Learning to Give a TED Talk

I love TED Talks. I was introduced to TED Talks a few years ago, and have subscribed to the podcasts ever since. I love the variety of topics that they cover, love hearing new ideas, and love being inspired. TED Talks are all about “Ideas worth spreading”, and I hope someday to have an idea great enough to be worth spreading.

This past December I attended the one-day TEDx San Diego event and it was amazing. Being there and hearing the ideas and feeling the energy of the speakers and the attendees solidified in my mind that one day I wanted to give a TED Talk. (More on my blog TEDx San Diego.)

I’m not sure what I want my TED Talk to be about yet, but I’m hoping that as I grow and learn and mature, that I do something or learn something great enough to be worth sharing. I’ve spoken in front of groups of 50-200 people several times before, and while I think I’ve done a good job, I get horribly nervous and in general I really don’t  enjoy public speaking. Giving my TED Talk someday would hopefully mean that I’ve gotten past this aversion enough to feel that I could deliver a speech to hundreds with confidence.

Checking In For The Event

I discovered a few weeks ago that there was another TEDx in the area called TEDxAFC. (San Diego’s nickname is America’s Finest City or AFC for short.) There are actually several other TEDx events in San Diego county including TEDx Del Mar, TEDx Hillcrest, and TEDx Mission Valley. Wow, there are a lot of ideas floating around San Diego.  TEDxAFC is usually held in May of the year, but I noticed that they were holding a “Speaker Bootcamp” in February that was open to the public and free, and I instantly signed up!

One of the Five Speakers Talking About "Doodle Art"

Event Description:
Free 2 hour speaker bootcamp from past local TED speakers and current TEDx organizers from around Southern California followed by our TEDxAmericasFinestCitySalon and Launch Party. If you're interested in knowing more about the TED and TEDx  programs, this opportunity is open to everyone.  Our hosts will be going over all the details. You don't have to be a speaker to attend, but if you have a talk or want to give a talk... this event is for you. 

Captivated by the Bootcamp Leaders

(Photos Courtesy of TEDxAFC)

A few days before the event though I received an email stating that they were looking for speakers to practice giving a 3-6 minute TED Talk. They were going to call on people from the crowd, and the email said “If you don’t have a talk, write one”. Oh no! I wasn’t ready to give a talk! What would I even talk about? I considered canceling my ticket and not going all together, but in the end I decided to write a talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while.  Its not anything ground breaking and I feel it pales in comparison to the speeches about scientific  breakthroughs, cultural phenomenas, and social movements. But, here is the talk I wrote for this event titled “A Woman’s Struggle – Standing Out Versus Blending In”.

(Note: The video is only six minutes, not sure why it keeps playing for seven.)

I didn’t end up being called on and only five of the eighty attendees actually were. These were five picked from a group of about twenty who raised their hand and said that they were ready to give a talk that day, several of whom had even prepared slides.  The five talks were all pretty interesting, and two of them seemed to be good enough to make it on stage for an event that day.  Prior to the five speakers going up for critique, the two men leading the bootcamp (both of whom have given multiple TED Talks themselves) talked about what it is that makes a TED Talk special, how it is different from a regular presentation, and they gave us specific pointers to make our talks special.  Some key points that I wrote down were:

• Inspiration makes a TED Talk special
• A TED Talk isn’t a presentation, it’s a performance
• It’s not what the person says, its how it makes you feel
• A TED Talk is all about storytelling
• When speaking make eye contact, speak slowly, and move around on the stage
• “Communication is the transfer of emotion” – Seth Godin

After leaving this event I decide that I wanted to get involved with helping behind the scenes of a TED event. I’m not sure if I can help out with TEDxAFC or TEDx San Diego, but hopefully there’s a way I can contribute in the next year. I met someone who is on the planning committee for TEDX San Diego at this event and reached out to her via LinkedIn this past week. Hopefully she can connect with a group that needs volunteers, and who knows, this may be just the first of many blogs about TED for the coming year!

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Pinterest & Popcorn Cake

Have you heard of the hottest new site on the web - Pinterest? If not you are either A - not into social media, B - living under a rock, or C -  a guy. :)   According to Mashable, Pinterest is driving more web traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined! (More here.) The Huffington Post recently published an interesting article about why Pinterest is so popular. (Full article here.)

"Pinterest's recent success, which flies in the face of so much speculation about social media fatigue and information overload, holds an important lesson: It's not social media we're frustrated with. It's with one another."

