An Effective Ted Talk Video

Cuddy’s Powerful Poses

Online TED Talk videos have enlightened a myriad of people through using a variety of topics to educate viewers across the globe. The key to an effective TED Talk video is not only possessing the ability to inform and entertain an audience of enlightened individuals, but to also formulate a cohesive argument that will leave a lasting impression on the audience. Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist with degrees from Princeton and research based at Harvard, was able to accomplish this task in her 2012 TED Talk. Cuddy’s subject matter revolved around her discussion of body language and the strength of power posing. Cuddy’s purpose in her TED Talk is to persuade the audience that non-verbal body language is important and holding confident poses is good for one’s health and works as a confidence builder. Throughout her speech, Cuddy uses logos in the form of statistical data, pathos in the form of an anecdote from her younger years, and establishes a strong ethos to successfully convince her audience about the dire importance of body communication and body posing.
Cuddy’s uses many instances of her speech to develop her ethos; an appeal to an author’s credibility, and maintain a status as a credible source of information for the audience. The first, and one of the most important things Cuddy does to establish her ethos is to possess strong body language. No irony intended, Cuddy’s stage presence and her body language exude a confidence of a powerful and knowledgeable who is skillfully able to deliver powerful lines of dialogue. Cuddy also develops an anecdote about her years of post-secondary education. Cuddy explains that while she managed to complete the almost-impossible tasks of attending and teaching at prestig...

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...ind. Her use of these facts and experiences in the field, along with her experience as a social psychologist, makes for a very logical argument, and it is clear that Amy Cuddy can use logos very effectively.
Cuddy’s use of the rhetorical appeals is successful in achieving her purpose of informing the audience of the positive powers of nonverbal communication and body posing. Cuddy brilliantly captures the attention of the audience by establishing her own credibility, while supporting her claim with experiences, both professional and personal. This ability of hers, a talent that all great speakers possess, gave her the means to deliver a convincing argument in favor of her research on the power of body language and the influence the body has on the mind. Cuddy 's brilliant speech will definitely set a high bar for the hundreds, or even thousands of TED Talks to follow.