Lessons from the Front Row: What not to do in your TEDx talk
photo credit: TEDxColumbus 2013 and Time Tank Labs
It was five years ago this last winter that I applied for one of the first TEDx licenses. And apparently, I’m one of the few crazy enough get a 6th consecutive one. Our event has grown both in size and maturity, and it’s become a well anticipated event in Columbus each fall.
As we began choosing our speakers this year, someone asked me recently what were the moments when speakers really bombed? I can’t say that anyone really has – but I got to thinking: What were the behaviors that caused a speaker to “disconnect” with the audience?
So here they are: Lessons I learned from the front row (Where I sit every year). Several of the winning points are from my close speaker coaching relationships for some of our sister TEDx events.
1. Tell the audience you are funny. One speaker presented an idea he thought was hilarious but half the audience thought it offensive, rude and reprehensible. The other half did laugh. Had he let the audience conclude it was funny, it may have been more funny. But the tweets were brutal. He decided not to put the talk online.
2. Insert some content that isn’t yours. I had a speaker sign his release at the event and he put an asterisk on it “You may release my video but not the video within it.” Turns out that forbidden video demonstrated the essence, the mojo and the rip-your-heart-out story of why his idea was a rock star. Turns out that video wasn’t his property but someone else’s. While it used to be his, he had moved on but didn’t have rights to it. His talk, despite huge audience approval, also never got posted.
3. Be the smartest person in the room – among a lot of other freaking smart people. One speaker was invite to give a second TEDx talk. His first one was abysmal because he was the smartest guy in the room with 12 really big complicated ideas. My assignment from my colleague (another TEDx organizer) was to help him improve. After I realized he was the smartest guy in the room and didn’t need my help (he refused to engage in any coaching), we let him do what he wanted. So he gave his second talk all on his own. And…he had the same results. Boring stares, no shares. This old dog was not learning any new tricks.
4. Assume we know why YOU care. I asked a very talented speaker to simply give us a line about what gave him license to speak about his topic, which was fairly compelling and exceptionally well stated. His response “Haven’t you read my resume? Don’t you know who I am?” I re-stated it and gingerly asked, “Why do you care about this topic? What moment did you know this would be your life’s work?”…Because I am listening to you deliver a lot of interesting information but will walk away like I do at most restaurants. “Boy the food was good. But who knows what my waiter’s name was.”
5. Refuse to be vulnerable. One speaker was quick to point out all the mistakes in the world that everyone else had made in his draft talk, but protected sharing any mistakes he had made himself. I pointed this out to him and suggested he share a time when he failed and how he learned from it. He refused the advice and as a result, came across as arrogant, showy and preachy. The twitter sphere assured that few would click on his link when the talk was published later.
The TED Commandments and speaker coaching guidance includes the comprehensive list of what to aim for as a speaker. But I submit to you these five, of all the mistakes speakers make, will most quickly disconnect you with your audience, and subsequently, to a wildly successful talk.
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The journey to give a TEDx talk: A documentary.
After the first TEDxColumbus event in 2009 at the Wexner Center, I remember thinking the day after: why aren’t I doing more of “THIS?” This being helping speakers architect their story and find their voice. And deliver what I am now calling “The Talk of Your Life.” It is what lead me to create ar.tic.u.la.tion and the work I do every day.
Now, thanks to video producer Rich Bowers and his desire to follow the success of TEDxColumbus, the journey of two TEDxColumbus 2012 speakers and my passion for coaching people through this experience, we now have this awesome documentary. In a little over an hour, you’ll hear and see the pathway that Naomi Stanford and Jan Allen took on their way to the TEDxColumbus stage, and a lot of my ramblings on how I interpret the TEDx platform, preparation process and my coaching approach.
I’d like to personally thank Naomi and Jan for their participation and extra effort that went into this project. They allowed themselves to be vulnerable, transparent and authentic through each interview. It is my hope and goal that it becomes another valuable and insightful tool for future speakers to use to appreciate the successful ingredients to a wildly successful talk and experience.
