"The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking" by Chris Anderson is a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their public speaking skills and deliver compelling presentations. The book draws on Chris Anderson's extensive experience as the curator of TED Talks, providing insights, tips, and techniques to captivate an audience. Here, I will provide an overview of the book's chapters, highlighting the key takeaways, interesting ideas, and important lessons from each chapter. Additionally, I will discuss the author's main argument, supporting evidence, criticisms, related books, and concepts

Introduction

Takeaways: Public speaking is a learnable skill that anyone can develop with practice and preparation.Interesting idea: The concept of "presentation literacy" and its importance in today's world.Important lesson: Developing effective communication skills is crucial for sharing ideas and making an impact.

Chapter 1: "Presentation Literacy: The Skill You Can Build"

<ul><li>Takeaways: Establishing a genuine connection with the audience is key to engaging and inspiring them.</li><li>Interesting idea: The power of vulnerability and authenticity in forging a strong connection.</li><li>Important lesson: Share personal stories and experiences to create a relatable and compelling narrative.</li></ul>

Chapter 2: "Connection: Get Personal"

<ul><li>Takeaways: Organize your presentation like a story, with a clear beginning, middle, and end.</li><li>Interesting idea: The importance of a narrative arc and emotional resonance in keeping the audience engaged.</li><li>Important lesson: Structure your presentation around a central idea and guide the audience through a coherent journey.</li></ul>

Chapter 3: "Narrative Structure: Build a Journey"

<ul><li>Takeaways: Simplify complex ideas and make them accessible to the audience.</li><li>Interesting idea: The use of visuals, metaphors, and analogies to explain complex concepts.</li><li>Important lesson: Break down complex ideas into digestible and relatable components to enhance understanding.</li></ul>

Chapter 4: "Explain Complex Ideas: Illuminate, Don't Obfuscate"

<ul><li>Takeaways: Leave your audience with a sense of awe, wonder, or new perspectives.</li><li>Interesting idea: The power of sharing ideas that challenge the status quo and ignite curiosity.</li><li>Important lesson: Craft your presentation to deliver a memorable and transformative experience for your audience.</li></ul>

Chapter 5: "Revelation: Inspire Your Audience"

<ul><li>Takeaways: Combine logical reasoning and emotional appeal to persuade your audience.</li><li>Interesting idea: The role of storytelling in influencing and inspiring people to take action.</li><li>Important lesson: Convey your message in a way that resonates with both the rational and emotional aspects of your audience.</li></ul>

Chapter 6: "Persuasion: Reason, Emotion, and the Power of Story"

Throughout the book, Chris Anderson provides practical advice and real-life examples from successful TED Talks, illustrating how speakers have effectively applied these principles to deliver impactful presentations. He emphasizes the importance of preparation, rehearsal, and continuous learning to improve public speaking skills.

Personal Opinions

The main argument of "The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking" is that public speaking is a skill that can be cultivated by anyone, and that powerful presentations have the potential to create positive change in the world. Chris Anderson supports his argument by drawing on his experience curating TED Talks and observing the power of effective public speaking to spread ideas and inspire action.

Criticisms of the book include the potential limitation of the TED format itself. Some argue that the book's focus on TED-style presentations may not fully address other contexts of public speaking, such as academic conferences or business presentations. Additionally, there may be a concern that adhering too closely to a formulaic approach advocated in the book may inhibit individual creativity and authenticity.

Reading this books makes me realised you don't need to some extra ordinary person in life to be a Ted speaker. You should have a message to deliver to the audience that is worth sharing.

From the head of TED and based on expertise drawn from the best TED Talks, an entertaining and practical guide to speaking, pitching and telling stories, filled with valuable insight for salespeople, leaders, teachers and writersAmid today’s proliferating instant-communication channels, one form has emerged as the most effective way to communicate—a brief, polished, live-audience video talk. Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has tapped the world’s most brilliant minds to share their expertise on myriad subjects. Anderson discovered early on that the keys to getting an audience to sit up and pay attention are to condense a presentation into 18 minutes or less and to heighten its impact with a powerful narrative: in other words, to tell a terrific story.TED Talks is chock full of personal presentation suggestions from such TED notables as Sir Ken Robinson, Mary Roach, Amy Cuddy, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Dan Gilbert, Matt Ridley and dozens more—everything from how to focus your speech’s content to what you should wear onstage. This is a lively, fun read with great practical value, from the man who knows what goes into a great speech. In TED Talks, Anderson pulls back the TED curtain for anyone who wants to learn from the world’s best on how to prepare a top-notch presentation.

