The Most Astounding Fact – Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist and author. He is also one of the most compelling speakers when it comes to talking about science.

Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson

In the short video below, Tyson is asked the following question: “What is the most astounding fact that you can share with us about the universe?” Now that’s a pretty profound question. Tyson’s answer is thoughtful, moving and just as profound. When combined with spectacular visuals and music, the result is a beautiful three-minute video.

Coming back to Earth for the moment, there is a lot that we can learn about public speaking from Tyson’s answer.

  • Notice how he takes his time when giving his answer. When the question is asked, he pauses for several seconds before speaking. In fact, when he starts to speak, he pauses again and the person asking the question interjects to remind him of the question. But Tyson did not need reminding. He understood the question and wanted to give an appropriate answer. If you are asked a question, don’t answer immediately. Think about what you have been asked. You will give a better response and you will come across as thoughtful and sincere.
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson does not rush his words. He speaks slowly and with purpose, choosing each word for maximum effect. This is the mark of a great speaker.
  • He speaks with emotion. It is not overdone, but it is definitely there. And he chooses key words to emphasize: “crucibles that cooked” (0:25); “these stars” (0:36); “scattering” (0:45); “but I feel big” (1:41); “participant” (1:59).
  • Tyson makes the complex understandable, not only by speaking slowly, but also by using simple words. I love the phrase, “scattering their enriched guts across the the galaxy”.
  • He uses rhetorical devices:
    • Asyndeton: “These ingredients become part of gas clouds that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems, stars with orbiting planets.”
    • Antimetabole: “… we are in this universe, but perhaps more important … the universe is in us.”
    • Metaphor: “… their enriched guts …”
    • Anaphora: “… you want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant, you want to feel like you’re a participant …”
  • Tyson has something worthwhile to say and he makes it relevant for the audience.

The full text of Tyson’s answer is below. Play the video once more and listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson speak as you read along.

The Most Astounding Fact

The most astounding fact is the knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on Earth, the atoms that make up the human body, are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures.

These stars, the high mass ones among them, went unstable in their later years. They collapsed and then exploded, scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy. Guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself.

These ingredients become part of gas clouds that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems, stars with orbiting planets. And those planets now have the ingredients for life itself.

So that when I look up at the night sky and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up—many people feel small because they’re small and the universe is big—but I feel big, because my atoms came from those stars. There’s a level of connectivity.

That’s really what you want in life, you want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant, you want to feel like you’re a participant in the goings-on of activities and events around you. That’s precisely what we are, just by being alive.

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  1. Having supervised PR Department of Faculty of Science, I know how difficult it is to find good speakers who can talk about science to lay audiences. Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of a kind. Thanks for the analysis – and for bringing this little video to my attention.

    1. Thanks for the comment, Lenka. It reminds me of one of the comments that someone left on the YouTube page where this video is located: “The existence of Neil DeGrasse Tyson makes the loss of Carl Sagan much less painful.” Cheers!

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Testimonials

John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

Andy Yen

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

Sara Canna

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

Jon Lopez

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International