Tag Archives: TED

Brené Brown – The Price of Invulnerability

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My previous post, Brené Brown on Connection, made me look around for more videos at You Tube and I found Brené Brown – The Price of Invulnerability. That’s another great presentation by Brené Brown.

TEDxKC talk synopsis: In our anxious world, we often protect ourselves by closing off parts of our lives that leave us feeling most vulnerable. Yet invulnerability has a price. When we knowingly or unknowingly numb ourselves to what we sense threatens us, we sacrifice an essential tool for navigating uncertain times — joy. This talk will explore how and why fear and collective scarcity has profoundly dangerous consequences on how we live, love, parent, work and engage in relationships — and how simple acts can restore our sense of purpose and meaning.

The video

Brené Brown on Connection

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Sarah Robinson has a post about More On Living a Connected Life at Escaping Mediocrity. It’s a terrific video with Brene Brown from TEDx Houston. I had problems viewing the video at Sarah’s site so I located the video on You Tube, TEDxHouston – Brené Brown. The video is 20 minutes long (or short rather, I wish Brené had talked longer). Sarah writes:

This 20 minute video from Dr. Brene Brown is a MUST WATCH. Unless you have no interest in living a connected life.

I watched it once. Then watched it again with pen and paper. Trust me, you are going to want to make notes. And please don’t “save this for later”. Later never comes.111

The book

Brené Brown has published “The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are” and I have ordered it. That’s how interesting I found her presentation.
Amazon: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
The Book Depository: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to be and Embrace Who You are

Creating a connected life

Sarah writes about the 12 elements of a connected life and it’s a great list.

TEDxHouston – Brené Brown

The beauty of data visualization (TED)

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I have watched David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization and I really like it. It’s amazing how much easier it is – at least for me – to grasp things when they are visual. David quotes Rosling and says “Let the dataset change your mindset”, I like that one.

David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut — and it may just change the way we see the world.

Bring on the learning revolution!

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I just watched Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! over at TED. It’s a great speech with an important message.

In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning — creating conditions where kids’ natural talents can flourish.

Sir Ken Robinson talks about the need of a revolution in learning, evolution is no longer enough. We need to go from standardized to customized, from industrialized to agricultural (plant a seed and help it grow).

Hans Rosling: Asia’s rise — how and when

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A post at Presentation Zen, Hans Rosling & the art of storytelling with statistics, took me to TED and the presentation by Hans Rosling at TEDIndia.

Hans Rosling was a young guest student in India when he first realized that Asia had all the capacities to reclaim its place as the world’s dominant economic force. At TEDIndia, he graphs global economic growth since 1858 and predicts the exact date that India and China will outstrip the US.

It’s a great presentation, Hans Rosling is terrific when it comes to presenting stats and graphs that really catches the audience attention.

TEDx Copenhagen

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I am a big fan of TED and TEDTalks. TED has spun off a series of TEDx-events, learn more at TEDx.

In the spirit of “Ideas Worth Spreading,” TEDx is a program that enables schools, businesses, libraries or just groups of friends to enjoy a TED-like experience through events they themselves organize, design and host.

We’re supporting approved organizers by offering a free toolset that includes detailed advice, the right to use recorded TEDTalks, promotion on our site, connection to other organizers, and a little piece of our brand in the form of the TEDx label.

Wemind, @wemind on Twitter, is now officially planning TEDxCopenhagen, see also the TEDxCopenhagen Facebook page. You can also follow @TEDxCopenhagen on Twitter. Copenhagen is close to where I live and this can be a really interesting event.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

Making presentations in the TED style – The TED Commandments

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I got a link in my Twitter stream pointing to The TED presentation commandments which is a great list of ten commandments in order to make a great presentation.

The TED Commandments

  1. Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick.
  2. Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before.
  3. Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion.
  4. Thou Shalt Tell a Story.
  5. Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy.
  6. Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
  7. Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desperate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness.
  8. Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
  9. Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
  10. Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee.

Presentation Zen

That post lead me to Making presentations in the TED style at Presentation Zen. The TED commandments are here too but the best part is the reviews of some TED speakers. It says:

There is not one best way to speak at a TED conference, there are many different ways. But what the good presentations have in common is that they were created carefully and thoughtfully with the audience in mind and were delivered with passion, clarity, brevity, and always with “the story” of it (whatever it is) in mind. So let the list of 10 above be your general guide. In addition, take a look at some of the TED presentations below. They all follow a different style but were effective and memorable in their own way.

Go to Presentation Zen, read reviews and learn more about what works (and not).

My comments

The TED commandments are great and useful for any speaker. The presentations listed at Presentation Zen are great examples to learn from. In addition, take a look at some of my favourites:
• Elizabeth Gilbert: A different way to think about creative genius.
• Benjamin Zander on music and passion
• Matthew Childs: Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing

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This is yet another great TED Talk, Matthew Childs: Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing.

In this talk from TED University 2009, veteran rock climber Matthew Childs shares nine pointers for rock climbing. These handy tips bear on an effective life at sea level, too.

This talk is less than five minutes, the nine pointers are brief and useful in life.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

Benjamin Zander on music and passion

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One of my favourite TED Talks is Benjamin Zander: Classical music with shining eyes. Do not let the title fool you, the talk is about music and passion but also brings up leadership.

Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections.

What stuck with me is his comments about when he considered that as a conductor he makes no sound. Instead his role is a leader, to have the ability to make other people powerful and to awaken possibilities in other people. Benjamin also says that a leader shall never doubt the capacity of the people he is leading.

Benjamin Zander mentions that he measures success in how many eyes are shining. My eyes were shining bright after watching this talk.

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.

A different way to think about creative genius

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At TED Talks there is a terrific talk by Elizabeth Gilbert: A different way to think about creative genius.

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses — and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

I like this talk a lot and am also very impressed by her presentation. No PowerPoint or other stuff, “only” her talking and I am spellbound. There are lessons to be learned.

Update April 17, 2009
Men With Pens write about How to Stay Sane and Alive if You’re Creative.

Update November 20, 2009
Marion Chapsal has posted a great analysis of this presentation at Olé to You! Don’t Be Afraid, Just Do Your Talk!

Update January 4, 2010
At Lateral Action is a great post about Elizabeth Gilbert: Is Creativity Divinely Inspired?

This was originally posted at Forty Plus Two, another blog of mine.