Jeff Smith

Lessons in Business from prison

TED June 2012By: Joshua McPherson

“[We need] to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit and the

tremendous untapped potential in our prisons.” (Jeff Smith)”

Jeff Smith was an ambitious politician and rising star of the Missouri senate who was incarcerated for one year 2009-2010 for conspiracy to obstruct justice . During his one yea stay in prison Smith learned a lot about the prison system and how its inmates could have the

chance or should have the chance to have a healthy start in a business field since all inmates have a huge entrepreneurial

potential in that field.

How did the speaker capture the attention of the audience

in his or her introduction

Jeff Smith captures the attention of the audience by giving an example of how things was inside the prison. And his job of unloading trucks for 5 dollars a month. When he gave this introduction he basically let the

audience understand what he will be talking about in relation to prison and business

How did the speaker maintain the engagement of the

audience throughout his speech

Mr. Smith maintained the engagement by keeping the audience involved in the comparison between real world

business towards the correctional system of business. By him showing and explaining that certain way shows that even though are prison system have prisoners that they are still

have to have entrepreneurial traits for the real world.

Which of the TED Commandments does the speaker best follow. How

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VI & IV Mr. Smith used these both in his interview as an advantage in supporting his story to the success that could come the way of the inmates if they was given the opportunity in the real world in a business atmosphere

Which of the TED Commandments does the speaker best follow. Why

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VI & IV Mr. Smith followed them because of the opportunity to share his stories with the public of the importance of what inmates are faced with as business deals as well to help the audience understand what he is trying to teach them.

Evaluate the speaker in terms of dynamism from 1 (lowest) to 5

(highest). What couldthe speaker have done to increase

his or her dynamism?

5 ( Highest)While watching the interview I would say I was understanding

what Mr. Smith was trying to teach me about how the correctional system has various promising business

entrepreneurial traits. He gave perfect examples in how he saw the potential in everyone that passed his way. Also he showed

and explained the value in which everything was in priced in jail and how inmates would make transitions to add to or make value

towards their way of living.

What have you learned about delivery based upon watching

your presenter?

I have learned how to deliver a better interview by using every exact bit of information that could be used to help or succeed in giving the audience a better understanding of what I am trying to talk to them about. His interview gave me a lot more knowledge about how to keep the audience in your attention meaning how to keep the

audience relevant in your conversation.

Compare your speaker to Sir Ken Robinson from the two videos you

watched (“Schools Kill Creativity” and “Changing Education Paradigms”)

Sir Ken Robinson

• Able to keep the audience entertained

• Uses drawings to show or explain what he is telling the audience

Jeff Smith

• Able to keep the audience listening and hearing to what he has to say

• Uses his past to keep his topic relevant

Contrast your speaker to Sir Ken Robinson from the two videos you

watched (“Schools Kill Creativity” and “Changing Education Paradigms”)

Both Speakers kept me involved in what they were explaining in reference to their speeches I also saw that they kept the audience in the ability to learn from their speeches

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Jeff SmithSir Ken Robinson

What tips can you give your classmates on delivery for their

upcoming speeches basedONLY on your TED Talk?

The tips I could give is to follow the Ted commandments in order to explain better how the

speeches are able to stay relevant towards what the main point of their speeches are made of. Also keep the audience entertained as well to get a better feedback

and enjoyment.

What I learnedThe ability to share and learn from how these great

speakers have the ability to keep their speeches to stay key onto the topic

What I learned cont.Keep your interview simple and relevant in the ability to

share with the audience. When I usually give out an interview I don’t put to much into keeping the audience active, but after watching the speeches of both videos I will now use a better knowledge in reaching out to my

topic.

What I learned cont.Finally is to use the Ted commandments in your

speeches to keep everything flowing properly and smoothly both speakers didn’t show no sign of

nervousness and was about to connect with the audience.

REFERENCES

• Ted Interviewhttp://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_smith_lessons_in_business_from_prison.html

• http://www.cityandstateny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/jsmith.jpg

• http://www.timlonghurst.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/tedcommandments.jpg

• http://images.ted.com/images/ted/172559_389x292.jpg• http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/

7539304878_b16928e65a_m.jpg