David Blaine (TED Talk 8)

His presentation style was much more serious that most of the other talks I have listened to, and I think that, given the topic I have chosen, I will have to stay quite serious as well. He did, however, use a minuscule amount of humor that did add a little to the presentation. As far as technique goes, he did use a slide show of pictures to back up his talk, but it went by rather slow and didn't add to his talk very much. I will have to make sure that my slide show contains more relative to the amount I am talking and that it adds to or supports my talk clearly and excellently. He also didn't use very much movement at all, not around the stage nor with his hands to  convey his point. I tend to do so, so I have to make sure I do because it will add to my talk. What I understood from his talk is that you can never give up. Anything is possible, you just have to apply yourself and stay motivated. At the beginning, he was able to hold his breath for three and a half minutes. By the time he was on Oprah, he did it for just over seventeen minutes. He had to do research and practice every day for a long time, but he did it, and it payed off, as he broke the world record by more than half a minute. This lesson can be used everywhere, from school to work to recreation. In school, kids will learn to keep trying to raise their grades, even when it looks like there is no way. At work, people will learn that perseverance can pay off in the form of a raise or promotion. Anything is possible, but you just have to try for it and never back down.