Because as Jan said, “You come out of this process a different person than when you went in.”
And here are Jan and Naomi’s full TEDxColumbus talks:
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TED2013: The official download.
The TED2013 conference did not disappoint. My third TED conference, I watched it from the beautiful desert setting of Palm Springs and with the other attendees to TEDActive.
So. Which were my favorite talks? Let’s say I could not choose JUST ONE if you forced me. But I have categorized the ones I feel are worth sharing (once they eventually make it to ted.com). Before I get to those, I’ve come up with the top five types of talks (not based on subject matter) we saw. After all, my inner geek watched nearly every talk with an eye to deconstructing their structure but fortunately, only a few speakers were weak in their delivery. (Speaking of Speaker delivery, I was proud to have been interviewed during TED for this special TEDx post on how to prep your speakers, thanks TEDx!)
Here’s my top 5 list of types of talks for TED2013:
1. I’m going to change the world, dammit. This includes reforming our entire political system, designing a worldwide system for grassland grazing, redefining how non-profits are treated, re-designing an energy system, and making sure you never ever get hacked again.
2. Speak from my heart and rip out your heart (many with no or few slides). These were the personal, heart-wrenching, tear-jerking stories. Like escaping from North Korea, how I embraced my shake, facing the voices inside your head and sharing my passion for getting everyone to be kind in the world.
3. Let me reveal to you my inner geek. I’m going to make you love and laugh with me about the world’s largest prime number, why ducks need to be saved from window murders, and how I will re-design a way to use solar and nuclear energy together (not exactly but close).
4. Let me tap dance for you. The demonstrations of Baxter the robot, new technologies to help autistic kids communicate, how my open sourced architectural drawings work, and then a whole host of unbelievable performances from a yo-yo artist to a gorgeous symphony from East Congo.
5. Are you shitting me? talks. Including how an undercover journalist is tackling massive corruption in Ghana, grazing by herds of animals may be the only solution to re-claiming the natural grasslands and ultimately impacting climate change, how the world’s sanitary system is wildly outdated (okay I included that one in this category for the intended pun), and who knew we made so many consequential decisions in our twenties?!
These might be the general categories of talks every year — so if they are — then TED has done a great job of keeping us wildly engaged and thinking wildly.
Now, for the talks themselves. By the time I post this – or by the time you are reading it – who knows how many talks will be live. As of now (leaving Palm Springs on Friday at 2pm), only 3 were live. Remember, TED is a publisher so they’ll drip out the talks over the next weeks and months to keep us coming back to their site for more.
There were 25 talks out of the 70 that we saw that I will absolutely watch again and want to share. That’s not to say the other 45 aren’t worthy (well, I’ll get to that at the end) but these are the ones I liked most.
Architecture / Design / Creativity
Phil Hansen – The designer that started to have an uncontrollable shake in his hand had to embrace it in his art, and did so with grace and beauty. INSPIRING
Alastair Parvin – One of the best delivered and organized talks (I’ll say that about only 5-6 of them) has an open sourced system for sharing architectural drawings. MOTIVATING
Jim Sop Lee – A multi-sensory designer, the inner storyteller in me saw an internet application for the senses I try to inspire in my classes. THOUGHT PROVOKING
Michael Green – Michael wants to build skyscrapers made out of wood, something currently prohibited in the US. He makes a strong case how this is better for the environment than harmful to it.
