Never heard of a TED Talk before? Well, what I'm about to share with you might just change your life in a big way.
A TED Talk is a short, powerful speech ranging in topic from business to law to social justice and so much more. No matter the topic, their messages are hard-hitting and never fail to leave the audience ready to take action. That said, with the vacation season coming to a close, the MerusCase team thought that all you hardworking legal professionals out there could use a little inspiration to get you through the last few summer days.
Without further ado, check out these 9 TED Talks that are sure to inspire:
1. Alan Siegel: Let's simplify legal jargon! "Tax forms, credit agreements, healthcare legislation: They're crammed with gobbledygook, says Alan Siegel, and incomprehensibly long. He calls for a simple, sensible redesign — and plain English — to make legal paperwork intelligible to the rest of us."
2. Marc Goodman: A vision of crimes in the future "The world is becoming increasingly open, and that has implications both bright and dangerous. Marc Goodman paints a portrait of a grave future, in which technology's rapid development could allow crime to take a turn for the worse."
3. Lawrence Lessig: Laws that choke creativity "Lawrence Lessig, the Net’s most celebrated lawyer, cites John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights and the "ASCAP cartel" in his argument for reviving our creative culture."
4. Peter Donnelly: How juries are fooled by statistics "Oxford mathematician Peter Donnelly reveals the common mistakes humans make in interpreting statistics — and the devastating impact these errors can have on the outcome of criminal trials."
5. Clay Shirky: How the Internet will (one day) transform government "The open-source world has learned to deal with a flood of new, oftentimes divergent, ideas using hosting services like GitHub — so why can’t governments? In this rousing talk Clay Shirky shows how democracies can take a lesson from the Internet, to be not just transparent but also to draw on the knowledge of all their citizens."
6. David JP Phillips: How to avoid death by PowerPoint "With a seldom seen depth of knowledge and passion for his subject, David Phillips has become the leading Swedish figurehead in the art of making presentations. He is the founder and owner of Sweden's largest resource on the subject: Presentationsteknik.com."
7. Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture "Copyright law's grip on film, music and software barely touches the fashion industry ... and fashion benefits in both innovation and sales, says Johanna Blakley. In her talk, she talks about what all creative industries can learn from fashion's free culture."
8. Christopher "moot" Poole: The case for anonymity online "The founder of 4chan, a controversial, uncensored online imageboard, describes its subculture, some of the Internet "memes" it has launched, and the incident in which its users managed a very public, precision hack of a mainstream media website. The talk raises questions about the power — and price — of anonymity."
9. Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are "Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success."
Now that you've had the chance to check out our long list of most-loved TED Talks for lawyers, do you have a favorite of your own to share? Let us know in the comments below!