TEDxKids@NBCC Journal Entry 3: Story Circle and Idea Starters
Session #3 with the kids was a dynamic one! Building on our second class where we explored illustrative language, each student brought in their photo (they choose from a stack we supplied) to share a story they created about it. The goal for this session was to:
– Start to build a sense of preparation: I have to talk about this photo, what will I say? (vs. a spontaneous request in class to discuss it);
– To continue sharing visual elements through language to draw in the audience and demonstrate their (still) fictional stories;
– To feel comfortable talking, again, in front of their peers;
– To have the peers appreciate what it means to listen with respect.
Here are the photos we had them use to build stories:
Here’s a compilation video of the stories that they brought forth. I will reflect that their preparation styles nearly mimic that of adults. I saw:
– The well prepared (wrote out the notes)
– The prepared (had thought about it and knew a story but didn’t rehearse)
– The spontaneous (Saying whatever comes to mind since they didn’t give thought prior)
– The comic (I’m going to entertain my audience, don’t care so much what my story is)
– The reluctant (not gonna talk, ever, ever)
– The unknowingly good on your feet (reluctant to talk because of lack of preparation, but with a little prompting, did a great job thinking on the go)
Then, after our story circle, we introduced these visual storyboards that introduced the framework in which their TEDx talk would be given. We’ll find out this week if they all picked the same topics or if we’ll have diversity (not too worried if we don’t). Their only requirement was to talk about something that could make our community a better place as we turn 200. Here’s the storyboard and the worksheet we used.
Here’s a quick video of the introduction of the theme for their tedx talks. I got a few groans.” I wanted to talk about making ice cream,” one replied. I gently responded that you could still tell us how to make ice cream, but how could it help out a problem we have? Her response was “Maybe to pass it it out on really hot days.” And alas, she found a villain to her hero. Here’s how the conversation went:
We will break the group down into smaller groups for the next two classes as our goals will be to get them to practice some good public speaking habits and also, help them review their core ideas for their talks.
And at this juncture, we are also turning to a few logistical matters for the event itself. Just as a matter of record, this week will be having them design a t-shirt (to be printed locally by ThoughtCo, a local tshirt purveyor), vote on their favorite flavors of cake and pizza that we’ll serve, and then confirm some technical details with the church for the room where we are having the event (audio feed, tables, chairs, etc). Hoping, too, that we can inspire them to add some of their own creative elements to the spirit of the event – looking for a performer or two (musicians, jugglers) to keep the event fun and fresh.
No CommentsThink you can
When I asked a client recently why she was nervous heading into a big talk, one of her first replies was “I beat myself up for the last bad talk I gave.”
Women’s Fund Workshop: High Value Ideas and Overflowing Passion
- Women’s Fund of Central Ohio Grant Partner Workshop at Time Warner Cable, January 25, 2012
This week we were welcomed into the capacity building workshop for the 12 grant partners of the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio. We fashioned an abbreviated version of a critical thinking workshop, helping them to focus on their high-value ideas and resonating stories. We were thrilled to be there as these partners had amazing passion and spirit for their projects, which ranged from helping women be prepared to run for public office to re-settling women and children who were refugees from Rwanda, Somalia and more. We thought it was one of the most energizing workshops we had facilitated, and the feedback from them was it was one of the best professional development days they had had in years. A win for all.
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TEDxKids@NBCC Journal Entry 2: Illustrative Language.
In our second class in the TEDxKids@NBCC series (leading to a TEDxKids@NBCC event on 2/17/12), we ventured into the world of illustrative language while continuing to get the kids to stand up and talk. To see where we started this journey, visit here.
So today we planned three exercises that moved the focus entirely to the kids with the following goals:
A. Get them to realize how colorful, illustrative language can help bring a story to life
B. Have them spontaneously describing different images and scenes
C. Keep them on their feet and talking in front of the group (if not always facing them!).
We started by showing two images of a bed: a plain bed first, then added the “made” bed next to it, and asked them to share different words that described each. The exercise was more lively than I thought. I first took nominations of words from the crowd, but then made each kid stand up and share their descriptions. The end game was to understand that their stories need to be ‘dressed up’ like a comfy, unique, bouncy, snuggling, soft, cow-decorated bed. That the boring, white, wooded bed doesn’t make as interesting a story.