Technology / Discovery
Young Richard Turere – Build a security system for his family’s farm in Africa out of scraps and pieced together with a wing and a prayer. HOPEFUL and CHARMING
James Lyne – Hopes that we all change our passwords often and not make dumb mistakes to get hacked. ACTIONABLE
Jack Andraka – The 15 year old wiz-kid has designed a $3 test for pancreatic cancer at the earliest stages. I wonder how many college scholarships he will get? ASTONISHING
Policy
Jennifer Granholm – The former Governor of Michigan opened the conference with a bold statement about the US energy policy and how we can finally have one. BOLD
Larry Lessig – The lawyer activist gets the award for the most slides using the most different font types. But his message was a much simpler one: Our political system is broken, period. He is also the first to use the word “TEDivism” – clearly a nod toward TED’s experimenting with impacting our US political system. EVEN BOLDER
Anas – The journalist in Ghana who has gone undercover to stop the killing of disabled or deformed babies, killings in prison and all sorts of other unconscionable corruption. MASKED
Language
John McWhorter – In his talk defining texting as an extension of our verbal language (not a bastardization of our written one) was when he said “We may talk like we write, but we certainly don’t write like we talk.” FABULOUS
Dan Pallotta – While his talk was about the horrible habit we have as not valuing non-profits for their potential scalability, it came down to one word: overhead. PROVOKING
Education
TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra – of course his talk will be worth watching. His wish for Self Organized Learning is creative and inspiring as an alternative way to educate. ASPIRATIONAL
Freeman Hrabowski – The president of a college in Baltimore, he’s shaken and stirred how black students can excel in the sciences. HOPEFUL
Environments
Steward Brand – He’s all about bringing back extinct animals through their kept DNA and cloning. One of those talks with an icea I HAVE NEVER CONTEMPLATED.
Allan Savory – The grassland guy. Another one, having lived in a city my whole life, the greatest grass issue we have is crabgrass. He took me somewhere I never knew existed. STRETCHED
Ron Finley – One of the most truthful, wholehearted talks about growing gardens in South Central LA. PRIMAL
Kees Moeliker – How could we not laugh at this serious museum curator who wanted to save ducks from killing themselves by flying into windows? WITTY
Entertainers
Amanda Palmer – So, she stole the show. The week. The tweets and the posts. AMAZING
Adam Spencer – He may be a radio personality, but he’s a math geek too. Self-depricating and HILARIOUS.
Personal / Life
Shane – The poet from the Canandia Olympics who produced a mesmerizing video about being bullied, performed the same script on stage. TEAR JERKING
Meg Jay – Makes the argument that 30 is NOT the new 20, but that the 20s have a set of life-changing consequences so make the decisions carefully. CONTEMPLATIVE
Daniel Reisel – His studies about prisoners and the ability to grow the empathetic system lodged in the amygdala sparked many chords. INTERESTING
Eleanor Longden – Her mis-diagnosis of schizophrenia lead her to manage the voices that did exist in her head, as a result of early childhood trauma. MESMERIZING
Jim Flynn – Begins to explain how access to technology and products has helped to grow our IQs. RELEVANT
Joshua Prager – His personal journey to meet the bus driver that left him a quadriplegic was beautiful and poetic. VULNERABLE
Orly Wahba – Her pursuit of spreading kindness was supported by a tear-inspiring video and spirited soul. GORGEOUS
And then a few Ooops!
Jordy – An artist and architect delivered a rambling mess of a talk, highly self-centered and barely acknowledge that the audience was in the room. ABSORBED
Lesley Perkes – An activist from South Africa wandered through her story only to admit to Chris upon leaving the stage she knew she went over. BRASSY
Christopher Ryan – When he opened with the words “I hope to be accomplished enough someday to be in the audience here at TED,” made me shut out the rest of his talk. And insecure arrogance will get you no followers. UNPRACTICED
That’s a wrap. And after I’ve read this list again, it is probably more for me than you – so I don’t forget all the goodness I’ve just digested amongst the brain warp that I’m feeling about now!
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Live from TED2013: My inner geek had a blast.
At the InsideTED Session at TED2013 with 5 other TEDx organizers.
At the InsideTED Session on Monday, six TEDx organizers (including myself, as you can see), were invited to share a few words about our TEDx experience. The one thing I didn’t get to say about it is, I always have FUN. I talked about how it inspired conversation, addressed a pent up curiosity in our city, motivated me to new heights and others to address new challenges. But it is in the thoughtful pursuit of ideas, knowledge sharing and curosity seeking that just makes all of this TED stuff fun.