Chris J. Anderson

TED TALKS: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

<ul><li>Most students take public speaking courses to conquer nervousness, think on their feet, and confidently speak.</li><li>Anyone can develop public speaking skills with practice and desire.</li><li>Even experienced speakers can feel nervous before speaking, but this feeling usually disappears after a few seconds.</li><li>To improve your public speaking skills, do the following:</li></ul><ol><li>Start with a strong desire to improve.</li><li>Practice speaking whenever possible.</li><li>Prepare your speeches thoroughly.</li><li>Act confident, even if you don't feel it.</li><li>Practice, practice, practice!</li></ol>

Developing Courage and self-confidence 

<ul><li>When speakers have a real message in their head and heart, they are almost sure to do themselves credit.</li><li>The preparation consists of digging something out of yourself, assembling and arranging your own thoughts, and cherishing and nurturing your own convictions.</li><li>Do not sit down and try to manufacture a speech in thirty minutes. A speech must grow.</li></ul>

Self-confidence through preparation 

<ul><li>After independent thinking, collect information on your topic from encyclopedias, magazines, books, and the Internet.</li><li>Collect far more material than you intend to use.</li><li>The way to develop reserve power is to know far more than you can use to have a full reservoir of information.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Plan your talk carefully. Think about what you want to say and how you want to say it. Organize your thoughts and create an outline.</li><li>Cover each point thoroughly. Don't just skim over the surface of your topic. Make sure to provide enough information so that your audience can understand and appreciate your message.</li><li>Use a logical structure. Your talk should flow smoothly from one point to the next. Use transitions to help your audience follow your train of thought.</li></ul>

How famous speakers prepared their speech

<ul><li>Gather all the facts. Make sure you have all the information you need to support your claims. Be prepared to answer any questions your audience may have.</li><li>Practice your talk. The more you practice, the more confident you will feel when you give your talk. Practice in front of a mirror or with a friend or family member.</li><li>Do not read your talk. Reading your talk will make you sound boring and uninterested. Instead, speak from the heart and use your own words to communicate your message.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Be confident and enthusiastic. Your audience will be likelier to listen to you if you believe in your words. Speak with conviction and passion.</li><li>Russell H. Conwell built many of his talks on this plan: </li></ul>a. State your facts.b. Argue from them. c. Appeal for action. <ul><li>Another helpful plan: </li></ul>a. Show something wrong. b. Show how to remedy it. c. Appeal for action.<ul><li>Here is an excellent speech plan: </li></ul>a. Secure interested attention. b. Win confidence. c. State your facts. d. Appeal to the motives that make men act.

<ul><li>The three natural laws of remembering are impression, repetition, and association.</li><li>To get a deep, vivid impression of something, you must concentrate, observe closely, and get your impressions through as many senses as possible.</li><li>The second law of memory is repetition. You should repeat things at intervals and go over your notes just a few minutes before you need to use them.</li><li>Do not sit down and repeat a thing over and over until you have it engraved on your memory. </li><li>Go over it once or twice, then drop it; come back later and go over it again.</li></ul>

Improvement of the Memory

<ul><li>Repeating at intervals, in that manner, will enable you to memorize a thing in about one-half the time required to do it in one sitting. </li><li>After we memorize a thing, we forget as much during the first eight hours as we do during the next thirty days, so go over your notes just a few minutes before you rise to make your talk.</li><li>The third law of memory is association. You can associate things by thinking about them from all angles, asking questions, and connecting them to other things you know.</li></ul>

<ul><li>To remember a stranger's name, ask questions about it, observe their looks, and try to connect the name with their face and occupation.</li><li>To remember dates, associate them with prominent dates you already know.</li><li>To remember the points of your address, arrange them in a logical order and make a nonsense sentence out of them.</li><li>If you forget what you're saying, you can use the last words of your last sentence as the first words of a new one.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Enthusiasm is key to good public speaking. If you are not excited about your topic, your audience will not be either. So, ensure you are passionate about your words and that your enthusiasm comes through in your delivery.</li><li>Be convinced of your message. If you don't believe in what you are saying, your audience will be able to tell. So, make sure you are confident in your message and that you can back it up with evidence.</li><li>Think about your facts and how they relate to your audience. What are the most important points you want to make?</li></ul>

Keeping Audience Awake

<ul><li>Speak with conviction and passion. Your audience should be able to tell that you believe in what you are saying. Speak with conviction and passion; they will be more likely to believe you.</li><li>Be heard. Speak loudly and clearly, and project your voice so everyone can hear you.</li><li>Don't use weasel words. Weasel words are words that are vague or ambiguous, and they can make your message less persuasive. Avoid using weasel words like "maybe," "probably," and "could."</li><li>Love your audience. Remember that your audience is made up of real people with real needs. Speak to them as if you care about them.</li></ul>

<ul><li>We learn through sudden improvements, not gradual. We plateau sometimes but can break through with more practice.</li><li>Initial nervousness is normal, even for great speakers. It fades after a few seconds of speaking. </li><li>If we stay faithfully busy improving, we will become competent through persistence, even without extraordinary ability. </li><li>Think of success to do what's needed to achieve it in public speaking.</li><li>If discouraged, look at Lincoln's photo and think what he would do.</li><li>4 qualities for Navy chaplain success starting with G: Grace, gumption, Grit, and Guts.</li></ul>

Essential elements of public speaking 

<ul><li>Delivery is as important as the words alone. The flavor of how you say it counts. </li><li>Engage your listeners; don't ignore them by staring over their heads or at the floor. Communicate and connect through eye contact. </li><li>Use the same natural conversational tone and directness as normal conversation, enlarged to the group. Relate to them as individuals rather than just a group. </li><li>Anyone can deliver a talk with practice. Be yourself and put your style and individuality into it rather than imitating others. </li></ul>

The secrets of good delivery 

<ul><li>Address listeners as if expecting them to respond, keeping delivery more engaging by imagining questions being asked. </li><li>Put emotion and sincerity into your talking to help more than follow the rules.</li><li>Unconscious things we do in conversation but often forget in public speaking:</li></ul><ol><li class="ql-indent-1">   Stress important words more than unimportant ones. </li><li class="ql-indent-1">   Vary pitch rising and falling rather than monotone.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">   Vary speech rate, slowing on important points.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">   Pause before and after important ideas.</li></ol>

Imagine that someone has asked you a question and that you are repeating it. Say aloud, “You ask, how do I know this? I’ll tell you.” …That sort of thing will seem perfectly natural; it will break up the formality of your phraseology and warm and humanize your manner of talking.

