 |
Following a presentation in Honolulu earlier this year, someone came up to me and said, "You should be doing TED Talks."
I replied that I would be thrilled to have that chance--and so began to do a little research.
Two months later, I delivered my "draft" TED Talk to a group of colleagues in Seattle on June 19. This is the first slide from that presentation:
A little background. The first thing I liked about TED was the tagline, "Ideas Worth Spreading."
Feeling good about the "idea" I want to spread, my next step was to buy a copy of the book
by the owner of TED Talks, Chris Anderson. It is entitled:
TED TALKS, The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking.
FYI, the T.E.D. name was launched in 1984 and originally focused on topics pertaining to "technology, entertainment and design." Over the years, it has evolved to include almost any topic.
The book has been exceptionally helpful and inspirational. Even if I never have an opportunity to deliver an official TED Talk, I will have benefited from reading the book. It has helped me improve in terms of better presenting my "ideas worth spreading" in front of an audience--whenever and wherever that might be.
Without a doubt, if ever there was an "idea worth spreading," it is the simple idea about how we can save our civilization and our species--by doing a lot more of what I describe in my own tagline of many years:
Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth
The Second Thing that I like about TED is the criteria that they use in selecting speakers. All of them must be passionate about their "ideas" and be able to deliver an inspiring message about that idea in 18 minutes or less.
I quickly discovered that the 18-minute time limit requires a speaker to carefully prepare so that her/his primary "ideas" are crystal clear to the audience--from the beginning to the end of the talk.
Regarding that time limit, Woodrow Wilson agreed. From Anderson's book, when asked how long it takes him to prepare for a speech. He replied:
That depends on the length of the speech. If it is a 10-minute speech, it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour speech it takes me a week; if I can talk as long as I want to it requires no preparation at all. I am ready now.
The Primary Message
for my TED Talk will be describing what we all can do to raise the likelihood that our species can survive and thrive indefinitely.
As E.O. Wilson says, we have the ability to "turn Earth into a paradise both for ourselves and for the biosphere that gave us birth" -- as illustrated below in one of the last slides in my 18-minute, ongoing "work-in-progress" TED Talk.
One more thing about my topic. Although it is deadly serious, I am going to do my best to make at least some of what I say funny--following this bit of wisdom attributed to George Bernard Shaw:
If you're going to tell people the truth,
you'd better make them laugh, or they'll kill you.
For more on the topic of sustainability, I you might want to check out these BSBs that I posted in the past month:
Finally, on a personal note, I want to share a photo of my oldest grandson, Collin Hicks, with his high school crew team from St. John's in
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.
They are in England now, preparing to compete in the upcoming
Henley Royal Regatta (July 4-8) on the Thames River. Collin is third from the left and he rows in the #5 seat. Apparently they call seats #4, 5 and 6, the "engine room."
Be well,
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks
CEO, 4Leaf Global, LLC
PS: As long as I can envision a viable pathway for humanity going forward, I will not give up hope.
I welcome your feedback and/or your questions at:
[email protected]
***************
Looking for Opportunities to Speak.
Since 2016, my research, writing and speaking has been focused on the sustainability of our ecosystem and our future as a species. With a primary emphasis on food choices, I call it the "most important topic in the history of humanity."
After all, what could possibly be more important to humans than the survival of our species?
Later this year, my co-author, Dr. Kerry Graff, and I may be speaking at a Chinese Nutrition Association event in Nanjing, China. For more info, Visit our speaking page.
To schedule a presentation at a venue near you, please contact me at
[email protected]
Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth
If you got this blog from a friend or found it on our website and want to
receive more of these Bite-Size Blogs?
Join Our Mailing List
Want to get started nurturing your own health and the health of our planet? Take our survey at
4leafsurvey.com
Click here to learn more about this free online dietary assessment tool.
|
|
|
|
See what's happening on our social sites
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