Monday was no exception: We had to work in tandem with each other in the rhythmic execution of our lines, have TED Curator Chris Anderson throw us some last-minute curveballs during rehearsal, and engage the crowd to what became the only standing Ovation of the session. We were exhausted, we were proud, and since I’m a geek about these things, to me, it was a blast.
Chris Anderson and his wife Jacqueline Novogratz celebrating the successes of the TEDx movement at the InsideTED session at TED2013.
I ended my portion with a nod to my co-organizer, curator and confidant, Nancy Kramer, who was in the audience. I said we are looking forward to starting our planning for our FIFTH TEDxColumbus when we return next week from TED2013. We are quietly proud of our longevity together, the growth of the event and what it has done to influence the cultural fabric of Columbus, a city we both love. Here’s to TEDxColumbus 2013 on October 11!
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Which way do you read that?
The TALK of your life.
or
The talk of your LIFE.
I want to talk about both.
In coaching speakers toward a major talk – i.e. a Keynote address to 1000, a major presentation and of course, many TEDx talks – I have seen a recurring theme as one of the outcomes. Many, if not all, as a result of preparing the talk of their lives change the talk of their lives.
“I have not taught the same way since I delivered that TEDx talk in 2011,” reported Dr. Maryanna Klatt, a professor at The Ohio State University.
So what can be learned about how we prepare, organize, sequence and deliver our more casual deliveries of messages from the times that we have to stand at the podium with blaring lights in our faces, headsets taped to our cheeks and an audience of people expecting to be engaged. Even if you never have a chance to delivery that “platform” speech, you will more deeply understand what speakers like Maryanna experienced to apply to your own everyday deliveries.
In this series I hope to tease out many lessons I have learned over the last few years from my clients and TEDx speakers. I have read most (if not all) the books on presentation skills, public speaking, storytelling, but I have yet to find one that anchors from the point of view of the speaker him or herself. As I collaborate with dozens and dozens of individuals in helping them find their voice, their content and their story for the talks of their lives, I hope to reveal insight about mindset, organization, structure, story curation, practice and delivery that others can learn from.
I’m thrilled to have the collaboration of Rich Bowers who last year, during TEDxColumbus, built an archive of video footage for a documentary of a few speakers working their way through the TEDx pathway — from being selected to actually presenting. We expect to do the same again this year to compare with last year’s findings. We wanted to better understand what it took to prepare for this Talk of their Lives. Stay tuned for the findings. They may surprise you.
From the collaboration with Rich in addition to a host of data I’ve collected from my own ongoing clients, I hope to produce a useful series of posts that will help anyone prepare for any talk. Many of these topics I have blogged about for the last few years, but hope to sequence and relate to you, the speaker, in the order you need them. And the expectation is that it may change the way you change every talk you give in your life, not just the TALK of your life.
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Dear Amanda Palmer :
Congratulations for being chosen to speak at TED. You posted in your blog that you were full of terror about this experience. I thought I’d offer you a little more than a blog comment about my advice (since you asked for all of our advice). I’ll be speaking at TED in Long Beach on Monday night at 5pm with 5 other TEDx organizers from around the world, showcasing what we’ve collectively done in the last 4 years (5000 events, 20000 talks, not much really). So if you like this advice below you can thank me then.
I’ve compiled the top points I think apply to you and your delightfully crazy state of being. This advice comes from coaching TEDx speakers for four years now — and trust me, some of them started with the same level of terror you have.
1. Per TED Speaker Amy Cuddy, fake it until you believe it.
Or in my words, act like you have been there, done that before. You have been on a stage. With people in the audience. And you have uttered words and more to them. You have been recorded. You have had lights blinding you. A headset taped to your face. You have worried about what to wear. So calm down about it and act like this is something you do every day. I know it isn’t, but once you envision all those pieces you have done and can do — the rest will come a bit easier. (promise).
2. Stop taking advice on the content of your talk — for just a moment.
Be alone with your own thoughts. On a walk, in the shower, away from everyone. Work on revealing what insight you have against your one idea. Yeah, yeah, we know you have a huge freaking gallery of work to bring to the stage — but we only are there to hear one of your masterpieces. And hear a provoking point of view (like Chip Kidd brought us from his crazy wardrobe) about it that we won’t forget. Ever.
3. Ask yourself, when you are alone hopefully, what was the one moment when….i was most inspired. most proud. most scared.
Use those answers as a curatorial process for stories you can share that help to reveal the insight against your idea. Remember — we want to hear stories that visually transport us. That evoke our senses, emotions. We do not want to hear a sermon. Bryan Stevenson told the best story of TED 2012 when his grandma told him never to drink. And as a 50-something, he admitted he had heeded her advice.
4. Make love to your Iphone or other smart-ass phone with the “voice memos” ap.
Record yourself. Listen. Transcribe. Record again. You will be in disbelief a) how horrible you sound at first and how much listening to yourself will improve your game.
5. Plan to rehearse in front of a few diverse audiences BEFORE you leave for TED.
Sure, you’ll have a rehearsal with Chris, Bruno or June when you get to Long Beach — but its gonna go better if you show up prepared. I agree with the one hour for every minute formula. But then That way, you can take your gorgeous talk or performance and just let it melt into the stage and set. As opposed to knocking the set over when you arrive because of all the baggage you’ve brought with you — since you didn’t know how to pack it tight. Your message, that is.
6. Don’t try to be like anyone else’s talk.
Be authentic and yourself. But DO remember not to say the word “TALK” in the first sentence. As in “In my talk today I’m going to…” Meh. Practice like hell your opening story or hook that involves us (the audience, don’t forget about us); and make sure to end on a very specific call to action ending (like Susan Cain nailed). It will help to make sure you DO finish and on time. As most seasoned speakers will tell you — getting in and getting out of your talk is the hardest part. So make those parts damn bulletproofed.
7. And don’t do these things. My top list of pet peeves from TED 2012.
Best of luck to ya. Break a leg.
Ruth Milligan
Columbus, Ohio
TEDxColumbus Organizer
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The Ruthies.
As the co-host and lead curator for TEDxColumbus, I’m supposed to act as an information waitress. I help select and then introduce the talks to people who are hungry for their curiosity to be fed. My job is to present the ideas (as authored by our speakers) without judgment so the audience can come to their own conclusions.
However, as a coach to nearly all of these presenters and speakers, I can’t help have a bias in not only what feats they overcame to make it to the TEDxColumbus stage, but what lessons they leave us beyond their stimulating, provocative and challenging ideas. So I’d like to introduce The Ruthies.
The Ruthies are my personal awards from my point of view on the style and delivery, sequence and organization, preparation and planning ‘wins’ that emerged from this year’s TEDxColumbus talks, as heard originally at COSI on October 5. And like pee wee soccer, everyone wins a trophy. Because everyone put an extraordinary effort into their talk and we see a unique attribute in each from which we all can learn. Here we go.
Best Opening Hook
Priyank Shah said he wanted to mention that his talk would not be a data centric talk, boring people with social science research. So I told him, “Why don’t you start with a riff and scare them a bit? When you stop and shift gears, they will be delighted and want to hear your talk. ” And here’s to Priyank, he pulled it off. You could have seen the sweat on people’s brows as they listened to his first sentences…
Most Uncomfortable Moment
Laura Hill provided us with one of the most “enlightenly uncomfortable” moments of the whole day: she played a recording of her take on what it sounds like in a person’s head who suffers from anorexia while they are eating. When I first heard it at rehearsal, I wanted to tell her it wouldn’t work – the sound quality was too poor and disturbing. But that was the whole point.
Best Nervous Laughs
How could there not be? He told everyone that we needed to have one puff of pot a day and that cocaine is really no different than lard. The rest of his talk, discussing how food and drug are really the same thing, was peppered with insightful entertaining moments that resonated with everyone in the audience. Dr. Gary Wenk would also get the most prepared award – I heard a final version of this talk 5 weeks before 10/5.
