Mark Lovett

Lisa Hisha’s Journey from Speaker Adventure to TEDxNewBedford

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Some people come to Speaker Adventure in order to develop their skills in hopes of one day being on a TEDx stage. They’re not currently a public speaker, but have the desire to share their wisdom with others and know that crafting a compelling story takes a lot of effort.

Other participants are accomplished speakers who have been in front of a wide variety of audiences, from keynotes to technical conferences, but want to master the shorter format TED/TEDx style of presentation, and they come to Speaker Adventure to learn the ropes of just how that’s done.

On occasion, one of these accomplished speakers has already been invited to speak at a TEDx event and seeks out Speaker Adventure to fine tune their talk. This was the case with Lisa Haisha. Having mastered speaking in business environments, keynote stages, and motivational speaking venues, Lisa was a pro who was about to speak at TEDxNewBedford.

Lisa Haisha at TEDxNewBedford 2016

With idea and draft script in hand, Jeff Salz and I began working with Lisa to refine her narrative and ensure the transitions kept the story flowing smoothly for the audience.

The idea itself was rather compelling, that we’re too often subject to the whims of inner imposters that seek to sabotage our best efforts. But according to Lisa, we have the ability to train these imposters to work for us, instead of against us. How, you may ask? Watch and learn.

Lisa Haisha’s Website

Lisa Haisha on Facebook

Lisa Haisha on Twitter

Storytelling Newsletter

Mark Lovett

Simon Sinek Speaks at CreativeMornings San Diego – October 2016

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Storytelling encompasses a variety of styles, from the personal, to the historical and investigative. There’s another style that I’m calling analytical, in which a situation or paradigm is broken down and examined in order to find the underlying truth. This is not an easy fete to pull off, but Simon Sinek has become a master at doing it in a way that resonates with the audience.

You may have watched his talk from TEDxPugetSound in 2009 on How great leaders inspire action, or his talk at TED 2014 on Why good leaders make you feel safe. In each case he peels back the onion on connection between why humans do what they do, and why they feel how they feel.

Simon’s talk at CreativeMornings San Diego was titled Understanding the Game We’re Playing, which focused on the current state of the millenial generation, and why they are often misunderstood by previous generations.

Whenever he’s asked to describe what’s going on with the millennial generation, Simon replies with four observations – parenting, technology, impatience and environment. In Simon’s view, millennials are not entitled, narcissistic, or lazy, but instead were simply dealt a bad hand, by their parents, and by society.

Could it be that engaging with social media is, in the end, a dopamine addiction, similar to the desire for drugs or alcohol? Are they turning to technology, instead of turning to real people in their life? Are social skills being diminished due to the ease of avoiding interaction?

The generation of hard work and long journeys – life, career, relationships – has , for some, shifted to an environment of impatience and the need for instant gratification. Compounding the problem is the move by corporations away from people and toward the bottom line.

Simon offers the view that life is not a scavenger hunt, jumping from job to job, and relationship to relationship. Instead the challenge is in finding a sense of purpose, fulfillment and joy, and that will only occur when the current generation undertakes the hard work of repairing the world around us. And it will only occur when we realize that our true competition, is us, not someone else.

Simon Sinek’s Website

Simon Sinek on Facebook

Simon Sinek on Twitter

Simon Sinek on YouTube

Storytelling Newsletter

Mark Lovett

The Craft of TEDx Speaker Coaching

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As the TEDxSanDiego organizer for 6 years, organizer for TEDxMonumento258, and having attended 80+ TED/TEDx events since 2010, I’ve experienced a wide variety of stories and accompanying narrative styles. Like a fingerprint, each story is unique, as is each storyteller, and part of that uniqueness is related to the speaker coaching that happens behind the scenes, long before the speaker greets their audience to tell their story.

In my experience few TEDx attendees, or the viewers of TED/TEDx videos, are aware of the speaker prep that occurs in the months preceding an event, which is a shame, as the coaching process is such an important aspect of creating a memorable TEDx experience.

So how does that process work? Just as each speaker and story are unique, every coaching process is unique, as sessions are tailored to the speaker’s talent, experience, and narrative. In addition, no two speaker coaches are the same, with each having developed their own approach to the process. The intent, however, is the same. To maximize the speaker’s impact, and that only happens when a speaker truly connects with the audience with a talk that contains a relevant message.

Silhouette Speaker on Stage

Seeking that combination of connection and relevance is where I begin with a speaker. In the world of TED/TEDx, the mantra is Ideas Worth Spreading, and that phrase means that attendees in the audience, and viewers of the video, will find the idea compelling enough to tell their friends, family, co-workers and associates.

It’s never the job of a coach to write the story, that’s always the responsibility of the speaker, but rather to help define the central idea of the story, assist in the selection of assets which support that idea, and provide guidance on how best to thread those assets into a narrative that will both capture the audience’s attention, and convey the idea in a meaningful way.

Future blog posts will delve deeper into the details and mechanics, but in the meantime, think about the idea that you want to tell the world about, and write down why the audience would find value in hearing that particular idea. How would their lives change, how would they think differently, and most importantly, how would they act differently?


Storytelling Newsletter