Then next we took the beautiful TEDxSF video from and showed the last four minutes without sound. (Entire talk below – it’s too beautiful not to share the whole thing here!):
We played “freeze video” with the kids during the last four minutes. We’d let it play for about 5-10 seconds then pause it (the images rotated about that often). The child who was in front (everyone just took random turns) was then tasked with quickly describing what they saw. By the end, most Kindergartners were not brave enough to step up (although they were watching intently), and the 1-4th graders all wanted a second turn. The room was too dark to record the “freeze video” session so we grabbed a few still shots:
Lastly, we gave them an “activity” (I egregiously called it homework) to take one mythical image we found on the web and create a 1-2 minute story about it for next week’s class. This is introducing thinking about what you are going to say before you say it, preparing in your mind to say it in front of your class and then “suiting up” to do so.
So far, we’ve spent just 60 minutes “in class” and about 4-5 hours total preparing various materials for the two sessions. This week took more time to prepare because we sourced the images, printed them all out, downloaded the TEDx talk above (and actually a second one that we didn’t use), wrote out an instruction sheet for the “activity,” and had to set up a projector and computer. All VERY easy but just took a few more logistical steps.
Most kids are still pretty engaged (remember, it is the end of the day on a Friday). Here we see Sophie make an artistic connection to the project…I was just impressed one of them remembered to bring back their folder.
The Keynote: One Pathway
While we have been involved in hundreds of keynote addresses over the years, I thought it was time to document the pathway of one from start to finish. Each is different of course based on the speaker, event and audience. We adapt for each and in this case, we’re working with the founder of a company who has been invited to give the keynote at an annual Chamber of Commerce Meeting.
We started planning yesterday by a reviewing previous talks she’d given to some smaller groups to build upon content with which she was comfortable. It was primarily a listening exercise to understand ‘her story’ and elements we can pull, twist and bend as we fashion a talk specifically for this event.
Then came the question that usually gets a pregnant pause response: “What question are you answering that’s on the audience’s mind?” ( I don’t insist on answering the question, I just want to define what it is.)
For an event like an annual meeting, that’s difficult. Very difficult. People come to hear updates on the state of the chamber (obligatory), to see and be seen (everyone’s a player), to generally support the chamber and the community (be a good servants). Do they come to hear the keynote? Well, they may not come if there wasn’t a keynote — but the million dollar question for a speaker preparing a talk: will the audience really listen? Do we really care?
For this event, it will be a morning breakfast. There will be combative fights for coffee, the eggs will be augmented by something sugary, and everyone will begin checking their blackberries about 20 minutes after they’ve taken a seat. Yep, we’ve all been there.
Motivations of attendees will range from networking to gossiping to gripping and grinning. Some will be interested in who is sitting across from them at that imposing white-linen tableclothed round table but….shoot, no time to scream across the bacon and OJ, the program is starting. Time to be quiet. At least with our mouths and ringers (never said anything about shutting down our brains).
So as a speaker, while it seems like a sedate, boring, professional crowd, in fact, there’s a melee going on. It will be her job to break through the clutter and tell a few stories that will wrap up a high-value idea with a take-away that will taste better than the week-old Chinese in my fridge.
We began by building with a hierarchy of messages that we spent 2 hours brainstorming. We asked “so what” about a dozen times and struggled, unexpectedly, to dig for the most resonating truth (’cause of course we don’t lie!). Next, I’ll help her to organize the ideas and then build an outline (but don’t mess those steps with each other).
We will proceed on the following assumption that the questions the audience wants answered are
A) Who are you and why are you worthy to be talking to me this early morning.
B) What will you tell me that makes me want to like and believe you?
C) What can you tell me that I can take away and apply, repeat or learn from?
