Analyzing a TED Talk - Madilyne McDonald

           I recently watched Alanna Shaikh give a speech entitled How I'm Preparing to Get Alzheimer's on the TED stage. This speech, given on June 6th, 2012, was showing her outlook on Alzheimer's and a different way of looking at the future. She told several stories throughout her speech which established her credibility helped the audience understand her point of view. Shaikh told stories about her father, who had Alzheimer’s; she talked about how he was a bilingual professor before getting the disease and how good his heart was.

Shaikh giving her TED Presentation

Shaikh taught me several things throughout her speech. She told me three ways that I could prepare myself to receive Alzheimer's, which were easier to remember than an overloaded of information. These three ways were: learning to do something with my hands, things that one’s hands would do automatically where memory failed, exercises that improve balance, the loss of balance associated with Alzheimer’s could make a person immobile, and making sure that your heart was in a good place so that when everything else was stripped away it was something to be proud of.  These things would likely help a person be happier and live longer with the disease. Preparing to get Alzheimer’s was a concept that I hadn't heard before. Shaikh delivered several jaw dropping statistics throughout her speech. She informed the audience that 35 million people have this disease and that number is expected to double by 2030. She also said "If the monster wants you, it will get you." She repeated this several times which made people really face the reality of the disease instead of how it’s normally avoided.

Knitting was a suggested hobby to learn.

           The speech was very effective. Shaikh talked like she was in a conversation with the audience. She was talking to me instead of over me. She clearly outlined the main points so that I could easily follow her thoughts. However, she did not move around very much and some of her body language seemed tense, which showed her nerves. Another skill that Shaikh had was that she incorporated humor into her speech. Since her subject was so serious, Shaikh had to be careful about the amount of humor that she used, and she used just enough to lighten up the mood and keep her audience interested. She talked about how she was learning to knit but could only knit a ball and she was learning origami and could make a pretty nice box. This got a chuckle from the audience and lightened up a tough subject.

          Shaikh delivered her speech in six minutes and nineteen seconds. This time was well under the eighteen minute standard. I felt that she explained her topic extremely well, she covered her main points and gave the reasons behind them. She grabbed my attention with her story and incorporated it throughout the whole speech. She challenged my way of thinking by introducing something new. Shaikh told what it was like to love someone with Alzheimer's and what it will be like if you ever get the disease, this connected her and her topic to the audience. She stayed in her lane by not trying to give medical advice or convince us that her way was the only way. She stated facts and explained why she thought preparing for Alzheimer's was important.

          I thought that Shaikh's TED talk was extremely effective. Although brief, it challenged my thoughts on the topic, stretched my thinking, and taught me something new. Her stories and humor that were incorporated made her topic relatable. Volunteering at Best Friends, has made me think about how many people are affected by Alzheimer's and the possibility of getting it later in life. The participants of Best Friends are high functioning, leading me to wonder how much preparation they did throughout their lives. If I got the disease, I would rather be high functioning and happy like they are and would be willing to do anything I could to make this a possibility.
How I'm Preparing to Get Alzheimer's