<ul><li>The opening is highly important, so it should be carefully planned in advance</li><li>Keep the introduction very short, ideally just 1-2 sentences</li><li>Novices often make the mistake of either telling a story or apologizing, avoiding both</li><li>Ways to immediately gain attention:</li></ul><ol><li>   Arouse curiosity with a story</li><li>   Relate a human interest story  </li><li>   Begin with a specific illustration</li><li>   Use an exhibit or prop</li><li>   Ask a question</li><li>   Open with a striking quotation</li><li>   Explain how the topic affects the audience</li></ol><ul><li>Don't make the opening too formal; it seems casual and inevitable  </li></ul>

Platform, presence, personality 

<ul><li>Begin on common ground that everyone can agree on to start positively  </li><li>Don't frame your opening in a way that causes people to say "no” immediately</li><li>Avoid saying you will "prove" something, as that can arouse opposition </li><li>Raise a question for the audience to consider rather than stating your position</li><li>Use facts and examples strategically, as in Mark Antony's speech, without directly arguing. </li><li>Allow the audience to form their own conclusions based on the information presented</li></ul>

Capturing your audiences at once

<ul><li>The close is the most memorable part, so plan it carefully and rehearse </li><li>Round off your talk smoothly rather than leaving it rough</li><li>Effective ways to close include:</li></ul><ol><li>   Summarizing main points </li><li>   Appealing for action</li><li>   Paying a sincere compliment</li><li>   Quoting relevant poetry</li><li>   Building to a climax</li></ol><ul><li>Get a strong beginning and ending close together in time  </li><li>Always stop before the audience wants you to</li></ul>

How to close a talk

<ul><li>When taking questions:</li></ul><ol><li>Repeat questions for all to hear </li><li>Keep responses clear and concise and follow up on talk points</li><li>Avoid arguments and respect differing views</li><li>Don't let one questioner dominate; invite others</li><li>If heckled, smile and stay silent before inviting the next question  </li><li>Conclude when the time called rather than taking extra questions</li></ol><ul><li>In summary, plan an impactful close and smoothly wrap up the talk positively. When taking questions, keep responses respectful and invite broad participation.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Use simple language and avoid technical terms.</li><li>Be sure of your topic and have a clear understanding of it.</li><li>Use exhibits, pictures, and illustrations to appeal to the sense of sight.</li><li>Christ declared that He had to teach by parables, “Because they (His listeners) seeing, see not and hearing, hear not; neither do they understand.”</li><li>Christ made the unknown clear by discussing it in terms of the known. He likened the Kingdom of Heaven to leaven, nets cast into the sea, and merchants buying pearls. “Go thou, and do likewise.”</li></ul>

How to make your meaning clear

<ul><li>If you wish to give a clear conception of the size of Alaska, do not quote its area in square miles; name the states that could be put into it; enumerate its population in terms of the town where you are speaking. </li><li>Avoid technical terms when addressing a lay audience. Follow Lincoln’s plan of putting your ideas into plain language for any boy to comprehend. </li><li>Be definite. Don’t just say “dog” if you mean “a fox terrier with a black splotch over his right eye.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Restate your big ideas, but refrain from repeating yourself.</li><li>Clear your abstract statements by following them with general illustrations or specific instances.</li><li>Do not strive to cover too many points in a short speech.</li><li>Close with a summary of your points.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Every idea is held as true unless hindered by a contradictory idea.</li><li>First, set forth our ideas; second, prevent opposing ideas from arising to render them null and void.</li><li>To be impressive and convincing, you must:</li></ul><ol><li>Convince yourself before you attempt to convince others.</li><li>Show how your idea is similar to something people already believe.</li><li>Restate your ideas and illustrate them with figures.</li><li>Use general illustrations and specific instances.</li><li>Use the principle of cumulation.</li></ol>

How to be impressive and convincing 

<ul><li>Experience upon experience must be piled up until the very weight embeds the thought deep in the brain's tissues.</li><li>Use graphic comparisons. Visual impressions stick longer.</li><li>Back up your statements with unprejudiced authority.</li></ul>

<ul><li>People are interested in extraordinary facts about ordinary things.</li><li>People are interested in themselves.</li><li>To be a good conversationalist, lead others to talk about themselves and their interests.</li><li>Use human interest stories to illustrate your points. Glorified gossip and people's stories will almost always win and hold attention. </li><li>Be concrete and definite. Do not belong to the “poor-but-honest” school of speakers. Do not merely say that Martin Luther was “stubborn and intractable” as a boy. </li></ul>

How to interest your audience 

<ul><li>Announce that fact. Then, follow it with the assertion that his teachers flogged him as often as “fifteen times in a forenoon.” That makes the general assertion clear, impressive, and interesting.</li><li>Use phrases that create pictures and words that set images floating before the eyes.</li><li>Use balanced sentences and contrasting ideas.</li><li>Interest is contagious.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Win their confidence by deserving it – by your sincerity, being properly introduced, being qualified to speak on your subject, and telling the things your experience has taught you.</li><li>To persuade an audience, you should:</li></ul><ol><li>Capture their attention.</li><li>Earn their trust.</li><li>Present your facts and arguments.</li><li>Appeal to their emotions.</li></ol>This method can be used in public speaking, writing, and personal relationships.