D) When can I leave and get back to the mess happening at work?
Now, mind you, these are different questions than what’s on the organizer’s mind- which are :
A) How can you make sure our members feel they got value for buying a table today?
B) How can you tie your message with our latest campaign message for economic development? and
C) Can you make sure you don’t run long, we have a lot of other speakers and we have to clear this room by 9am!
After we establish the content structure and outline, we’re going to experiment with a different preparation pathway: no writing it out. She’ll take the outline and talk it out into her “voice memos” app and then transcribe, re-outline and take another stab at giving the talk. That’s right. Not write the talk but give the talk.
Why not initially write it out?
After working with several keynote events last year, I realized that many folks should not write out their talks – ever. That doesn’t mean you can’t transcribe the talk you’ve practiced and see how it’s flowing and use it as a guide. But the reality is, the process of writing words on a computer and thinking through words you are going to speak are very different. If you have a speechwriter working with you, that’s obviously a relationship you’ve built over the years of someone who knows your style and preference. But if you are starting this on your own, know that there are different pathways you can take. The point is that for someone who struggles to write, why bother? I like to walk around (the brain is more active when your body is moving) and talk through it. Sitting at a glowing screen being distracted by email, facebook posts, phone calls and text messages doesn’t cut it for me.
(Flashback: We helped one speaker last year who showed up to rehearsal seemingly prepared to give her 15 minute talk the next day. She got up on stage for the big event but was a mess. Her story line was confused, she had way to many ‘ums’ and the audience got lost. When I asked her later what happened since she said she was recording and listening back to her talk, she admitted, “I never put down the paper.” Meaning, she kept reading her talk into her recordings. But the event itself (in a TED style) didn’t allow for notes or a script. Bottom line: She never got the talk off the paper and into her head.)
The keynote we are building will max out at 15 minutes. We may plan for it to end at 12 minutes and give people more time to chug coffee before they head into work (and be grateful it didn’t run long). Regardless, the process begins now, a month in advance. That’s a blessing that we aren’t starting a week out. The curse? Cracking the code of what will answer their questions, keep them awake and also cheering, long after the linens have been washed.
Check back to see how it goes.
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TEDxKids@NBCC Journal Entry 1: Teaching kids about story.
Today I began a six week journey with about 15 elementary school children toward a final destination of a TEDxKids event. Yes, I’ll take your luck as I’ll likely need it.
“NBCC” is North Broadway Children’s Center where my two children have attended pre-school and now aftercare since they were 18 months and 10 weeks, respectively. They are now 7.5 and 5.5 yrs young in 2nd grade and Kindergarten.
After producing three full-blown TEDxColumbus events featuring 40 speakers and performers to over 1200 people (collectively) my daughter (the 7.5 year old) said to me in passing one day, why can’t I do a TEDx event? And there was only one response: why not? Why not. Did I really say that?
So today we gathered at about 12 children in a classroom at NBCC, my two kids and about 10 others with a few kids from each grade – K through 4. The youngest is my son at age 5.5, and the oldest is 9. We expect there to be a flux of the attendance since we are holding these five classes at 4:30pm on a Friday, but it’s also a time when we know there’s no homework to be done! At some point the lack of attendance will eliminate them from participating in the event on 2/17, but we’ll address that later.
Full disclaimer about now – my TEDx colleague in Edinburgh, Ewan McIntosh, is responsible for inspiring this approach on which I’ll be reporting – and some of the curriculum pieces. He produced one of the first TEDxKids events at Sunderland (TEDxKids@Sunderland) with about the same aged kids. Since I’ve never taught a kid a thing in my life except to my own – and that’s questionable on most days – I’m grateful for his general direction. I’m hoping these posts and documentation will aid others in wanting to execute their own Kids events. Remember, my expertise is in adult learning and at that, centered on the process of being an effective public speaker and how to architect a story for business settings. I’m banking on it translating to those four, five or six decades younger.
Today’s subject: What makes a story.
