Rory Sutherland TED, A Good Story Needs Great Body Language

When a man describes himself as “Fat bloke at Ogilvy, IPA; The Wiki Man” your radar screen immediately blinks. Meet Rory Sutherland, the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group UK (according to LinkedIn) and of the most enjoyable TEDx Athens 2011 talks according to my totally unscientific poll later that night. I’d argue he was the best story teller of the event but that’s another story for me to tell.

It’s fascinating to learn from this great story teller and realize the difference between event speakers and performers. I’m sure Rory told this particular story quite a few times. You can tell from his eyes. He rarely looks the monitors in front of him and when he does it’s only for a blink of an eye.

One can deliver a speech accompanied by slides or telling a story empowered by images and strong signals. Rory’s story was supported by Powerpoint and his body language. Few simple photos and consistent body language was his key to success. He dragged the attention on him by using a few simple, repetitive gestures until the time was right for the audience to focus on the screen. That right moment body language was irrelevant. Watch his posture when he points to the screen and also pay attentions to his shoulders, hands and mouth.

His shoulders are flat, still, someone would argue (jacket helps)
His hands do simple and clear moves in limited space
His mouth is either open or closed

Body language played a significant role for his time on stage. Rory Sutherland, the fat bloke from UK, made a few darn good points points during TEDx Athens 2011; one of them delivered in a non verbal format.

Body language is a form of mental and physical ability of human non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously.