This post is going to serve as a TED Talk analysis for my CIS 112 class, however, the talk I chose will also serve as a good explanation of what those with dementia want. For those of you who do not know what a TED Talk is, it is a short speech (18 minutes or less) about a topic or issue usually given in a professional setting. At least, that's what I have come to understand from watching TED Talks. The link to the TED Talk I have chosen will be found below the analysis. Now, let's get to it!
Analysis
Alanna Skaikh gave her TED Talk in June of 2012 at TEDGlobal 2012 regarding how she is preparing for Alzheimer's disease (link found below video). Her speech is titled "How I'm preparing to get Alzheimer's". She begins by stating that her father has Alzheimer's and how it has affected his everyday living. From how she presented the topic and the statistics she gave, it can easily be assumed that the audience is fairly aware of Alzheimer's and dementia. When first hearing her speak, I would assume that they were probably thinking that they would be hearing about Alzheimer's prevention, however, Skaikh threw a curve ball and instead spoke of how she is getting ready to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the future.
She brought up many points as to why she was readying herself rather than trying to prevent the disease - although she is doing that as well. One way in which she does this is through her powerful anecdotes of how Alzheimer's has affected her father. Her father was a very intelligent man who regularly stimulated his cognitive processes, however, he still suffers Alzheimer's disease. This very much supports her statement that prevention is not 100% effective when it comes to dementia-related diseases. While she had no visual aids, her use of personal anecdote and statistics very effectively got her point across to the audience.
Skaikh's use of humor was also very effective. She made fun of her inability to knit more than a blob of yarn and her lack of drawing skills, yet she used these examples to show that while she may not be good at doing things with her hands, it is important that her hands still know how to do them. When our mind is stripped bare by dementia, our hands will still remember what to do. She very aptly explains that all any of us really want is happiness in our state of dementia. (This relates very much to my chosen topic of independence and dignity in dementia care.)
I believe her scare tactics also helped to get her message across. By scare tactics, I mean that she gave the cold, hard truth about Alzheimer's and dementia. She did not leave anything out, and even went so far as to claim that we are all scared of dementia. Skaikh used the example of her father, a very intelligent and active man, to show that dementia does not care who you are or how you live, because it will find you. This bluntness really set the audience on edge and forced them to listen to her message.
In all, I believe that Alanna Skaikh gave a very effective presentation about preparing for dementia. She made great use of personal anecdote and statistics to get her point across. However, every presentation can use improvement. In Skaikh's case, I would say that she could improve on visual aid. This goes for both hand motion and objects/pictures. Visual aid would greatly enhance her presentation, because she would not only appeal to visual learners, but also show the exact effects that dementia has had on her family.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8FyHI00ELY
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