TED Talks that Actually Changed My Behavior

Sometimes we can know something intellectually, but it doesn’t actually convince us to change our behavior. I've watched >100 TED Talks, and the 4 below have most influenced my own behavior, leading to clear positive outcomes.

The Way We Think about Charities is Dead Wrong (by Dan Palotta)

Which is better?

A: Give $10 to each of the next 10 strangers who ask you for money to buy a meal

B: Donate $100 to this charity to give 50-250 chicks to a group of families, supplying them with eggs for a decade

B is probably much more impactful, and yet the behavior of most folks I know aligns more with A.

TED Talk Selective Summary: 

The way we evaluate charitable giving is deeply misguided and leads to massive inefficiencies in charitable impact.

Positive Behavior Change:

For pro-social goals, I now primarily focus on expected impact— not activity

10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation (by Celeste Headlee)

Which is a better goal for a networking event?

A: Ensuring that attendees find you interesting

B: Ensuring that you learn from attendees

This is a trick question. If you enter conversations with curiosity (i.e. the intent to learn), then folks will tend to find you interesting because of your curiosity.

TED Talk Selective Summary: 

If you enter a conversation with the earnest goal of learning, then conversations will likely become more rewarding.

Positive Behavior Change:

When I watch this talk before a social event, I tend to lead more with curiosity (e.g. talk less and listen more). This has resulted in better conversations and a higher frequency of building relationships.

The Optimism Bias (by Tali Sharot)

Starting Information: You believe that Test X and Test Y both have a 50% pass rate. 

New Information: Test X has an 80% pass rate, and Test Y has a 20% pass rate. 

Directions: With no additional context, write down the probability of you passing Test X and the probability of you passing Test Y.

Which option is closer to your guess?

A: Test X = an 80% probability Test Y = a 38% probability

B: Test X = an 80% probability Test Y = a 20% probability

Did you select Option A? Same here...

Most people who are not clinically depressed will write down Option A, meaning they successfully learned from the new positive information, but much less so from the negative information (at least when it relates to themselves). This is the optimism bias.

TED Talk Selective Summary:

Humans are more cognitively wired to integrate positive information (vs. negative) into decision-making processes about that affect ourselves.

Positive Behavior Change:

When I learn negative information, I now explicitly integrate it into my decision-making when assessing risk. This has been exceptionally helpful with project planning (e.g. estimating budget and timeline).

After watching this TED Talk, I highly recommend the Freakonomics podcast episode: Here's Why All Your Projects Are Always Late— and What to Do About It

Your Elusive Creative Genius (Elizabeth Gilbert)

TED Talk Selective Summary:

For creative endeavors, it’s generally unwise to simply wait for a creative spark or expect that previous creative success will lead to future creative success.

Positive Behavior Change: 

For creative endeavors (e.g. writing blog posts), I am now more disciplined about working regardless of my mood. In general, I now have much less anxiety and produce the same quality of work faster— just with a little more editing when I am in a creative mood.

None of these TED Talks are revolutionary, yet I have found myself consistently making better decisions after watching them.

Check them out, and let me know if they impact your decision-making too.