The Last Lecture of Dr Randy Pausch
Forty-six-year-old Carnegie Mellon University computer science Professor Randy Pausch, dying from pancreatic cancer, gives his last lecture on September 18, 2007. A motivational speech delivered by a real person. Learning points from the viewpoint of public speaking:
1. Have fun in the present moment.
2. The power of humor. Often, the more serious the topic, the more appropriate it is to use humor.
3. Be conversational. He didn’t lecture. He visited with us.
4. Notes are OK. Glance at the notes and speak from the heart.
5. The power of original stories. He talks about his life.
6. Visuals add power. Photos and video clips are worth 1000 words.
7. Know your limits: “I’m not going to talk about my wife and kids.”
8. Know the parameters of your talk: “I’m not going to talk about spirituality.”
9. Watch the close. I thought, wow, he’s only left two minutes for the close. And he did it in 27 seconds. With impact.
CBS News four-minute version of the story.
Google video: One hour twenty-five minute video of the whole speech (highly recommended). Or try this link.
Related Post: If This Were Your Last Speech
September 30th, 2007 at 11:11 am
[...] The Last Lecture of Dr Randy Pausch [...]
October 29th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Some lessons from Randy Pausch’s last lecture that especially moved me:
1. Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
2. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
3. Never lose the child-like wonder.
4. If we do something which is pioneering, we will get arrows in the back. But at the end of the day, a whole lot of people will have a whole lot of fun.
5. Be good at something; it makes you valuable.
6. If you live your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, and the dreams will come to you.
Check out the tribute quiz on the lecture at http://www.mystudiyo.com : you can add your own questions at the end of the quiz.
http://www.mystudiyo.com/activity.php?act=558
December 12th, 2007 at 3:47 am
[...] the Humor Power blog they did a pretty good analysis of the video, out of which I would highlight the [...]