How to Get Action

<ul><li>We are judged by what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it. Our language use is often the main way we are judged. Accurate and refined use of our native tongue is essential for ladies and gentlemen.</li><li>Your language will reflect the company you keep. Follow Lincoln's example and keep company with great authors like Shakespeare through their works. This will enrich your mind and language unconsciously. </li><li>Give up newspapers for books by authors like Tacitus, Thucydides, Newton, and Euclid, as Jefferson wrote. </li></ul>

Improve your diction

<ul><li>Read with a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words and try to use them to fix them in memory. </li><li>Study the origins of words, which are often interesting histories rather than dull facts. </li><li>Avoid cliches and worn-out phrases, instead using precise language. Refer to a thesaurus often to improve word choice.</li><li>Strive for fresh comparisons rather than tired ones. Have the courage to be distinctive rather than relying on trite phrases.</li><li>Articulate clearly without mumbling, speaking too fast or slow, mispronouncing, or speaking in a monotone.</li></ul>

Highly recommended book for public speaking enthusiasts

Dale Carnegie, author of the legendary How to Win Friends and Influence People, began his career as the premier "life coach" of the twentieth century by teaching the art of public speaking. Public speaking, as Carnegie saw it, is a vital skill that can be attained through basic and repeated steps. His classic volume on the subject appeared in 1926 and was revised twice-in shortened versions-in 1956 and 1962. This 2006 revision-edited by a longtime consultant to Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc., and the editor in charge of updating How to Win Friends and Influence People-is the definitive one for our era. While up-to-date in its language and points of reference, Public Speaking for Success preserves the full range of ideas and methods that appeared in the original: including Carnegie's complete speech and diction exercises, which follow each chapter, as the author originally designated them. This edition restores Carnegie's original appendix of the three complete self-help classics: Acres of Diamonds by Russell H. Conwell, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, and A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard. Carnegie included these essays in his original edition because, although they do not directly relate to public speaking, he felt they would be of great value to the readers. Here is the definitive update of the best-loved public-speaking book of all time.

books

Books

Arthur R. Pell

Dale Carnegie was an American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.

Dale Carnegie

Public Speaking for Success

<ul><li>Digital life can be exhausting and overwhelming</li><li>Digital Sabbath suggests moderate approaches to digital usage, such as keeping phones away from the bed or turning off notifications</li><li>Digital minimalism proposes spending less time using technology for a healthier relationship with it</li><li>Early versions of Facebook and the iPhone had different functionalities compared to their present-day counterparts</li><li>Smartphones and apps are designed to encourage prolonged use and attention engineering</li><li>Addiction to technology is a behavioral addiction that is moderate in comparison to chemical dependencies</li></ul>

Foundation

<ul><li>Unpredictable rewards and social tagging can create a strong psychological pull to technology</li><li>Rebuilding our relationship with technology based on our values is more effective than just using tips and tricks to limit our usage.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Minimalists focus on a small number of carefully selected online activities that align with their values</li><li>They prioritize large things that make their life good over small things they might miss out on</li><li>Minimalists use hacks like replacing smartphones with basic flip phones, restricting digital information intake, and reducing social circles to optimize their online experience</li><li>They use online magazines instead of Twitter and follow only a small number of inspiring accounts on Instagram</li><li>The goal is to use technology in a way that enhances their life and doesn't detract from it</li></ul>

Digital Minimalism

<ul><li>Cluttering our lives with non-crucial things such as apps is costly in terms of the amount of life exchanged for it.</li><li>Optimizing technology use is important, not just in the type of technology used, but also in how it's used, such as watching Netflix only with friends or uninstalling social media apps and using a computer instead.</li><li>Being intentional about how we engage with technology can be satisfying, such as committing to minimalism like the Old Order Amish and urban Mennonites who find satisfaction in their simple technology use.</li></ul>

THE PRINCIPLES OF DIGITAL MINIMALISM

<ul><li>Take a thirty-day break from optional technologies.</li><li>Use the break to rediscover meaningful and satisfying activities.</li><li>Reintroduce technologies starting from a blank slate and determine their value and specific use to maximize that value.</li></ul>Reasons of failure1. Subtle mistakes in implementation2. Technology restriction rules that were eithertoo vague or too strict3. Not planning what to replace these technologies with during the declutter period—leading to anxiety and boredom.4. Temporary detox is a much weaker resolution than trying to permanently change your life

The Digital Declutter: ON (RAPIDLY) BECOMING MINIMALIST

<ul><li>Optional technologies to take a break from include text messaging, social media apps, streaming services, and video games.</li><li>Exceptions include checking email for professional purposes.</li><li>Lack of information from optional technologies may expose you to alternative uses of time and won't cause critical damage to social life.</li><li>Operating procedures should specify how and when to use a particular technology.</li></ul>1. Custom notification of text message2. Sign in from desktop pc and not from phone3. listen to podcasts on daily commute only4. Watching movies with friends only5. Limit watching two episodes per week

