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What It Is Like to Prepare to Speak at a TEDx Conference (Part 2)

To use an athletic analogy, a normal speech and a TED Talk are totally different events (like a sprint vs the decathlon).  It takes a surprisingly different set of skills and type of preparation to perform well.

I've given hundreds of presentations, and don't normally stress about them.  I did for this one.

 

  
In most of my talks, there is very little "set in stone" to memorize.  I tend to have a main topic (or theme), and each slide serves like a module ... and I think, talk, interact, and improvise throughout the framework.

This works well for me because I tend to think in anecdotes that branch out from the main theme. That may be a great skill to have, but it's not one that helps you write a good TED Talk.

Why?  Because, in contrast, a TED Talk is really about "one idea worth sharing".  

In many respects, it's much harder to write and deliver a good 10 minutes about one idea, than it is to prepare to talk about a much broader topic for one hour.

 

My wife, son, and me at the TEDx Plano event

 

The TEDx committee created a sense of formality with stringent standards and deadlines.  My guess is that, during the planning and rehearsal  process, they wanted uncomfortable speakers to provoke better speeches.

As a result, I prepared (and threw away) four separate talks before coming up with something that felt right and flowed properly.

Here are some bullet points that highlight lessons learned.

• One of my early listeners coached me that the trick to a good TED Talk is that it is not about what you say, but rather about what they feel. In other words, for a TED Talk, evaluate the story and the particular wording choices based on the emotions they elicit in listeners.
• One of the best ways to get a point across emotionally is to tell a story.  And, if I couldn't remember it easily, it probably wasn't a story.
• The speech committee and several early listeners strongly encouraged me to go with as few slides as possible. I started with 15 ... I got it down to six  ... and I ended up with two (relying, instead, on the performance and connection rather than images and words).
• They encouraged me to take almost everything about business (in general) or my business (specifically) out of the talk.
• In fact, they kept encouraging me to make it simpler and more basic on almost every level. "Why did you say that?" I would answer; and they would say "Then say that."

I didn't realize how hard it was to make something simple.

The video should be ready next week.

 

EDIT: Here it is:

Related articles

How to Create and Deliver a TED talk

How to prepare and deliver a TEDx talk

What It Is Like to Prepare to Speak at a TEDx Conference (Part 1)

Watch "The Expert" Comedy Sketch Video

Here is a Dilbert-style parody of how a corporate team uses an expert. 

 

 

 

What happens when people don't have a clue about problem solving (or 'definition'), realistic goal setting, or practical reality?

You end up with ridiculous tasks that are literally impossible. And that's exactly what "The Expert" nails perfectly. 

Funny (and sometimes too true).

Fake Conference Call Site Captures White Collar Existential Tension & Dread

Conference calls are often mind-numbing and frustrating.  ConferenceCall.Biz is a site that captures that brand of white collar existential tension and dread ... as performance art.

 

via Zach Scott.

 

It is a simulated conference call in which the participants seem perpetually talking at cross purposes, coming into the conversation late, and expressing frustration that they’re discussing material they’ve already covered. Lucky you, it even has distracting background sounds, like a dog barking.

The audio and images are randomized so that each conference call proceeds in a new way.

It's kind of like the Eagles' song "Hotel California" ... you can check-in any time you like, but you can never leave (at least until you close the browser window). From the sound of it, the ConferenceCall.Biz participants have been attempting to get the deliverables to management for a long time.

Here Are Some Links to Start Your Week

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• $292 Million Down The Drain: White House Fires Main Obamacare IT Contractor. (ZeroHedge)
• Consumer Electronic Show 2014 ‘Best Of’ Awards Lists Roundup. A list of lists. (TIME)
• Awesome: A New York Times bot is second-guessing NFL coaches on Twitter. (GigaOM)
• 2013's Most Striking Fine Art Photography. (HuffingtonPost)
• The 40 Most Viral YouTube Videos of 2013. (Mashable)

 

Trading Links:

• Confessions of an Institutional Investor. (Big Picture)
• Hugh Hendry Throws In the Bearish Towel: His Full Must-Read Letter. (Zerohedge)
• Rasmussen Investor Index Reaches Six-Year High. (RasmussenReports)
• Here Is a List of Market Predictions for 2014. (StockTwits)
• The Probability Problem. "Unlikely" happens with surprising frequency. (PragCap)

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Sunday links: an irrational state of mind

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"Here Is Today" - Artful DataViz That Puts Today in Perspective

Happy New Year!

