I’ve been a fan of TED Talks for a long time. If you’re unfamiliar, TED Talks are short influential videos from expert speakers on a variety of topics. TED stands for technology, entertainment, and design. However, topics include education, creativity, innovation, environment, leadership, and so much more. Today, I’m sharing five TED Talks that are relevant to transcriptionists. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
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Table of Contents
A Talk About Typography
In the category Talks About Typography, you’ll find a wonderful talk called How a Typeface Helped Launch Apollo. This talk gives a brief history of popular fonts with an explanation about how Futura became one of the most used fonts in the world. You’ll also learn how Futura became an essential part of NASA’s visual identity and helped to inspire the public’s fascination with space exploration.
An Idea About Grammar
My favorite TED Talk category is Ideas About Grammar. If you’re a grammar geek like me, you’ll love What Do All Languages Have in Common. In this talk, linguist Cameron Morin explores the fundamental similarities between all languages, despite their surface-level differences. Morin’s TED Talk offers a fascinating exploration of the universal properties that make language possible. By highlighting these similarities, he emphasizes the power of language to connect people and ideas across cultures and throughout history.
An Idea About Language
The Ideas About Language category has a lot of great talks. But I think most transcriptionists will enjoy Who Decides What’s in the Dictionary. Dictionaries have been around since ancient times, changing constantly as language evolves over time. This talk provides insight into how those changes have been made and how Webster’s Dictionary became the primary source for the United States. The talk also touches on the politics of language, discussing how certain groups have historically been excluded from dictionaries, either intentionally or unintentionally, and emphasizing the importance of including a diverse range of voices in the creation of dictionaries and the need to constantly reevaluate and update these reference works as language and society evolve.
A Talk About Innovation
In the category of Best Practices for Business Innovation, you’ll find a great talk called 3 Rules to Help You Build a Successful Business. This talk is perfect for freelance transcriptionists who want to get their own clients (rather than work for a transcription company) or start their own transcription company. You’ll learn about three guiding principles for success: provide a solution to your client’s problems, stay true to your values, and surround yourself with the right people. You’ll learn how following these three principles will allow you to create a business that not only solves a problem but also resonates with people and makes a positive impact.
A Guide to Success
TED Talks’ Essential Guide to Startup Success category is perfect for new transcriptionists and transcriptionists who want to grow their business. I recommend 7 Tools for Building a Business People Trust. In this talk, Marcos Aguiar discusses the key elements that entrepreneurs should focus on to build a trustworthy business. He explains that trust is essential for building long-term relationships. He says that without trust, a business cannot thrive, and it may struggle to survive in the long run. By focusing on authenticity, empathy, competence, reliability, transparency, generosity, and humility, entrepreneurs can create businesses that are not only successful but also respected and admired by their customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
The talks I’ve listed here are just a few of the many TED Talks I find inspiring, interesting, and informative. And after spending all day listening to audio and typing, I find it refreshing to watch videos on topics I’m passionate about. I hope you enjoy these TED Talks as much as I do. Share your favorite TED Talks in the comments below.