Best Graphics
Her own. Jessica Hagy, a soft-spoken and modest orator, blew many folks away with her powerful Venn diagrams for which she is famous.
Best Reflection
Brian Roche, when asked what he had learned in developing his TEDxColumbus talk, said, “I never equated MY research to moving THAT needle.” He was referring to the work of finding out why chemotherapy drugs were causing cardiac disease and failure in 15% of cancer patients who survived. He was able to pull himself out of the deep dive that is his research to understand the larger implications by giving his talk. He also may get the best effort award – I saw few others transform their data into a cohesive, easy to understand talk than Brian.
Best Audience Engagement Exercise
At the end of Catherine Evans’ talk, she invited everyone to take a photo and then challenged us what choices we’d make with that image. It was a very personal way to end the talk of the journey of photography.
Most Passionate
But of course, it goes to Dr. Gordon Aubrecht. Just see for yourself.
Most Memorable Ending
Goes to Frederick. He left one of the most captivating moments in his story until the very end. While everything he said leading up to it was mesmerizing, it was his act of forgiveness and consequently being free that hit a deep chord in the last lines of his time on stage.
Best Stories
Whether it was of himself shopping at Baby Gap, or the stories of Jonathan and Xavier, Terrell Strayhorn captivated us with the illustrative language that made his talk highly resonating.
Best Audition
Jan Allen won the spot on the TEDxColumbus stage as she beat out nearly 30 other open auditioners. Her journey from a three minute talk to a 10 minute talk was not an easy one; we applaud her for the endless hours that went into both her audition and delivering a well-crafted story.
Best Recovery
And yes, that is a double entendre. Dan Stover told a bold and beautiful story of courage and overcoming fear at the TEDxYouth@Columbus event which earned him the one youth spot on the TEDxColumbus stage. But that was after a fairly unimpressive attempt at the TEDx Open Call Auditions; I was FLOORED by the effort he had put into his Youth talk since then. It goes to show you that hard work can pay off. And you’ll see from his talk, he had more notable and heroic recoveries that than one. Great work, Dan.
Best Open Process
Naomi Stanford took crowd sourcing and syndication to a new level in preparing her talk. She first posted this blog, and then practiced her talk on three different continents during her travels as a consultant. Not everyone has these opportunities, but she used them to her advantage to richen her talk.
Best Editor
There was a reason that Pecha Kucha was started for architects. The forum that engages speakers for 20 seconds for 20 slides was meant to keep their talks brief. Enter Michael Bongourino, the gregarious, lovable architect who had a “front row seat” to the concept of overlooked spaces, as informed by his 14-year old (and continuing) escapades in and with unique places. At rehearsal, Michael met the 18-minute mark with half his talk to go. Gulp. In two days, he became his own best editor for refining and massaging what became a truly delightful tour of his perspective.
Best Closer
When we accepted Doug Smith to speak, I thought his talk would be largely about his personal experience facing his own mortality being diagnosed with leukemia. And while it was at the core, he beautifully turned his story into one that made the audience the central character instead. Everyone saw themselves in his story by the end of the 18 minutes. After being tossed and turned by every other idea throughout the day, the audience was brought back to center and what matters most about being happy, his core idea and one that everyone loved as the close.
Four years of TEDxColumbus, hard to believe!
About this time every year as we begin to promote TEDxColumbus, I still get the question: What is TED? So here’s a quick primer and a wee bit of background how I got involved (and why I still am!).
TED is a conference founded about 30 years ago. A guy wanted to have interesting people to dinner to share their cool ideas — but he knew they wouldn’t come. So he created the TED conference instead. It stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, but since its founding, has moved far beyond just those three subjects.
The conference is a very simple construct: All speakers and performers are heard by everyone in the audience (no breakouts or choices). And anyone who takes the stage has 18 minutes or less to reveal their insight into a particular idea, innovation, discovery or trend. After a day of live talks, its a bit of a mind-warp. Or some say its a brain spa. Others call it college. Some just love it for the creative escape to hear passionate stories from people who have amazing points of view, deep mastery in their respective fields and the ability to connect with a diverse, curious audience.
