TED Talks
4 tips to kickstart honest conversations at work | Betsy Kauffman
Why is it so hard to speak up and productively disagree at work? Leadership and organization coach Betsy Kauffman shows how to bring the candid conversations that usually happen at the watercooler out into the open with four practical...
Amoeba Sisters
General Lab Safety
This Amoeba Sisters video introduces science lab safety guidelines with memorable illustrations and an accompanying handout listed under "safety". This video includes the discussion of proper lab attire, importance of proper disposal of...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How interpreters juggle two languages at once - Ewandro Magalhaes
Language is complex, and when abstract or nuanced concepts get lost in translation, the consequences may be catastrophic. Given the complexities of language and cultural exchange, how do these epic miscommunications not happen all the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The pleasure of poetic pattern - David Silverstein
Humans are creatures of rhythm and repetition. From our breath to our gait: rhythm is central to our experience, and often brings us pleasure. We can find pleasure in the rhythm of a song, or even the rows of an orchard. Of course, too...
TED Talks
TED: How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure
Have you ever felt like you're talking, but nobody is listening? Here's Julian Treasure to help. In this useful talk, the sound expert demonstrates the how-to's of powerful speaking -- from some handy vocal exercises to tips on how to...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Did Shakespeare write his plays? - Natalya St. Clair and Aaron Williams
Some people question whether Shakespeare really wrote the works that bear his name _ or whether he even existed at all. Could it be true that the greatest writer in the English language was as fictional as his plays? Natalya St. Clair...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Does grammar matter? - Andreea S. Calude
It can be hard sometimes, when speaking, to remember all of the grammatical rules that guide us when we're writing. When is it right to say the dog and mec and when should it be the dog and I? Does it even matter? Andreea S. Calude dives...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Buffalo buffalo buffalo: One-word sentences and how they work - Emma Bryce
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo' is a grammatically correct sentence. How? Emma Bryce explains how this and other one-word sentences illustrate some lexical ambiguities that can turn ordinary words and...
Be Smart
How The Elements Got Their Names
Ever wonder what all those names on the periodic table actually mean? There's a whole lot of fascinating history on Mendeleev's table. Some carry names from antiquity, some are named for people, some are named for places, and some are...
Crash Course
How to Avoid Teamwork: Disasters Crash Course Business - Soft Skills
Group projects have a reputation of being difficult at times. But there are ways to make sure everything from the project to meetings about the project go smoothly. In this episode, Evelyn chats about how we can make sure and avoid...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How can you change someone's mind? (hint: facts aren't always enough) - Hugo Mercier
Why do arguments change people's minds in some cases and backfire in others? Hugo Mercier explains how arguments are more convincing when they rest on a good knowledge of the audience, taking into account what the audience believes, who...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How miscommunication happens (and how to avoid it) - Katherine Hampsten
Have you ever talked with a friend about a problem, only to realize that he just doesn't seem to grasp why the issue is so important to you? Have you ever presented an idea to a group, and it's met with utter confusion? What's going on...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Aphasia: The disorder that makes you lose your words - Susan Wortman-Jutt
Language is an essential part of our lives that we often take for granted. But, if the delicate web of language networks in your brain became disrupted by stroke, illness, or trauma, you could find yourself truly at a loss for words....
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Where do new words come from? - Marcel Danesi
There are over 170,000 words currently in use in the English language. Yet every year, about a thousand new words are added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Where do they come from, and how do they make it into our everyday lives?...
SciShow
Why Baby Talk Is Good for Babies
You may have heard that using baby talk is bad for children’s language development, but research seems to show the exact opposite.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What makes a poem a poem? - Melissa Kovacs
What exactly makes a poem - a poem? Poets themselves have struggled with this question, often using metaphors to approximate a definition. Is a poem a little machine? A firework? An echo? A dream? Melissa Kovacs shares three recognizable...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How to use rhetoric to get what you want - Camille A. Langston
How do you get what you want, using just your words? Aristotle set out to answer exactly that question over two thousand years ago with a treatise on rhetoric. Camille A. Langston describes the fundamentals of deliberative rhetoric and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The electrifying speeches of Sojourner Truth
Isabella Baumfree was born into slavery in late 18th century New York. Fleeing bondage with her youngest daughter, she renamed herself Sojourner Truth and embarked on a legendary speaking tour. She became known as an electrifying orator...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How misused modifiers can hurt your writing - Emma Bryce
Modifiers are words, phrases, and clauses that add information about other parts of a sentence-which is usually helpful. But when modifiers aren't linked clearly enough to the words they're actually referring to, they can create...
TED Talks
TED: This is your brain on communication | uri Hasson
Neuroscientist uri Hasson researches the basis of human communication, and experiments from his lab reveal that even across different languages, our brains show similar activity, or become "aligned," when we hear the same idea or story....
TED Talks
TED: 4 reasons to learn a new language | John McWhorter
English is fast becoming the world's universal language, and instant translation technology is improving every year. So why bother learning a foreign language? Linguist and Columbia professor John McWhorter shares four alluring benefits...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The battle of the Greek tragedies - Melanie Sirof
The world of modern theater owes its roots to the tragedians of Ancient Greece. As far back as the 5th Century BCE, actors and playwrights were entertaining the masses with intriguing stories. Melanie Sirof unveils the ancient theatrical...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: When to use "me", "myself" and "I" - Emma Bryce
Me, myself, and I. You may be tempted to use these words interchangeably, because they all refer to the same thing. But in fact, each one has a specific role in a sentence: 'I' is a subject pronoun, 'me' is an object pronoun, and...
Crash Course
The Black Legend, Native Americans, and Spaniards Crash Course US History
In which John Green kicks off Crash Course US History! Why, you may ask, are we covering US History, and not more World History, or the history of some other country, or the very specific history of your home region? Well, the reasons...