After spending about 90 seconds trying to explain what TED was to the group and how in six weeks they will stand up and deliver a very short – as in 1-2 minute talk – I broke out a classic fairy tale. There was no easy explanation of TED for these kids and showing them any sort of TED talk would have scared the shit out of them. In fact, the mere mention of this sentence “You will stand up in front…” started to give one 4th grader anxiety (why SO young? more on that later). So off we went into the Brothers Grimm version of Little Red Riding Hood.
Cat, the teacher who is my cohort to make sure the kids don’t all rebel against me in this 30 minute session, later told me she thought that was really a PG-13 version of Little Red. Indeed, most had only heard the G version but it served me well.
Two of my older boys (4th grade) were not pleased about having been signed up to participate. Sitting in the back, they exhibited some “we’re too cool” to be here attitude. Until I said that the wolf ate Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother. And the Hunter later saved them. The mythic journey was real. Now, for some of the more sensitive kids, this might have not been the best choice of versions – but the story works great for the following learning outcomes:
– Demonstrating that the book was passed down by word of mouth for hundreds of years before it was written. Explaining that’s how stories really get passed around.
– Clear delineations to explain the introduction of the characters, setting, events and conclusion. (Or in my terms – the complication, question, answer). Also, it took a few moments for them to know that the wolf was the villain but once they did, BAM, those boys were hooked! And loving to figure out that the hunter was the hero.
Here is the video from that portion, judge for yourself if it worked:
After we read it and discussed those main elements (15 minutes), I broke the class into four sections (3 kids each). And I passed out this form (see it here) that listed four categories of the story: character, setting, events and conclusion. Each section was assigned a category (I highlighted a different category for each section) and asked to change it in the story. Think big. Think tall. Think aliens, wormholes, noses and chocolate chip candy canes. The learning objective was to demonstrate how easily a story can change, reinforce the elements of a story, get them to think those things (ie create) and then to actually talk – using their own ideas and thoughts. And I’d say, it worked! Here are the videos after about 4 minutes of brainstorm (after a few minutes of explanation). Again, see for yourself.
I didn’t introduce any “event” planning elements today. I’m still unsure how to handle the distribution of labor except that I think a sub-group of the class will be interested and I’ll meet with them separately. Here’s my working list for a TEDxKids event – with a breakdown of what the kids should do without adults and where they need adult help. Please check a later post if you want to see if it got refined which is pretty assured. Likewise with the schedule of classes:
Friday, January 13 Storytelling frameworks through traditional fiction
Friday, January 20 Illustrative Language (how to describe things)
Friday, January 27 Idea Generation around a passion and community need
Friday, February 3 Public Speaking Basics
Friday, February 10 Visuals and demonstrations to support key points / Rehearsal of ideas
I’ll post a summary of each week. At the end, we’ll recap the curriculum into something a bit fancier.
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What’s Happening at ar.tic.u.la.tion in 2012
No theory or speaker reviews in this post, just a quick update on some of our whereabouts for the new year.
Ongoing Training and Coaching
We are actively scheduling both classes and individual sessions for our Storytelling Training and Presentation Coaching offerings. These are private-reserve classes (no public sessions, sorry) which means we can customize them to your exact needs. We are already traveling to New York, Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the first quarter.
If you don’t have funds to bring us to you, we are now offering Virtual Coaching. Whether its in crafting a talk or getting ready for one, we don’t need to be in the same room with you. We just finished helping a client in San Diego re-write his signature talk, and we’re interviewing a team of spokespeople via video submissions for another national client. Don’t let distance or travel get in the way of raising your bar on your presentations.
TED / TEDx Initiatives
In February, we’ll be helping to coaching the first ever TEDxKids event in Ohio at an aftercare program. Watch this blog for some updates on how it goes, especially since the kids are in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. The kids will unveil their great ideas on how to make Columbus a better place during its Bicentennial year on February 17.
After that, Ruth will be attending TEDActive in Palm Springs. If you are going and want to connect, send her an email!
We’ve got a whole line-up of TED viewing events we’re planning this year, leading up to our big live stage event on October 5 at COSI.
Women’s Fund
We’re proud to be an in-kind training partner this year of the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio. On January 25, we’ll be coaching their grant partners on how to architect their best story. At the end of June, we’ll help their leadership get ready to take the stage with Whoopi Goldberg at their annual Keyholder Event.
Blogging, Writing, Reading and Speaking too!
This year, our interests are going to turn deeper into the psychology of nervous behaviors around public speaking and in refining a a few new storytelling classes in partnership with Thoughtleaders. We’ll be blogging here as much as possible and addressing a few audiences ourselves. We love to present too!
Feel free to submit questions or ideas to us here, as we continue to help accelerate your presentation and public speaking skills.
No CommentsSpeaking when your medium isn’t language.
On the TEDxColumbus stage over the last three years, we’ve had a variety of performance artists: musicians, poets and such. This post is not about them.
It is about those individuals who have a medium other than their own voice, movement or acting to express their artistry (design, painting). I turned to wikipedia for a definition: An artist also may be defined unofficially as “a person who expresses him- or herself through a medium.”
But what happens when you ask an artist to communicate their thoughts in another manner – most commonly, language (written or spoken) – that also has critiques, deadlines, a huge audience and permenant record through video?
My hypotheses is that when an artist whose medium is not language is forced to communicate his/her work through language (spoken or written) the process is troubling.
So something oddly coincidental happened within the 12 hours before our TEDxColumbus 2011 event. Of the 18 speakers and performers, 3 of them attempted to impose changes to their slides within 12 hours before the program began. And by all accounts, they were the three artists of the group who were going to speak.
They otherwise distinguished themselves by a few screaming characteristics. And the fact is, I’ve had several other clients and TEDx speakers who have exhibited the same behavior. But it wasn’t until I saw them side by side within 24 hours did I finally get it.
The characteristics were:
– The process of preparing a talk was torturous. Having to meet any deadline, having to go through any edit or review, having to had the talk DONE before the talk itself was simply a life-altering experience. And not always a good one.
– Their topics kept evolving. Sure, they were generally in the same realm of the idea they originally proposed discussing, but the end result was fairly far distant from where we started. Imagine someone saying to you: “I’m going to be a devil for Halloween” and they turn up on stage looking like an angel. That might be great for Halloween but not a TEDx talk.
– To the aforementioned point, they never finished their talk so therefore they didn’t really practice it. And when they showed up to rehearsal, they were still in an edit mode. And the next day, another edit. And really, through their sleep the night before the event, another.
– In hindsight, they wanted to talk about a different topic altogether. Everyone wants to give a different talk after they’ve given one, that’s pretty common. But these folks wanted to pick a different topic.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of working with another local artist in preparing for a book tour. When we were done working on her talk, she said she thought she needed a second talk. The creative genius in her didn’t want to be done.
I am placing no judgment on the way these colleagues of mine navigate the pathway of getting on the stage to make remarks. I’m simply suggesting, if you are one of these people, please remember that the best talks benefit from rehearsals and practice. And if you are in a constant state of revision, then the talk never quite is done and well, probably is never really practiced.
Be okay with a moment, just a moment, of ‘done.’ There will be plenty more revisions to make to artwork, drawings, concepts and plans that don’t involve an audience trying to follow – or subsequently share – your ideas.
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Visual, Verbal and Vocals, not just for High Schoolers
Allyson, my outrageously dedicated associate, got to take the stage herself this week for the first time since joining ar.tic.u.la.tion full time in May. She was invited to speak at a local high school – not our typical audience – so she worked hard to adjust one of our favorite tips for them on connecting your vocal, verbal and visual presentations. Below she shares her experience and a few ways she got her message to resonate:
A good friend of mine asked me to speak in her public speaking class at a local high school. I’ve helped to write presentations in the past, but this was my first experience creating it on my own for ar.tic.u.la.tion and presenting on my own. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. Fifteen year-olds can be brutal and my friend didn’t provide me with much direction, “speak about your ar.tic.u.la.tion stuff,” she said. I thanked her for being so specific.