STEP #1: DEFINE YOUR TECHNOLOGY
RULES

<ul><li>Detox symptoms include boredom, urge to check social media, and wanting to look something up.</li><li>These feelings will pass with time.</li><li>Rediscover hobbies and passions that don't involve technology before reintroducing optional technologies.</li><li>Suggestions include reading, painting, coding, writing, visiting the library, spending time with family, playing piano, and learning to sew.</li><li>Technology should serve as a supporting role only, with real satisfaction coming from other tasks.</li></ul>

STEP #2: TAKE A THIRTY-DAY BREAK

1. Serve something you deeply value (offering some benefit is not enough).2. Be the best way to use technology to serve this value (if it’s not, replace it with something better).3. Have a role in your life that is constrained with a standard operating procedure that specifies when and how you use it.

STEP #3: REINTRODUCE TECHNOLOGY

<ul><li>Replace email newsletters and breaking news with a balanced news portal.</li><li>Read news summary podcast, radio, and newspaper instead of browsing news online.</li><li>Check Twitter feed only once in the weekend.</li><li>Check social media from the web browser on the computer.</li><li>Remove the web browser from the phone to prevent checking answers instantly.</li><li>Jot down ideas in a notebook.</li><li>Set a curfew on the phone for a certain time period.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Regular doses of solitude are necessary to flourish as a human being.</li><li>Solitude requires moving past reacting to information created by others and focusing on one's own thoughts and experiences.</li><li>Solitude provides new ideas, self-understanding, and closeness to others.</li><li>Attention to new technologies can undermine these benefits of solitude.</li><li>Time alone is necessary to explore and discover what is happening in one's life.</li><li>Friends and love are not enough without time for solitude.</li><li>Mix regular doses of solitude with social interaction to support a fulfilling life.</li></ul>

Spend Time Alone

We enter solitude, in which also we lose loneliness.

We need solitude to thrive as human beings, and in recent years, without even realizing it, we’ve been systematically reducing this crucial ingredient from our lives.

Living a life with and without a phone is reasonable for protecting against solitude deprivation.

PRACTICE: LEAVE YOUR PHONE AT HOME

<ul><li>Only thoughts reached by walking have value.</li><li>Walking is a fantastic source of solitude.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: TAKE LONG WALKS

<ul><li>It is a structured way to make sense of whatever important things are happening in your life at the moment. </li><li>This behavior necessarily shifts you into a state of productive solitude</li></ul>

PRACTICE: WRITE LETTERS TO YOURSELF

<ul><li>Certain regions in the brain activate when not attempting a task and deactivate when focusing on something specific.</li><li>Targeted and composed information from someone known well correlates with improved well-being.</li><li>Receiving a "like" or broadcast status update doesn't correlate with improved well-being.</li><li>Spending more time connecting on social media can lead to increased isolation.</li><li>Small boosts from social media can't compensate for the loss of real-world time with friends.</li><li>Social media can delude you into thinking you're already serving your relationships well, making further action unnecessary.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: Don’t Click “Like”

<ul><li>Face-to-face conversation is the most humanizing thing we do.</li><li>Video chat or phone call is also good as long as it involves nuanced analog cues.</li><li>Textual or non-interactive communication is not considered conversation.</li><li>The human brain has evolved to process information generated by face-to-face interactions, not from a single bit.</li><li>Stop leaving comments or clicking "Like" on social media posts, as they are considered trivial interactions.</li><li>Eliminating trivial interactions sends a clear message that conversation is what counts.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: RECLAIMING CONVERSATION

<ul><li>Let the concern about the reaction of others motivate you to invest time in setting up a real conversation.</li><li>You don't need to keep in touch with so many people on social media.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Setting the phone to Do Not Disturb mode during predetermined times can increase focus and reduce anxiety.</li><li>Treating text messages like emails, and checking them on a regular schedule, can help maintain the advantages of the technology while avoiding its negative effects.</li><li>This approach can strengthen real-world relationships by providing an opportunity for genuine conversation.</li><li>Text messaging is convenient but should not be treated as a replacement for face-to-face conversation.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: CONSOLIDATE TEXTING

Put aside set times on set days during which you’re always available for conversation.

PRACTICE: HOLD CONVERSATION OFFICE
HOURS

As Aristotle elaborates, a life filled with deep thinking is happy because contemplation is an “activity that is appreciated for its own sake . . . nothing is gained from it except the act of contemplation.”

Reclaim Leisure: LEISURE AND THE GOOD LIFE

<ul><li>Require more “mental strain” to enjoy. </li><li>Expending more energy in your leisure, Bennett tells us, can end up energizing you more. </li><li>You have to spend money to make money” into the language of personal vitality.</li></ul>

THE BENNETT PRINCIPLE

<ul><li>Prioritize demanding activity over passive consumption.</li><li>People have a need to use tools and create things to feel fulfilled.</li><li>Deep activities like writing code that solves a problem give more meaning than shallow activities like answering emails.</li></ul>

Leisure Lesson #1: ON CRAFT AND SATISFACTION

<ul><li>Use skills to produce valuable things in the physical world.</li><li>Social benefits can be obtained from leisure activities.</li><li>Examples include board games, social fitness, recreational sports leagues, volunteering, and working on group projects.</li><li>Successful social leisure activities require spending time with people in person and provide structure for social interaction, such as rules, terminology, and shared goals.</li></ul>

Leisure Lesson #2: SUPERCHARGED SOCIALITY

<ul><li>Seek activities that require real-world, structured social interactions.</li><li>Leisure time should be spent on physical world pursuits, with digital technology serving only as a support role.</li><li>Digital technology can be helpful in setting up or maintaining leisure activities, but it should not be the primary source of leisure.</li><li>YouTube can be a useful resource for quick how-to lessons on various physical world pursuits.</li></ul>

Leisure Lesson #3: THE LEISURE RENAISSANCE

<ul><li>Trading extra money to specialists for fixing things can free up time for leisure activities</li><li>Learning new skills can be a source of high-quality leisure</li><li>Developing handiness can help tap into satisfying activities</li><li>Examples of DIY activities: changing car oil, installing a ceiling fixture, learning new techniques on an instrument, calibrating a turntable, building furniture, starting a garden plot</li><li>It's suggested to try learning and applying a new skill every week for six weeks</li></ul>

PRACTICE: FIX OR BUILD SOMETHING
EVERY WEEK

<ul><li>Schedule in advance the time you spend on low-quality leisure.</li><li>Confining your use of attention-capturing services to well-defined periods.</li><li>Protect your remaining leisure time for more substantial activities.</li><li>It doesn't ask you to completely abandon low-quality diversions.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: SCHEDULE YOUR LOW-QUALITY
LEISURE

Join first and work out the other issues later.

PRACTICE: JOIN SOMETHING

<ul><li>The Seasonal Leisure Plan</li><li>A seasonal leisure plan is something that you put together three times a year: at the beginning of the fall (early September), at the beginning of the winter (January), and at the beginning of summer (early May).</li><li>Identify a concrete accomplishment that has clear criteria for completion and that can reasonably fit within a season.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: FOLLOW LEISURE PLANS

<ul><li>Review your seasonal leisure plan.</li><li>Plan how your leisure activities will fit into your schedule for the upcoming week.</li><li>Figure out what actions you can take during the week to make progress on your leisure objectives.</li><li>Schedule exactly when you'll do these activities.</li></ul>

<ul><li>When trying to gain something valuable from someone's network, it's important to be prepared and committed to avoiding exploitation.</li><li>This battle requires being aware of the other person's interests and intentions.</li><li>It's important to establish boundaries and maintain autonomy while still working towards a mutually beneficial outcome.</li></ul>

Join the Attention Resistance

<ul><li>Quit accessing social media and other distracting services on the go.</li><li>The small extra barrier of needing to log in to a computer can prevent mindless scrolling.</li><li>Services that were claimed indispensable often provide only convenient distractions.</li><li>Facebook use dropped significantly for readers who removed the app from their phones.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: DELETE SOCIAL MEDIA FROM
YOUR PHONE

<ul><li>A computer can increase productivity by shutting down some of its core functions.</li><li>Switching between different applications can make a person's interaction with the computer less productive.</li><li>If you need a particular social media tool for work, put aside a few blocks during the day when you can check it, and leave it blocked otherwise.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: TURN YOUR DEVICES INTO
SINGLE-PURPOSE COMPUTERS

<ul><li>Use Instagram to follow a small number of interest-related accounts for a quick browsing experience.</li><li>Use Facebook only for close friends and relatives and occasionally connect with influencers.</li><li>Dunbar's number, 150, is a theoretical limit for successful social circle management.</li><li>Checking in on close social circles on Facebook does not require a lot of time.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: USE SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE A
PROFESSIONAL

<ul><li>Slow Media requires full concentration and high-quality content.</li><li>It stands out from fast-paced and short-lived media.</li><li>The news consumption habit involves a ritualistic sequence that unfolds on autopilot.</li><li>Engaging with arguments provides satisfaction independent of the content.</li><li>Isolate news consumption to set times during the week and choose a location to give full attention to reading.</li><li>Care about the particular format of reading.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: EMBRACE SLOW MEDIA

<ul><li>Put SMARTPHONE in the kitchen cupboard. </li><li>Use flip phone or Light Phone.</li></ul>

PRACTICE: DUMB DOWN YOUR
SMARTPHONE

<ul><li>Adopting digital minimalism is not a onetime process that completes the day after your digital declutter; it instead requires ongoing adjustments.</li><li>It is more about the quality of your life.</li></ul>

Conclusion

Digital Minimalism isn't just Anti-Facebook, but a guide to escape from Virtual Reality and engage in real life with technology as an assistant, not as the master of our lives. ChatGPT is used to summarize and make bullet points. 

