Must see TED talks

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You appreciate big ideas, but have little free time. You could use a jolt of intelligent inspiration, but not if that requires going down the Internet’s rabbit hole of rubbish.

From thousands of talks curated from TED conferences, here are five TED talks you should see, or watch again, beginning with Atul Gawande, M.D., a practicing surgeon and celebrated author who examines the art of physician-patient communication.

Patient care

Atul Gawande, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital

“How do we heal medicine?” Atul Gawande, TED 2012

If you think medical systems are broken, and that doctors should focus more than they currently do on treating patients, check out this talk by Atul Gawande, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital. This talk by Dr. Gawande, author of the best selling, "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End," has received nearly 1.7 million views to date.

Body language

Amy Cuddy, Ph.D., social psychologist, Harvard Business School professor

“Your body language may shape who you are,” Amy Cuddy, TED 2012

Your body language says a lot about you and it may set the tone for a physician office visit. Does your body language reflect your best self? In this talk, Dr. Cuddy, author of "Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges," addresses how body language affects your behavior. This talk as been viewed more than 44 million times.

Stress

Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.

“How to make stress your friend,” Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., TEDGlobal 2013

Raise your hand if you don’t regularly feel stress. In high-impact fields like medicine, stress is common - but is it bad? This psychologist encourages people to view stress as a positive, and to channel it into the act of reaching out to others. Dr. McGonigal is author of "The Upside of Stress," published in 2015.

Time management

Laura Vanderkam

“How to gain control of your free time,” Laura Vanderkam, TEDWomen, 2016

After studying how successful people spend their time hour by hour, this time management expert discovered something important: We don’t build the lives we want by saving time; we build the lives we want, and then time saves itself. Ms. Vanderkam is author of, "I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time," published in 2016.

Empathy

Brene Brown, Ph.D.

“The power of vulnerability,” Brené Brown, Ph.D., TEDxHouston 2010

One piece of research fundamentally changed the way Dr. Brown lives: Connection is why we’re here. It gives our relationships purpose and meaning, but vulnerability is a prerequisite of connection, and that’s not always easy. She is the author of "Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead," published in 2015.