Procrastination: It’s Not So Bad After All

I am often guilty of procrastination. All my life I have struggled with this affliction and have seen it as the cause of many of my failures in life. Then today I watched Adam Grant’s TED talk on original thinkers and found out that being a procrastinator isn’t such a bad thing after all. In fact, according to his research, the characteristics of original thinkers are procrastination, fear, doubt, and bad ideas. It seems that success does not come from eliminating these “bad” habits, but from accepting and managing them more effectively.

This is definitely a great speech to watch, not only because of its inspiring content, but also because it’s a great example of a well-structured speech. There is only one clear message: how to recognize and become more like the Original Thinkers. These are the people who drive change in the world and are admired by millions because they are so successful. Adam opens his speech with a great self-deprecating story that engages the audience. He introduces us to the concept of PREcrastination instead of PROcrastination and why doing things right ahead of time is not a good success strategy.

His introduction leaves us with two questions. How could two people with all the makings of a potential failure be so successful? And if they can be that successful, is there still hope for me?

Adam then explores three characteristics of original thinkers that are surprising and refreshing. It turns out these highly successful people are a lot like us, only better at handling procrastination, fear, self-doubt, and bad ideas. The speech is packed with a lot of research and data, but all of those facts are carefully turned into memorable stories.

The key to a successful persuasive speech is to create a combination of Aristotle’s three tests: Ethos (credibility), Logos (facts and statistics), and Pathos (emotion and stories), and according to author Carmine Gallo, these three elements work best when are distributed. in the proportions of 10% ethos, 25% logos, and 65% pathos.

Throughout the speech, Adam also provides evidence of his credentials. Not as a large part of his autobiography, but as little bits of information that let us know that he is a university professor and that this speech is based on years of research with his students. But what makes the speech compelling and memorable is that it is full of stories, both from his own life, the experiences of his students, and the stories of successful original thinkers.

If you want a great model for developing a speech, I recommend that you take twenty minutes and review this speech now.