Schamus recently took part in a new series, We the Economy (which was produced by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock). The series was designed to raise awareness and understanding about the mechanics of the US economy.
The video, below, sets out to address the question: "What is the real value of a dollar?" The answer, as Schamus puts it, is going to "freak you out."
“We live in a world awash of information, but we seem to face a growing scarcity of wisdom,” states Maria Popova, Founder of the website Brain Pickings.
She believes that stories—in the broadest sense of the word—shape the meaning and momentum of everyday life.
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.
TED Talks are pretty well-know for their quality. So, I was understandably excited (nervous, even) about presenting at the TEDx Plano Conference this past weekend.
It was fun (in the way that preparing for a marathon is "fun").
For example, in the days leading up to the event, I would give it to the unsuspecting people who chose to use the StairMaster next to me. It seemed like a good way to practice with my heart rate up.
I also gave it one-on-one to employees. Why? Because it gave me extra practice runs, and I got to experiment with different variations to gauge responses.
How did it go? The speech, itself, went pretty well ... Though it is hard to believe how much work goes into something so fleeting. I guess that is why they have video.
They filmed it with a professional multi-camera crew. At this point, I still have no idea how long it takes for them to edit it and then put it online. I will let you know when I get the link.
By the way, my topic was "The Time Value of a Life Worth Living -- An entrepreneur's reflections on not letting life get in the way." It is about a year that brought my Dad's death, the forced sale of my company by venture capitalists, and a divorce (in that order). Sometimes, life's darkest days bring the greatest gifts ... if you are willing to look for them.
Next week, I'll write about what it is like to prepare for a TED Talk, and what I believe are some of the key differences from traditional presentations.
What Is The Real Value Of A Dollar? The Answer Might Freak You Out.
You've probably seen one of James Schamus' movies. The former CEO of Focus Features was the screenwriter for The Ice Storm and Crouching Tiger - Hidden Dragon, and producer for Brokeback Mountain and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Schamus recently took part in a new series, We the Economy (which was produced by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock). The series was designed to raise awareness and understanding about the mechanics of the US economy.
The video, below, sets out to address the question: "What is the real value of a dollar?" The answer, as Schamus puts it, is going to "freak you out."
via YouTube.
Click here for the second part of the film.
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