As you start to plan your year, and all the little things you have to do, take a moment to put things in perspective.

Click through the award-winning data visualization called "Here Is Today".

 

 

It lets you compare a day to a week, a year, the history of the earth ... or even the universe.

It is quick and fun (if you are into that sort of thing).   Try it.

Little Drummer Boy by Pentatonix

Not typical of what I'd normally share ... But thought this was well done and timely.

 

 

 

Pentatonix were the winners of season 3 of NBC’s instrument-free music competition - 'The Sing-Off'. 

Also, here's a link to their cover of Royals.

The Clues to a Great Story - TED Video and Infographic

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

I visited family.

 

 

One of the things that caught my attention was how attached to stories we are ... our own, and the stories of others. 

They help us decide who is naughty or nice.  They help us decide who to spend more time with ... and where we fit in.

Stories are emotion catalysts and amplifiers.  Choose the 'right' ones, and you feel good.  Focus on the 'wrong' one and you feel bad. 

Well-told stories make us care.  Humans use 'story' to make sense of things.  If you create the narrative, the process is intentional.  However, for most, the quality of our stories is not a conscious process. 

 

How Do You Craft a Great Story?

 

A good story can make the gathering feel that much closer. A good story can flip a conversation at a party from completely awkward to wonderful.

A good story can glue your nose to a book. And, on screen, a good story can rivet generation after generation.

Story-telling is an important skill.  So, how do you tell a good story?

Andrew Stanton, the Pixar writer and director behind both Toy Story and WALL-E, has many ideas, and he shared his expertise in his TED Talk, The clues to a great story .

 

 

 

Storytelling is like joke telling. It's knowing your punchline, your ending, knowing that everything you're saying, from the first sentence to the last, is leading to a singular goal, and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understandings of who we are as human beings.

We all love stories. We're born for them. Stories affirm who we are. We all want affirmations that our lives have meaning. And nothing does a greater affirmation than when we connect through stories. It can cross the barriers of time, past, present and future, and allow us to experience the similarities between ourselves and through others, real and imagined.

 

Here is an infographic that sets out the basic steps to a great story.

 

Stories are not just for kids.

Make me care.  Take me with you.  Be intentional.  Let me like you.  Delight me.

Words to live by!

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"Oils" - A Thanksgivukkah Miracle (Royals Song Parody)

Thanksgiving and the first night of Hanukkah coincide this year. 

American Jews get to mix turkey, stuffing, menorahs, and dreidels with a popular song. And what better song than Lorde's "Royals?" More appropriately named "Oils," in honor of the latkas and burning candles of Thanksgivukkah.

So, here is a musical parody of the new mashup holiday, Thanksgivukkah.

 

 

 

Puritans and a different Tribe dancing the the horah while belting back some Manischewitz ... it's a Thanksgivukkah Miracle.

Have You Seen the Re-Design of the NSA Slides? ... worth a look.

This was interesting for several reasons.

It purportedly shows a re-design of a recent NSA slide deck.

 

Dear NSA, let me take care of your slides. from Emiland

 

 

Both the content and the design makeover caught my attention.

Related articles

NSA removes fact sheets

NSA Spying, NSA Lying, and Where the Fourth Amendment Is Going?

A Smart-Ass Father's Day Card

Hope you had a nice Father's Day weekend.

Here is a 'smart-ass' card one of my kids gave me.

 

My son, Zach, and I ate a Hibachi restaurant.

 

 

As part of his Father's Day present, he didn't complain (much) about having vegetables on his plate or that different food items touched each other before getting to his stomach.