Slightly embarrassed to share this video but proud of the achievement on joining the ranks of TED talkers. Although I have to say I have a new respect for this crowd. I’ve always enjoyed the eclectic mix of topics and viewpoints but I had not previously appreciated just how challenging the medium is.
I was asked to speak at my younger son’s high school inaugural 𝗧𝗘𝗗𝘅 event. The theme was the 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 and the speakers were addressing only seniors (currently working on their college applications!) Pretty straight forward I thought, with my HR background. I’ve spoken at conferences all over the world and given hundreds of hours of webinars as part of a corporate learning program.
But then I was given the TED rules and guidelines, requested to provide a detailed outline of my talk in advance, and alerted to the strict time limits of no more than 18 minutes. I began to think there was a little more to this than I’d signed up for.
A few days before the event I was reminded to “practice” at which point I realized my talk was at least 25-30mins long. (So much wisdom to impart to these teenagers!) I finally did a little research and discovered that most TED talkers fully memorize their talks! Huh?! After much arguing with myself I decided that simply slimming down the material and omitting certain points wasn’t going to cut it unless I embraced memorization. I am much too likely to wander off on a tangent and suck up valuable minutes.
So memorizing is what I did. SO difficult. Bullet points on slides that us consultants love so much is frowned upon with TED - you only have an abstract image to remind you what comes next. My brain runs too fast to focus on a single succinct point.
I think I aged 10 years in a 24-hour period just trying not to embarrass myself or my son.
Let me know what you think and if you have any tips to remember all the points you want to cover in the most succinct way possible. (I’ve been recommended the book Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer so that’s next up on my reading list!).
About the author: Emma Tekstra is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, an independent health researcher, and author of “How to Be a Healthy Human; What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Health and Longevity.” With a 30-year background in employee benefits and corporate health and wellbeing, she consults with employers looking for real solutions to runaway health care costs, and to startup companies bringing health solutions to market. Read more at About page.
Share this post