1.2.5 HOW TO COME OFF AS SMART
HOW TO COME OFF AS SMART IN A TEDx Talk
1A. Warm-Up
Have you ever had to give a presentation when you had nothing prepared?
What makes a presentation persuasive, even if content is weak?
1B. Brainstorm
List strategies speakers use to appear confident or knowledgeable.
1C. Info Box
“how to come off as” is a common expression in English.
🔹 Meaning – “To come off as” means to appear or to seem to others – not necessarily what you are, but how you seem to people. So “how to come off as” means how to appear to others in a certain way.
🔹 Structure – come off as + adjective / noun
🔹 Examples
“He comes off as confident, but he’s actually quite shy.”
→ He seems confident.“I don’t want to come off as rude.”
→ I don’t want people to think I’m rude.“How can I come off as more professional in interviews?”
→ How can I appear more professional?
2A. Pre-Listening Vocabulary
2B. Practice
2C. Discussion
Discuss some or all of the following questions.
Have you ever encountered a phony advertisement or marketing campaign? How did it affect your opinion of the brand?
Can you think of a situation in business where a company might flounder? How could it recover?
Do you think meetings often contain too much filler content? How can meetings be made more effective?
Have you ever received instructions that were vaguely explained? How did you handle it?
How can businesses avoid using jargon or “gibberish” in communication with clients or employees?
What kind of business opportunities or trends currently beckon young professionals?
What qualities in a leader or colleague endear them to their team?
Can you think of a staggering innovation or business success story? What made it so remarkable?
When giving a presentation, how do you make sure your audience understands the broader point and not just the details?
Can you describe an utter failure or success you have seen in business or everyday life? What lessons were learned?
2D. Info Box Saying Nothing
There are several informal and formal ways to express “nothing” in English.
Zip, zippo, and zilch are often used for emphasis or humour.
Zero – more common globally, formal or informal, used in numbers, scores, statistics, temperature, and math.
Example: The temperature dropped to zero degrees.
Nought – primarily British English, often in spoken numbers or decimals, less common in general use.
Example: 0.5 is read as “nought point five.”
Oh – “Oh” is only spoken; in writing, 0 is just “zero” or “nil” and we use it with general numbers (outside sports), for example: Telephone numbers, years, or room numbers: Example: 256001 – two-five-six-double oh-one; He ws born in the year 1901. (nineteen-oh-one)
In sports:
Nil – especially in British English, usually for team scores.
Example: Manchester United won 3–nil.
Zero – used more generally or in American English.
Example: The team scored zero points in the first half.
Love – in sports, especially tennis, used to mean zero
Example: The score is 40–love
Video: First Viewing
3A. Watch the TED Talk by Will Stephen called: How to come off as smart in a TEDx Talk and answer the questions below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o&list=PLSXSUbSz47QUW7xAtDE2l0y8p00H0RXck&index=12
- What does the speaker claim at the start?
- How does he make his talk appear interesting?
- Identify 2-3 techniques he uses to appear knowledgeable.
- What do you think of his presentation?
3B. Look at the following comments on YouTube. What do you think of them? Do you agree with them?
- 222: This guy made it seem like he was saying nothing while teaching us public speaking skills. Respect
- freepoints: If you say anything with enough confidence, people will believe you.
- danwrite: What I love about this is that not only is it a jab at the typical TED talk formula, but it’s in itself a meta demonstration of how important your appearance, cadence, tone, gestures, and overall confidence and eloquence are to public speaking, almost more important than your actual content.
3C. Video: Focused Viewing
3D. Discussion:
- Are these techniques effective? Why / why not?
- Can they be applied ethically in professional presentations?
4A. Grammar Focus: Reporting & Emphasis
Examples from the talk:
- Direct → “I have absolutely nothing to say.”
- Emphasis → “I, for one, have no idea who he is.”
- Hedging → “Maybe, just maybe, you will feel like you’ve learned something.”
| 1.Reported Speech | Direct speech: Exact words spoken. |
| Example: “I have absolutely nothing so say.” | |
| Indirect speech: Paraphrasing what someone said. | |
| Example: He claims he has absolutely nothing to say. | |
| 2.Emphasis | Used to stress a point, often for opinions, contrast or importance. |
| Examples: I, for one, will not accept this. It was an utter disaster. | |
| 3.Hedging | Softening statements to be polite or less direct. |
| Examples: Maybe, just maybe, you will enjoy this. I suppose it could be possible. |
4B. Practice Exercises: Transform Direct to Indirect Speech
4C. Emphasis
4D. Hedging
Make these statements softer or more polite:
1.“You are wrong.”
“Maybe ________________________”
2. “This plan will fail.”
“It seems _______________________”
3. “I have no idea.”
“Perhaps ________________________”
4E. Role-Play Activities
In pairs, choose to be Student A or B and read what you have to do in each scenario.
- Student A: CEO giving harsh feedback.
- Student B: Employee responding with hedging and emphasis.
Goal: Practice polite disagreement or clarification.
- Student A: Journalist asks tough questions.
- Student B: Company spokesperson uses indirect speech, hedging, and emphasis.
Example: “I cannot comment on that” → “He says he cannot comment on that at this stage, but …”
5A. Pronunciation: Key Word Stress
First try saying the sentences normally and then say them again emphasizing the word in bold at the top of the column.
| Nothing | Really | Maybe | Fantastic |
| “I have nothing to add to the discussion.” | “That’s really impressive!” | “Maybe we should try a different approach.” | “The results were fantastic!” |
| “There is nothing more important than clarity.” | “I am really excited about this project.” | “I’ll maybe join the meeting later.” | “It’s fantastic how much progress was made.” |
| “He did nothing to help us.” | “She’s really talented at public speaking.” | “Maybe this is the solution we need.” | “Her performance was absolutely fantastic.” |
| “I can do nothing about that situation.” | “It’s really hard to believe!” | “You could, maybe, explain it more simply.” | “The view from the top was fantastic!” |
5B. Extra Fun Idea: “Exaggeration Game”
- Try intentionally overemphasizing key words or intonation in a silly way, e.g., “I have nothing… absolutely nothing!”
6.Discussion
- Is it ethical to use filler techniques to appear knowledgeable?
- Can style compensate for lack of content in presentations?
- Share a personal experience of seeing someone “flounder” or succeed in presenting.
Click on the link to download the pdf for this Topic 1.2.5
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SNa0tsevfMw_dJ6MCNTX40PlnwXNFcLd/view?usp=sharing