The Best TED Talks

Podcast host Chris Duffy spends his days talking to a diverse group of experts in order to answer one question: “How can I be a better human?” Here’s the advice that has really st…

Most of us blame our phones as the reason we can’t get anything done. But the real culprit often isn’t those shiny devices, which means we can stay focused simply by switching our perspective…

A handful of people working at a handful of tech companies steer the thoughts of billions of people every day, says design thinker Tristan Harris. From Facebook notifications to Snapstreaks to YouTube…

If you want to become a team leader or manager, you’ll have to demonstrate that you can lead without having an official role to point to. Here’s how you do that, from organizational psycholog…

«Too many people try to shift blame and make excuses, but great leaders take ownership of problems and work to find lessons and solutions.»

Wouldn’t you love to know what’s going to happen to you in the future? Here’s one way to do just that, from futurist and game designer Jane McGonigal.

«Ideally, as you get better at imagining the unimaginable, you’ll incorporate not just obvious ideas and events but also surprising things that could be important in your future.»

Jason Fried has a radical theory of working: that the office isn't a good place to do it. He calls out the two main offenders (call them the M&Ms) and offers three suggestions to make the workplace actually work.

Many of us try to get a head start on our weekends by working less on Friday, if not earlier. But here’s how to get more from them and make the rest of your week — and life — easi…

«weekends by Friday afternoon if not earlier. However, if you’re going to work on Fridays, there’s no reaso»

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, uses classic visual illusions and his own counterintuitive (and sometimes shocking) research findings to show how we're not as rational as we think when we make decisions.

We all know that when we make decisions in groups, they don't always go right -- and sometimes they go very wrong. How can groups make good decisions? With his colleague Dan Ariely, neuroscientist…

In this special excerpt from the TED podcast Am I Normal?, data journalist Mona Chalabi turns to renowned friendship researcher Robin Dunbar to tackle this question. Can you guess what it is?

«Mona Chalabi: According to Dunbar, our apple basket of relationships has an average of 150 people in it. This 150 figure is referred to as “Dunbar’s number“.»

Sustaining friendships -- and making new friends -- can be challenging, even when we know it's important. So how can we make our friendships last without feeling overwhelmed? And is there a formula to…

Suspicious emails: unclaimed insurance bonds, diamond-encrusted safe deposit boxes, close friends marooned in a foreign country. They pop up in our inboxes, and standard procedure is to delete on sight. But what happens when you reply? Follow along as writer and comedian James Veitch narrates a hilarious, weeks-long exchange with a spammer who offered to cut him in on a hot deal.

Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance and much more -- but they don't automatically make things fair, and they're often far from scientific. Mathematician and…

Every time you say that or its cousins “If I just had ____” or “When I get through ____”, what you’re really saying is “I can’t be happy now.” Author and designer Ingrid Fet…

«when I catch myself saying some version of “I’ll be happy when …” I try to imagine myself in the future, looking back on right now.»

But during those moments of doubt and defeat, it’s the questions you ask yourself that can really make the difference in where you go from there. Psychologist Angela Duckworth PhD explains.

What if you knew what your coworkers really thought about you and what they were really like? Ray Dalio makes the business case for using radical transparency and algorithmic decision-making to create…

Veteran financier Ray Dalio has been in every kind of meeting: the good, the bad and the ugly. Here’s how he keeps his meetings focused and productive.

The uncertainty of ghosting is not really what causes us pain. Instead, it hits us at an even greater point of human vulnerability: Our desire to belong and be loved. Behavioral scientist Michelle …

«Caring about what people think is a protective process, designed to help us build a net of belongingness and safeguard us against the loss of love.»

Maybe you have someone like this in your life … or maybe you’re the one who’s too often in a bad mood. Psychologist Guy Winch explores this common problem and shares his advice.

«3. Ask them to consider trying one of the following techniques that have been shown to lower irritability»

Here’s how you can take control of your brain’s knee-jerk reactions to distressing situations, says psychology researcher Lisa Penney.

Stress isn't always a bad thing; it can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you're playing a competitive sport or have to speak in public. But when it's continuous, it actually…

Simple advice to help you get more out of the books you read, from author Ryan Holiday.

«Life is too short to read books you don’t enjoy reading. My rule is 100 pages minus your age — so if you’re 30 years old and a book hasn’t captivated you by page 70, stop reading it.»

Overwhelm. That word doesn’t feel very pleasant hanging there, does it? It brings up feelings of failure and isolation. I’m a professional organizer, and it’s the word that I hear the most from new…

«if you keep making decisions and don’t postpone them, you’ll ultimately move from overwhelm towards something that all of us want — peace.»

Dan Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things…

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it's fame and money, you're not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you're mistaken. As the director of a 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life.

Meditation is great for some people but not for everyone — including author and designer Ingrid Fetell Lee. Here, she shares some alternatives that can help expand your awareness, calm your m…

«The moral of this story isn’t “don’t meditate” but rather, that meditation is like many things — great for some people, but not necessarily for everyone.»