Listening to TED talks is a great way to learn about various subjects like religion, health, science or love, but they are also a great way to feel more human. If you’re trying to learn French, it can be boring to just listen to videos about grammar and vocabulary. Watching some cool French TED Talks will not only help you with your French but you’ll also learn a few things at the same time. It’s a win-win situation! Enjoy these French Ted Talks.
When you listen to someone speak about a problem they faced and had to overcome or learn about a new scientific discovery, you learn a lot about what’s going on in the world. If ever you don’t feel 100% comfortable with French yet, you can add some subtitles to make sure you catch everything.
French Ted Talks to Learn More Than Just French
Djinn Carrénard: Le cinéma du vivant
Looking for French Ted Talks about cinema? Djinn Carrénard is a Haitian film director. He’s directed two feature films: Donoma and FLA (Faire L’Amour) and numerous short films and video clips. His 2012 TEDxParis talk is all about cinema and how his goal as a director is to go through the process of writing characters to making them become living creatures on the screen. He wants to film real people with real emotions.And now that he has a bigger budget, he doesn’t want that to change. The emotions a movie portrays is more important than any special effects.
Nicole Turbé-Suetens: Télétravail d’avenir
Nicole Turbé-Suetens is the founder of Distance Expert, a network of experts from the world of work and technology. In 2011, she discussed telework and how people waste so much of their time going to and from their work by getting caught in traffic just to go to work and sit at their computer… When this is something they could easily do from their home. At the time, companies weren’t flexible or modern enough to allow their workers more telework. Do you think it improved since? Everyone talks about having a good work-life balance but a lot of companies still don’t let their workers do this.
Florence Servan: Le pouvoir de la gratitude
Florence Servan is a French journalist and was one of the first people to teach Neuro-Linguistic Programming in France. Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a way of achieving goals in life through language, neurological processes and experiences. Servan discusses this positive psychology that can treat common problems like learning disorders, allergies, depression, phobias and more in the video. If you love psychology then you’ll really enjoy this video.
Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu: Une alimentation plus équitable grâce aux insectes
Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu is an Associate Professor of Natural Sciences and Doctor of Biological Oceanology but he also directs documentaries on various subjects. In this TED talk, he discusses the future of food and if insects will be the ones to feed our planet. Insects might be the main foods in our plates…without us really noticing them. Researchers are finding ways to include insects in things like flour for example. Since the population is supposed to jump from 7 million to 9 million in 2050, their won’t be enough meat protein to go around. Insects are the solution of the future.
Florian Douam: The Zombiologist Paradox
Florian Douam has a diploma in bioscience from the École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS Lyon). His passion is virology, the study of viruses and zombies. He discusses the limits but also the dangers of experimenting with virology although it is necessary for progress in searching for diseases. Small viruses like the ones found in common colds still happen, so it is very important they are analyzed. He also discusses security and the importance of the responsibility of the researcher. It might be interesting to watch this Ted Talk in the middle of the Coronavirus crisis.
Yann Dall’Aglio: Comment sauver l’amour
Yann Dall’Aglio is a French philosopher and author. His 2012 TED Talk is all about love. He questions what it’s like to love in the digital age and how people meet virtually. He asks “what is love?” and explains that there’s a huge difference between loving a thing and a person. Loving a person means you desire it, so Dall’Aglio wants to know how do you stay desirable towards your loved one? He concludes his talk by saying expressing that it’s easier to connect with others in this individualistic world than you think. Wow, these French Ted Talks are so great!
Christel Beltran: 5 in 5
Christel Beltran discusses how computer in the future will learn to use our 5 senses so they can adapt themselves to what we are feeling. Technology is evolving so fast that computers will soon be able to help us heal us. For example, a doctor could receive the symptoms of someone by the computer to analyze their patients’ diagnosis better. So, you wouldn’t have to go to the doctor’s office to be treated. It could all be done from your home. Economic, geographic and linguistic and cultural barriers would be demolished with this type of technology.
Pierre Rabhi: Y a-t-il une vie avant la mort?
Pierre Rabhi is an Algerian writer, thinker, farmer and the inventor of the “Oasis in all places”. He’s a great believer in respecting humans and the earth. He believes agricultural practices should be accessible to everyone. In the video, he discusses the importance of food security and desertification.
Dominique Careil: Les nomades, nos voisins d’hier et aujourd’hui
Dominique Careil discusses the world of gypsies. They live in our society but because of social injustices and social biases. He wants people to learn to live with them and to embrace them instead of only seeing them as criminals or outsiders. Dominique often repeats that “Knowing the other to better live with them.”
Laurent Jacqua: Comment j’ai réussi ma plus belle évasion après 25 ans de détention
Laurent Jacqua has lived a very eventful and interesting life. He was sent to jail at 18 and wrote a blog during his incarceration. Often, he felt alone and had the feeling that no one cared about him. So once he got out, he decided to do something about the justice system and jails. In this Ted Talk, he discusses the importance of improving the overall penitentiary conditions but also those of people suffering from AIDS.
Do you recommend other French Ted Talks? We also did a list of the best Ted Talks for 2020 (so far) and an article about other great TED talks. If you want to see more recent French Ted Talks, just go visit the TedxParis website.
