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5 Super Short TED Talks for 5 Super Common Work Situations

Updated 6/19/2020
5 Super Short TED Talks for 5 Super Common Work Situations
These super short TED Talks will help you get through some sticky situations, from getting your ideas heard to defending your doodling in a meeting.

Do you sometimes feel like the right advice for your problems are just one Google search away—but you can’t even find the time to do that search?

We hear you! You’re busy doing your job, leaving little time to actually seek out help. That’s why we found five super short TED Talks to inspire you to push through common challenges.

We’ll just stop talking now and get right to the good stuff…


1. When Your Boss Asks You to Come Up With Five New Ideas Today: Play This Word Game to Come Up With Original Ideas by Shimpei Takahashi



Takahashi is a toy developer who realized that in order to think outside the box, you have to get a bit wacky. Which is why this one-word association game helped him come up with some of his proudest and most successful ideas.


2. When Your Co-worker Keeps Posting NSFW Statuses: Don’t Like Clickbait? Don’t Click by Sally Kohn



Sick and tired of being surrounded by bad media? Wish you could filter your social media of rude or inappropriate comments? According to Kohn, you have all the power to fix the internet yourself—so stop clicking on things that don’t matter to you.


3. When Your Colleague Says You Have Weird Ideas: Weird, or Just Different? by Derek Sivers



Here’s how you can respond to everyone who tells you your ideas are strange: “No they’re not, they’re just different.” Because even some of the oddest things here are considered normal somewhere else, states Sivers, an entrepreneur. And for that reason, they just might work.


4. When Your Manager Catches You Drawing During a Presentation: Doodlers, Unite! by Sunni Brown



Yes, doodling is actually good for you. According to Brown, people with this stigmatized habit are actually more likely to retain, remember, and focus on information than regular listeners. So carry on drawing.


5. When You Hopelessly Try to Explain Your Job to Your Parents: Talk Nerdy to Me by Melissa Marshall



If you’re one of those people who tries to explain your job to friends and they respond with blank stares, you’ll want to watch this. Marshall will show you how intellectuals can break down their jobs to the average listener so that everyone benefits. Don’t let your awesome accomplishments get overshadowed by confusing communication!


Photo of person listening and working courtesy of Hero Images/Getty Images.

Photo of Alyse Maguire

Previously an editor for The Muse, Alyse is proud to prove that yes, English majors can change the world. She’s written almost 500 articles for The Muse on anything from productivity tips to cover letters to bad bosses to cool career changers, many of which have been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, Inc., CNBC's Make It, USA Today College, Lifehacker, Mashable, and more. In addition to being an avid writer and reader, Alyse loves to dance, both professionally and while waiting for the subway. You can follow her work on her website, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

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