The motto of the informative and highly addictive TED Talks is “ideas worth spreading.” Gainesville’s independent offshoot — TEDxUF — had plenty of ideas worth writing home about. Some of the area’s best and brightest took to the stage Saturday and shared their experiences, concerns and hopes for the future.
Attendees laughed at a previously recorded TED Talk about how an improv group created mischief in Best Buy — 80 people entered the electronics store dressed like employees in blue collared shirts and khaki pants — and cried when a speaker shared her experiences with cancer.
TEDxUF and the larger TED Talks are popular because they bring out the best in speakers and the audience alike.
But when you dive into what TED Talks really are, it is not at all about the speeches or presentations. Though speakers — both live and recorded — command the stage, the talks are more about the audience.
You can listen to the greatest speaker in the world, but if you don’t buy into his or her message, the speech is of no use. A speaker can give a powerful and stirring talk right in front of you, but if you don’t act on the message, you are wasting your time.
Although it’s great to hear a powerful and rousing speech, it is not all that important. The crucial moment in any presentation is when the audience wholeheartedly believes and buys into the presenter’s message.
The so-called “secret sauce” that makes TED Talks a great event is simplicity. A bare stage sits in front of the audience with perhaps a few pieces of creative artwork strewn here or there. A presentation screen faces the audience. An unassuming speaker stands before a packed room. And that’s pretty much it. No overblown stage props, strobe lighting or fog machine needed.
The only thing that can actually “be” in the talk is the speaker’s message.
The message of TEDxUF was of hope, curiosity, personal and emotional fulfillment and creativity. The talks did not present any direct answers to the world’s gripping problems brought up by the speakers. But the genius of TED Talks comes from presenters challenging audiences to answer problems for themselves, thus making the events more about the audience. It is up to the audience to act on the speakers’ messages.
I believe that the smaller, independent TEDx events are more powerful than the larger TED Talks. The people who took to the stage at last week’s event were not Al Gore, Tony Robbins or any of the other marquee TED Talks heavyweights. Speakers were members of the Gainesville community: professors, students, alumni and friends. They were the audience members of past TED Talks who bought into the message of TED presenters, acted on their own convictions and wanted to spread a few ideas of their own. They dared the audience members to challenge their beliefs, strengthen their convictions and disregard the impossible.
This circle of TED Talks audience members turning into speakers who inspire their audience creates a community of empowered individuals — empowered not in the sense of being all-knowing people who can solve any problem, but in the sense of knowing a group of people who can solve these problems themselves.
Last week, the TEDx presenters shined. Each one of them was stirring, engaging and entertaining. Because of that, the audience members are empowered to act on their rallying cry. Though the audience members may not know all of the answers to some of the problems brought up in the University Auditorium, they definitely know a way to reach an audience that will.
[Michael Beato is a UF economics sophomore. His columns appear on Wednesdays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 2/12/2014 under the headline "TED Talks shift social responsibility"]
