A friend of mine wrote me this morning with the question “What are the first 5 Ted Talks I should watch?” As many times as I have talked with friends, family, and co-workers about TED I have never thought about introducing the conference to them in this format. Generally a talk comes to mind when I am having a conversation with someone and we wonder into TED as a result of mentioning something that reminds me of a talk I have watched.

I have been known to blurt out in the middle of a conversation: “oh, I loved that TED Talk too!” This generally results in a much confused look, a reaction normally kept for instances when you think someone is quoting a comedian and it turns out to be their original joke. Thus my natural rudeness then turns into an introduction to TED, but only as it relates to the conversation at hand. This method of indoctrination has been less than successful so let’s try another route.

So, here are 5 talks that I have watched multiple times for one reason or another.

Pattie Maes’/Pranav Mistry’s demo was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.

Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so.

Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry’s pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce — and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.

Tony Robbins discusses the “invisible forces” that motivate everyone’s actions — and high-fives Al Gore in the front row.

Richard St . Johns askes why do people succeed? Is it because they’re smart? Or are they just lucky? Neither. Analyst Richard St. John condenses years of interviews into an unmissable 3-minute slideshow on the real secrets of success.