In about 2006, they took the videos from the first 20 years of the conference and started posting them to a website – www.ted.com. That’s when most people started learning about them since the conferences (TED in California is the mothership, TEDGlobal is its sister conference in Edinburgh) themselves are expensive and fairly difficult to gain admittance.
Then in winter of 2009, they created the TEDx program (x = independently organized event). The day after they posted the notice for TEDx on the blog was when I saw it — as I often say, on one stormy cold February night while watching a TED talk with Dave, my husband. He fell asleep and I kept reading…and when I saw the post…I dreamed all night about how we could bring it to Columbus. I applied to be the licensee and then with the help of my awesome co-curator and collaborator Nancy Kramer, we brought it to the Wexner Center in October, 2009: Columbus: Global.
And again in 2010 at CCAD on 10-21-10: What’s Next?
And last year at COSI on 11-11-11: A Moment in Time.
This is the first year we will repeat a venue – at COSI on October 5 for The Future Revealed. (This year we’re also a part of idUS week, Columbus’ bicentennial celebration to innovation, design and creativity.)
Why I’m still involved? As a laboratory for my work in public speaking, presentation skills, storytelling and effective message delivery – I am blessed to have the experience year after year to work with extraordinary talent who each need to build “the talk of their lives.” As a service to my community, I am passion about elevating our conversation. While it is important for us all to know how to read at one end — I have higher aspirations for us to know how to debate, stay curious, erase bias, be challenged.
Each year I’m at the center of helping to choose who will take the stage – researchers, thinkers, writers, trend watchers, innovators, poets, musicians and more. I love the challenge of finding the right mix of talent that’s all from our back yard. There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing that we moved an audience of 750 (or double, with our livestream) with mainly people that left their house that morning and were at COSI within 30 minutes. All of our speakers are from Columbus or have a very close tie to us. No speaker is paid and no speaker pays to talk. It’s what makes it all work.
I’m now a part of a global community – there are over 800 organizers like myself in 130 or so countries who have staged over 2500 events — and fed over 12,000 talks (see www.tedxtalks.ted.com). I figured we were the 35 city to have an event, and I reckon Nancy and I part of a handful of organizers who have maintained their original license.
Likewise, there’s now an active TEDxColumbus community. The first year all I did was explain what TED was. Now I field questions about speaker nominations, organizations wanting to partner – and many – want to do their own TEDx inside for their associates. I’m grateful to the hundreds of people who are somehow involved in making each year’s event and effort worthwhile. Especially to the speakers who devote more hours than you can imagine.
I often tell the story that TEDx answered the question for me: What is my Kit Kat? Kit Kat was the intellectually charged club my father belonged to for twenty years. They gathered once a month to share papers on topics unrelated to their professions (mainly). I got to go once a year as his date to the annual event. I was jealous that he had such an outlet but as a woman, I would never have a chance to join. (For the record: he did vote to admit women when the topic was debated, but it was defeated. I never held it against him for continuing his membership as I deeply appreciated his insatiable desire to learn and be challenged).
After the first year, I saw the speakers on stage and realized that helping people find their voice was a true delight of mine. I watched each of their preparation pathways and knew how some could do better, and what others did to succeed. It was, in essence, what gave me inspiration to focus my PR practice and start ar.tic.u.la.tion.
My dear dad passed away in his sleep the night I returned from the TEDActive conference (in Palm Springs) on March 3rd of this year. He came to our event in 2010 and watched the livestream in 2011. (I don’t think I told him about our first year until it was over – I wasn’t sure how it was going to go!) During this week, the six month anniversary of his passing, I’m planning to bring his spirit with me to the stage again when I help host the 4th annual TEDxColumbus on October 5.
Thanks, Dad, for inspiration you have brought to me. And hopefully in turn, to thousands of others. Your legacy of learning, discovery and curiosity continues.
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