I finally settled on talking about connecting the visual, vocal and verbal in a presentation. (Knowing that they recently finished a unit on non-verbal communication, I thought this could be a strong topic- my friend agreed.) This is topic we’ve discussed 100 times with our adult clients, but how do I make it relevant to a high school student?
I broke it down. What are visuals? Most of us think that visuals are describing the powerpoint slides you create, that is not always the case. Visuals consist of everything the audience sees, including your appearance, your non-verbals (gestures, eye movement, pacing) and any visual aids you use. Easy enough.
Next, it was on to vocals. Most people probably think vocal and verbal are the same thing. Not so. When we say vocals we are describing the presenters pace, tone, volume, etc. This is where I caught the kids attention. Who remembers this ad from FedEx from the late 1980s? I knew they wouldn’t (they weren’t born yet) so it was fun to share :
The kids thought it was hilarious and not just for the outdated technology. They couldn’t understand him as he was a little loud and fairly monotone. This is exactly what I was hoping for. It is easy to let your nerves get the best of you to and speak too quickly, especially as a new speaker. It is important to pause so the audience has a chance to process what you’re saying. These pauses also allow you, as the speaker, to collect your thoughts before you move on to the next topic.
Finally, we discussed verbals and the importance of choosing your words carefully. No one wants to sit in a presentation that is filled with jargon that they don’t understand. I illustrated this by using jargon from Harry Potter. Most of the kids in the room were familiar with the Harry Potter books or movies. So, they understood the idea of muggles, horcruxes and quidditch. However, if they were explaining the story to their parents using these terms might be confusing (if their parents aren’t familiar with the story). The students could truly relate to this topic. This was a perfect example of knowing your audience. Had I been in a room full of adults, this example might not have worked so well.
I finished my presentation by watching a clip of performance poet Sarah Kay, who does an excellent job of connecting her visuals, vocals and verbals in a very rehearsed but seemly natural way that the students would understand.
Connecting the visual, vocal and verbal is something that every presenter needs to remember and practice. It doesn’t matter if you are a 15-year-old public speaking student or a seasoned presenter, we tend to neglect connecting these elements and the audience can tell. Spending a little more time practicing the content will help any presenter decide where to place pauses to be most effective, how to gesture during a particular section, where to add inflection and when to change the slides (if you are even using them).
No CommentsTools of the trade
Rose Smith, during her highly provocative poetry performance at TEDxColumbus, challenged us all to betools. You know, as in a conduit for helping others, making change or doing good.
While my tip this month isn’t as deep, her challenge made me think about the tools that the speakers used during TEDxColumbus in their variety of preparation pathways (and let me tell you, there was some variety!). So, if you are making your list for Santa, here’s a few things to consider:
– A whiteboard. Map out your talk to see the main buckets of information or how it will flow. When you get away from your computer, the logic of your talk can have more meaning. Claudia Kirsch and I spent an afternoon shaping her sequence on a whiteboard which became a major point of clarity in refining her key messages.
– Your own personal clicker (yes, you can own one too). So that when your slides are done, you can practice working on transitions so that your verbal – vocal and visual messages align. We lent ours to Maryanna Klatt to practice with her slides, she said it made the world of difference. (Here are a few options of where to get one.)
– A recording device. The analog version would be a tape recorder, the digital might be voicememos on your iPhone or iPad. Theresa Flores used this extensively in her practice, whereby keeping the story in her head (and off of a script, the computer or notes) and making immediate improvements to her pace, sequence and influctions.
– Time. Give yourself the gift of some more days or hours to prepare. Bart Overly said he spent 100 hours preparing this talk (take a look at his slides and you’ll know why), Alex Bandar spent between 30-40, a more typical expenditure. Either one of them will tell you the time helped them be as prepared for their talks as any they’ve given.
While you may not be giving a TED/TEDx talk anytime soon, chances are one of these tools might come in handy for your next talk wherever it may be.
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