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestseller "Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo of technology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digital pursuits that do, and don't, bring value to your life."--Ezra Klein, Vox Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world. In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling author of Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has already improved countless lives. Digital minimalists are all around us. They're the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations without furtive glances at their phones. They can get lost in a good book, a woodworking project, or a leisurely morning run. They can have fun with friends and family without the obsessive urge to document the experience. They stay informed about the news of the day, but don't feel overwhelmed by it. They don't experience "fear of missing out" because they already know which activities provide them meaning and satisfaction. Now, Newport gives us a name for this quiet movement, and makes a persuasive case for its urgency in our tech-saturated world. Common sense tips, like turning off notifications, or occasional rituals like observing a digital sabbath, don't go far enough in helping us take back control of our technological lives, and attempts to unplug completely are complicated by the demands of family, friends and work. What we need instead is a thoughtful method to decide what tools to use, for what purposes, and under what conditions. Drawing on a diverse array of real-life examples, from Amish farmers to harried parents to Silicon Valley programmers, Newport identifies the common practices of digital minimalists and the ideas that underpin them. He shows how digital minimalists are rethinking their relationship to social media, rediscovering the pleasures of the offline world, and reconnecting with their inner selves through regular periods of solitude. He then shares strategies for integrating these practices into your life, starting with a thirty-day "digital declutter" process that has already helped thousands feel less overwhelmed and more in control. Technology is intrinsically neither good nor bad. The key is using it to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you. This book shows the way.

Cal Newport is Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of seven books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications and on TV and radio.From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives."

Cal Newport

1. Improve activity of the piece2. Move with a plan

Improve your worst pieces

1. The bishop pair2. good knight versus bad bishop3. better pawn structure (fewer pawn islands, no doubled, isolated or backwards pawns)4. more space5. control of open files or outposts, weak squares or colour complexes which can be exploited.

Accumulate small advantages

1. prevent an opponent’s idea.2. overprotecting material so our pieces can move freely.3. reducing the scope or impact of opposing pieces

Prophylaxis

philosophy

Philosophy

strategy

Strategy

entertainment

Entertainment

Finding Moves in the Middlegame

1. e4/d42. threaten something3. knight before bishop4. most suitable square once for all5. pawn move not more than two6. no queen move7. castle early and kingside8. atleast one pawn in the centre9. control the centre10. no sacrifice without adequate reason<ul><li>pawn sacrifice for advantage </li><li>deflect the queen</li><li>prevent castling</li><li>build up a strong attack</li></ul>

10 practical rules of opening

1. how does it affect the centre?2. how does it fit in with the development of my other pieces and pawns?

2 question on each move of the opening

1. pawn structure2. mobility3. king safety4. material5. combinations

5 factors of evaluation

1. strong point: holding the e5 pawn2. giving up e5 pawn for counter-attack to white give up its e4 pawn

2 types of defense by black in e4 e5

Not a list of moves, but simple and logical explanations of opening systems.

creativity

Creativity

Explains the objectives of all openings and provides illustrations of King Pawn, Queen Pawn, and irregular openings.

Reuben Fine

The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings

From the time he learnt to move pieces on a chessboard as a six-year old, Vishy – as Anand is fondly called – has racked up innumerable accolades. The first World Chess Champion from Asia, he emerged onto the world stage when chess was largely a Soviet preserve, climbed the ranks to become World No. 1, bagged five World Championship titles and won tournaments across all formats of the game. A peerless ambassador of chess, his is one of the most revered names in the sport.

In Mind Master, Vishy looks back on a lifetime of games played, opponents tackled and circumstances overcome, and draws from its depths significant tools that will help every reader navigate life’s challenges:<ul><li>What role do tactics and strategy play in the preparation for</li><li>achieving a goal?</li><li>How can emotions be harnessed to your advantage in tricky</li><li>situations?</li><li>What precautions should you take before you decide to leave your</li><li>comfort zone and embrace risk?</li><li>What do you need to do to stay relevant in the face of rapidly</li><li>changing realities?</li><li>Is unlearning really the only way to learn?</li></ul>

As a long-term strategy, being predictable is not of much advantage – for your career or business or even for yourself. Once in a while, you’ve got to take the counter-intuitive path, but not without owning responsibility for the consequences – and certainly not without preparation. In such situations, your attitude should trump the decision itself. When you focus on previously unconsidered solutions to reach your end goal, don’t let your mind wallow in indecision or imagined negative outcomes. Instead, push through with execution.

1 DITCHING THE LADDER
Of Gut, Heart and a Winning Idea

When I played this game with Manuel Aaron, my obsession with winning the Grandmaster title was still some years away. At the same time, my win was a culmination of everything I had learnt and worked for until then, with little else weighing on my mind. There’s something to be said about working towards achieving a goal without obsessing over how far you’re from it or how hopelessly you’re missing the mark each time. Once you shut out the clamor of the result and simply persevere, success is bound to be yours.

2 STICKY NOTES
Madras, Manila, Madrid and Everything in Between

Here’s a lesson in serendipity and limitless learning. Nothing you do, however unconnected it is to your livelihood or your life’s goal, goes waste. You never know when an idea that you’ve read about or heard of, or an activity you’ve dabbled in, will pay off. It’s wise, then, to keep your interests and your learning as varied and broad as you can.

3 THE ART OF REMEMBERING
Hooks, Hacks and Serendipity

Emotions tend to get in the way of clear thinking. Whether it’s impatience, frustration, fury, self-loathing or even premature elation – allowing these to consume the mind results in a loss of focus and distraction from learning, and keeps you from taking the right decisions and achieving your goal. Training your mind to take a step back at the crucial moment and developing cues to organize your thoughts is more advantageous than making a move while your mind is in turmoil.

