Tip No. 9: Start with a startling fact or statistic.

Gilbert introduces his TED Talk with an unexpected fact that's immediately relevant to his overall message, and uses contrast (20 minutes versus two million years) to frame that fact, thereby making it seem more vital.

Startling facts grab the attention of both sides of the brain. The neurons in your left brain signal "Yay, here's a fact to remember!" while the neurons in your right brain signal "wow, that's really weird!" 

TIP No. 10. Use visually arresting graphics.

Gilbert immediately reinforces the startling fact with a graphic of two skulls that reinforces and strengthens both the informational content (for the left brain) and the emotional content (for the right brain). 

By simultaneously hitting both sides of the brain, Gilbert completely captures the imagination and interest of the audience, even though he's only 30 seconds into the presentation. 

TIP No. 11. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

This is true of all great TED Talks speakers but particularly true of Gilbert, who is a master at reducing complex ideas into easily understood chunks of content.

Indeed, if you watch any great TED Talk, you'll notice at once that speakers neither "drill down" into details nor take the proverbial "50,000-foot view." Instead, they simplify without ever becoming simplistic.