Isabella Barner 2/24/22 In the Ted Talk “Why violence clusters in cities and how to reduce it” the speaker Thomas Abt explains his experience with violence and how he thinks it can be managed. (https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_abt_why_violence_clusters_in_cities_and_how_to_reduce_it ?language=en) This presentation was a Motivational, inspirational, self-improvement type. The speaker got my attention and enticed me to listen in the introduction by staging a scenario that I could envision and put myself into. The scenario was specific and detailed to the point that it caught my natural human emotion of feeling for others who are hurt. I knew the speaker was credible because of his personal experience with crime victims and perpetrators. He describes how he’s not someone far away looking down on these issues. He’s someone who has been in the midst of it viewing others experiencing the violence. His body language stays consistent throughout the Ted Talk. He’s walking around to make eye contact with everyone in the audience and uses his hands to talk. His body language appears to be open, soft, sincere, and deeply interested in the topic being discussed. The speaker’s vocal tone is on the softer side but is very clear in what he says. He made sure to articulate important words or points to be sure the audience catches the information he was trying to convey. He’s also not monotone. Instead, he raises and lowers in voice during the presentation, which makes it better to listen to him speak. The speaker doesn’t use any visual aids in the presentation. I think he could’ve used a visual representation of how much violence affects our citizens across the United States. What stood out to me in the conclusion is the amount of money this plan would need to work in comparison to how much the DOD uses. It’s a very small percentage which makes you wonder why we aren’t doing more as a country to help those that constantly live in violence. I also liked in the end how he reiterates how and why he knows his solution will work, kind of like a short recap. Given my want to become a police officer one day, I think I will remember this presentation for a couple of months maybe even more due to my interest in helping others that need it. I will encounter many people who are involved in violent activity. Whether that’s violence to them or they are the ones spreading the violence. One thing that the presenter did that was memorable was pointing out why his plan might not work. Instead of just saying this is what will fix it, he informs the audience of the struggles that will happen along the way. The presenter could’ve used visual representation to keep the audience engage and to make the presentation better. Also, this topic is serious and although his introduction caught my attention maybe using a disturbing fact or piece of information to make the audience feel for his cause would improve it.