4 WIN SOME, LOSE SOME
Emotions and the Power of Objectivity

For your strategy to be effective, the preparation you put into every aspect to make your tactics work efficiently is key. Your approach cannot be unidimensional. Whether you’re taking in external perspectives, keeping your mind open to varied sources of learning, visualizing difficult, unknown scenarios and tackling them head-on through practice, cultivating discipline and a routine that brings you comfort in the face of stressful situations – all of it eventually comes together to contribute to the moment of achievement.

5 GATHERING THE TROOPS
How to Make Preparation Count and Tactics Work

The match against Kasparov in New York in 1995 changed my attitude from being content playing good games and winning occasionally to being completely driven to becoming the World Champion. In the years that followed, I realized how that single match had distilled every aspect of what I lacked – the ability to be flexible, unpredictable and stay unaffected by psychological duress.

6 NEW YORK, NEW YORK
The Making of a Champion

It also became evident to me that the transition from being a strong player to becoming a champion wasn’t going to happen on its own. I had to want it ardently enough. Doing everything admirably well matters very little if you can’t finish the job.

The way I see it, talent is a lot like a plant. When it’s watered with hard work, it grows and blooms. Deprived of nourishment, the plant simply withers away. With hard work, talent gains in depth and scope, and uncovers newer abilities that were earlier unexplored. And hard work is not just about plugging away at something. It involves thinking intelligently about what you want to achieve, the goals you’re setting, how you’re improving on your innate skills or talents, and how you can incorporate all of this into the list of things that will help you scale that peak.

7 THE GIFT AND THE GRIT
Making Talent Work Hard

In any situation in life, being adaptable is the only way to grow andsucceed. You may have skills that you’ve perfected, a certain worldview that worked for you at a particular stage – but the reality is that circumstances change, and you can’t be prepared for everything. Lowering your resistance to change, removing bias and being willing to adapt will help you tackle whatever comes your way. Once you’ve assessed the resources at your disposal and weighed what is feasible against what is risky you will see the path.

8 MINING THE MIND AND MACHINES
Decision-Making, Data and a New Giant on the Block

The lead this game gave me was a luxury, but I restrained myself from celebrating too quickly. I’d suffered from the consequences of doing that earlier – relaxing when I should have been focused, or letting the excitement of an anticipated win take over. There is a difference between having an overwhelming lead and actually finishing a game on top. In these moments, it’s important to be acutely mindful of your present, find calm and keep yourself grounded. If you’re too busy visualizing future success it may eventually give you the slip.

9 BONN AGAIN
Finding Beauty in Risk

Resilience is the only answer to adversity. When tough situations arise – and they sometimes arrive like a hailstorm – your primary focus should be on accepting that although it is not the way you would want things to be, it is what you have to deal with, and then tackle it with practicality. It’s also important to remember that no matter what you’re up against, you have to give yourself some odds of success. Look deep for the resources that will pull you through – if you talk yourself out of everything, you’re undermining the advantages you have on your side.

10 THE ADVERSITY ADVANTAGE
A Volcanic Ash Cloud, a Road Trip and a Title

Success can often lull you into believing in what is non-existent – that you have no chink in your armor; that your occasional wins make you invincible; that there is nothing for you to improve upon. Life does not raise red flags unprompted. Look for the cues – they will ask you to identify and work on your weaknesses, disallow passivity in your attitude, thought and preparation for success. Even when you hit the lowest point, they will offer a handy start to hitting the road to recovery.

11 TWO CITIES, ONE STATE
Battling Learned Helplessness

In life, as in chess, learning must be constant – both new things and fresh ways of learning them. The process will invariably involve a certain degree of unlearning, and possessing the readiness to do that is utterly important. If your way of doing things isn’t working, clinging to your conclusions is only going to hold you back. You have to get to the root of a snag in order to make a breakthrough, because it’s possible that what you thought you knew isn’t actually the way it is. Unlearning is perhaps the hardest thing to do, but it is a necessity if growth and success are your goals.

12 STAYING ALIVE
On Today’s Wins and Tomorrow’s Horizons

The best Autobiography I have ever read. Very emotional at some point, and tells about how to take win and defeat in life. We have one thing in common, both of us learn chess for first time from our mothers. 

'Doing everything admirably well matters very little if you can't finish the job.' Few people know better than Viswanathan Anand how to think strategically at lightning speed and work under immense pressure to overcome the toughest odds. From the time he learnt to move pieces on a chessboard as a six-year-old, Vishy - as Anand is fondly called - has racked up innumerable accolades. With five World Championship titles, he is a peerless ambassador of chess, and his is one of the most revered names in the sport. In Mind Master, Vishy looks back on a lifetime of games played, opponents tackled and circumstances overcome, and draws from its depths significant tools that will help every reader navigate life's challenges: What role do tactics and strategy play in the preparation for achieving a goal? How can emotions be harnessed to your advantage in tricky situations? What do you need to do to stay relevant in the face of rapidly changing realities? Is unlearning really the only way to learn? These are just some of the nuggets Vishy touches upon with characteristic wit, easy wisdom and disarming candour in this expanded edition of his critically acclaimed memoir, a delightful and invaluable exploration into the self that will thrill, inspire and motivate readers as few books have done before.

TED TALKS: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

Public Speaking for Success

Digital Minimalism

Finding Moves in the Middlegame

The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings

Santanu Borah