One of my biggest dreams in life is to give a TED talk. You know you have made an impact in your field when you are invited to give a TED talk.
TED is a nonprofit owned by the Sapling Foundation and is devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started in 1984 as a conference to bring together people from three different worlds: technology, entertainment and design. The program has since become broader and includes two annual conferences along with the award-winning TED Talks video site and various other programs.
People asked to speak at TED conferences and to be involved in TED talks are people with something to say. “Well we all have something to say,” you say. That is true. That is why TED talks are so unique. It isn’t just a scientist giving a talk about how the brain works or doctors telling how robotics can change the face of surgery. It is that and so much more.
One of the first talks I ever watched, and my all-time favorite, is by a spoken word poet named Sarah Kay. I fell in love with spoken word poetry. I don’t think I could ever do it myself, but there is so much feeling and thought that goes into it. Kay herself is a master of the art and set up a program to teach young people about spoken word poetry and finding their own “voice.”
Another noteworthy talk is by Amy Webb entitled, “How I hacked online dating.” Now, obviously this is not her profession. But it just goes to show that you can give a TED talk on just about anything. She used her skills to figure out how the system could best work for her and came out on top.
Tania Luna gives a talk on how a penny made her feel like a millionaire after immigrating to the U.S. from Ukraine. Terry Moore teaches how to correctly tie your shoes. BLACK tells about how he found his passion for the yo-yo. Bob Mankoff gives a talk on the anatomy of a New Yorker cartoon, breaking down the satire and characteristics of these notable cartoons. Seventeen-year-old Taylor Wilson tells how he became the youngest person to achieve fusion – with a reactor born in his garage when he was only 14.
That’s the thing about programs like TED talks. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, how old you are or what your profession is. Everyone has something that they are good at or have some crucial insight into. We will make the world a better place if we take more time talking and discussing things instead of making assumptions and thinking we know everything.
Find a TED talk that speaks to you. Find many.
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