators of deception in body language? You should. How about the psychology of what will REALLY make you happy? You are probably doing it incorrectly (according to Harvard!). Have you listened to the speech about the dangers of story? If you haven’t, you are setting yourself up to be manipulated.

We crave greater unique insights and understanding. TED offers it in droves. How quickly we find ourselves falling into the endless rabbit hole of interesting factoids. And each video serves as another reminder of our ignorance on yet another critical subject. While we are aware that we can’t know all things, it certainly feels like others must be living with some key ingredient that our laziness and comparably low intelligence keeps us from benefiting from.

This is a new problem that we are not well-equipped to deal with. In 1900, a well-educated person could still grasp all existing knowledge in almost every field of science and the arts. This was the whole point of a college education! (Tom Davenport, Attention Economy)

Today, our problem is not information. It’s not ideas. It’s too many choices, unrealistic expectations, and unfair comparisons. My church choral director growing up often reminded us that comparison is the thief of joy. TED Talks subtly remind many of us of what we have not done with our lives. So, let’s turn off the new inspiring TED video, and get to work without the weight of ‘how does my job compare to the guy who just walked across Africa.’

And if you don’t believe me, watch this TED Talk by Barry Schwartz. It’s a MUST SEE.