"What sets Pinterest apart and makes it so appealing is its focus on who we want to be -- not on what we're doing, where we've gone, how important we are or how beloved. While much of the content shared on existing social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare screams, "Look at me," Pinterest posts urge, "Look at this." At least for now, the site offers a refreshing haven away from the boosterism and boasting that plague so many sites."

For those of you who don't know what Pinterest is (this is for you Dad!), Pinterest is a website where you can "pin" images that you find around the web on different "bulletin boards" that your friends can see. Think of it as visual bookmarking. Instead of managing long lists of bookmarks, you now have cute little graphic boards! You can also see what your friends are pinning, or can browse what strangers are pinning. (You can see my account here.)

I was introduced to Pinterest about a month ago and have been amazed by the variety of images I see on there. There are a lot of crafts, fashion, home improvement products, motivational images, cute pet pictures, etc being pinned. The ones of most interest to me have been the recipes and craft projects. Wow, when did I turn into an old lady? Anyways, although I wouldn't consider myself a cook or baker by any means, I am someone who loves appetizers. I LOVE appetizers! Whoever invented Tapas restaurants is genius!

I recently saw a recipe for a "Popcorn Cake" that came from a blog called Cookies & Cups. That sounded intriguing and disgusting at the same time. It was also pretty so I pinned it to my Food Board aka "Nom Nom Nom". My friend Todd's birthday was approaching and he is the world's biggest fan of popcorn (has a bowl each morning), so I decided that I would make the cake for his birthday. From looking at the recipe I saw that it was essentially a big rice crispy treat. I could do that!

I set out to buy the ingredients (Only the best for my cooking! Albertson's store brand) and put the "cake" together. The cake was easy to make and probably took about 10 minutes.

 

I brought the cake over for Todd's birthday/Super Bowl party (known as the Super Todd party) and I think it was a moderate hit. It was competing with a ton of yummy Mexican food that Todd and Christine had ordered, some other sweets, and an amazing bundt cake. It was still eaten though and hopefully the Newmans finished it off before it turned into a rainbow speckled brick. 

If you are interested in trying this culinary concoction out for yourself, you can find the recipe here.

Happy Pinning!

2012 Goals: Month 1 Review

Now that we're a few days into February, I thought I'd take a look at the goals I had set for 2012 and see how I did in January. Off the top of my head I think I'd give myself a C+, which is not great. The month whizzed by and certain things I put off until "next week" turned into being put off until next month! I'd like to get back on track for February though and hope for A+ months going forward.

Reviewing my 2012 goals, here is how I ranked by category.

Health

• Floss regularly: C - Probably doing so 3x per week
• Sleep a minimum of 8 hours per night: D - Probably doing so 1x per week
• Eat more vegetables: A - I've made sure to have veggies at lunch & dinner
• Eat less processed food: B - I'm eating more fresh foods, but can't quit the Trader Joe's frozen turkey meatballs. Do they contain crack?

Fitness

• Register for less races and focus more on quality training: A - I've resisted registering for the Mermaid Run Half Marathon, San Dieguito Half Marathon, La Jolla Half Marathon, and the Super Seal Triathlon. The only one there is a good chance of me doing is Super Seal. Although it might sell out by the time I decide.
• Incorporate strength training into my routine at least twice a week: D - Out of my 16 planned core workouts over the past 5 weeks I have done 6.
• Bike at least twice a week (once indoors, once outdoors): A - Out of 10 planned bike rides I've completed 9! 5 indoors on my trainer, 4 outside.
• Do Bikram Yoga at least twice a month: F - I have yet to make it to yoga this year
• Run a 3:55 full marathon: TBD
• Run a 1:45 half marathon: TBD
• Complete at least one triathlon (preferably Olympic distance): TBD
• Complete a century ride (100 miles): TBD

Life

• Get to work by 8-8:30am regularly (instead of 9am): F - I've done this once.
• Develop a personal branding statement: TBD
• Manage my expenses better: B - I filed my taxes already and am going to start using Mint.com this weekend.
• Attend church regularly: C - I've gone twice and watched the podcast twice
• Play the piano at least once a week: F - Haven't done this yet. Hope to start this weekend.

General

• Continue to work to improve on everything I do: B - I think by consciously tracking my goals I'm on the right track!

Without weighting the different goals, my overall grade for January is a C. Ouch! Let's hope for more A's and B's next month!

How are you doing with your 2012 goals and resolutions?