TED Talk – Here I Come
Poor walls.
I’ve been talking to them for 2 hours now.
540 words. No more, no less – and my job was to remember all of them.
After practicing the act over 30 keer1, I felt quite confident.
The speech was clear and fluent – but a good public speaker doesn’t leave anything to chance, so I repeated it another 20 times and made sure that nothing would ruin the performance.
I was very excited to bring something new to the table – a mix of humor and serious behavior. Since it was my first speech, the expectations were quite low from everybody. This gave me the leverage to surprise them by doing it as best as I can.
Easier said than done, obviously – but I was determined to learn the entire piece, word by word, without missing a single letter in it.
Can you imagine what happens if you skip a sentence or forget an “and/is”?
Bingo – You freeze entirely.
It’s a double edged sword, but the risk is worth to take.
Before my speech would begin, I went to the toilet to put the secret ingredient in my pocket – so I could sneak it up to the stage unnoticed.
My eyes were stuck on the clock, and my my heart wasn’t calm at all.
Deep breathing, in and out. Repeat a couple times – but the speed of the beats wouldn’t go down.
Surprisingly, by the time I was called to present my speech, there was no stress to disturb me.
The moment I got through the first paragraph, I knew it was going to score a few claps.
Until I missed one word.
Every sentence disappeared, and I stood there silently for a good 20 seconds. It was a black hole, swallowing each line and thought I had before. I tried repeating the previous parts, but not even those could remind me of the point I wanted to get across.
Pure emptiness in the middle of a key part. How can my mind just turn off?
“Take your time” – came a whisper from the audience, as I stood there like a lamp.
I repeated the previous sentence for the forth time, and the next one finally flashed in my mind.
Suddenly I grabbed a banana hidden in my zak2 and took it for a walk in front of the crowd.
Shock and confusion were visible in every single pair of eyes.
Then, once again, the words vanished from my mind. The room was silent, so was I. None of this was supposed to go down, at home I went through this perfectly 5 times.
– Luckily it’s only 4 minutes long, so I can still stand here for another 2.*
The crowd bursts into a laughter, as I keep searching for the words I thought are deeply carved into my conscience.
It took half a minute to find the string again, and finally deliver the closing passage.
The outcome was more than satisfying. Did I make mistakes despite all the effort and planning?
Definitely, but practicing the speech was worth every minute.
I sat down, proud and smiling. The others started to write down their feedback on a post-it, when I suddenly tossed a question to the public:
– Is there anyone who would consider taking a banana for a walk [after this]?
Only 1 hand emerged out of 20, but that one went up immediately.
That person became a Friend of the highest quality.
It took a long time until they filled out those papers – they were full of tips, compliments and encouragements. Even the kindest Man on Earth would doubt if he deserves this. The amount of benevolence in the room could fill a bottomless bucket. Joining this community was one of the best decisions I’ve made – If you’d give it a shot, you’ll find everything here: Toastmasters.org
Soon the wave of speeches was over, so we took a little break to mingle.
A person approached me, introducing himself properly – He was from Hungary! After a year of solitude from my language, I finally had the to opportunity to use it. Boy, was it rusty! I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t weird. The words came out properly, but none of them felt natural or easy. Seems like English and Dutch came with a cost – a price I wasn’t ready to pay for.
The rest of the evening was full of jokes, made by people who were inspired by Bobo, and its unique ability to do a show. Everyone who got a chance to do an impro involved him in the Story during the flow. They made it look like as if it was completely normal – to the point where it didn’t even feel weird anymore.
Before we would wrap up the meeting, it was time to give out the awards of the evening – They voted me for the best speaker of the day! The title was: “The Charm of Being Awkward“X
To capture this memory, I pulled the Polaroid out and asked everyone to gather up in one place.
Here is my Intellectual Family:
This day I cycled home with my lips curved all the way up to my ears, because I made yet another step towards my dreams.
The first on a Lifelong journey in learning the Art of Public Speaking.
#111 – Give a TED talk – On my way dawg!
Take care and go hard,
Erik
2020.01.09 – Day 353
[Dutch Dictionary]
Keer 1 – Times
Zak 2 – Pocket
*The first speech [Ice breaker] can last up to 6 minutes.
XPS: Here is the Speech:
All of us can recall at least one occasion in our lives where we didn’t do what we wanted to do, simply because other people were around.
“What would they think?” – This question prevented many wonderful memories from happening.
As a child, it’s easy. If you want to climb up on a tree, play with your toys on the streets or pick your nose in a restaurant – you just do it. The last thing you care about is what other people think.
But this changes over the years.
We become more aware, and our minds get busy. Busy with finding ways on how to avoid being judged in a bad way. Bit by bit, we tune down the colors of our personality, in exchange for the security that we “fit in”.
By the time we realize that it was a mistake, it feels like it’s too late.
The part of us that wanted to do great things; things other people wouldn’t necessary agree with – becomes so weak, that we actually forget how we’re used to be. WHO we are used to be.
To those who know what I’m talking about, I’m here to tell you that it’s not over, and there is certainly a way to restore our individuality in its full beauty.
Let me introduce you my loyal companion, Bobo, my pet fruit.
He is the bravest banana you’ll ever meet. He is not afraid to face the rough concrete, as I take him for a walk in the city.
You heard me.
At first, it might seem a little awkward. Perhaps even insane. But listen to this:
The second you put it down and decide to walk with it, you’ll discover something amazing:
Nobody gives a shit.
Of course, some of them will smile or laugh, maybe even burst into tears as they see a fruit being taken for such a glorious journey.
Some will look at you as if you were some kind of a lunatic, while others may stop you, and ask you: Why are you doing this?
Eventually, someone will bend down and actually pet him.
There is always a person who does it.
If you do it in a crowded place, it’s very likely that an army of people will start to follow you with their phones, trying to record what you’re doing.
But you just walk there, as if it was a normal thing.
Even if you walk through the whole town, and let the entire city know that you’ve gone crazy, at the end of the day, you’ll realize one thing:
Nothing has changed.
You didn’t lose your job, your friends are still the same; your neighbors might think that you’ve lost it, but fundamentally – Life remains the same.
No matter what you do, people will eventually go on with their days, the sun goes down again, and by the time you wake up the next day, it’ll all be History.
Except one thing:
You’re free do to whatever you like, because the judgement of others has no effect on your Life in any way. That is the charm of being awkward, and a bit silly.
Thank you for listening.
Road to a New Life 
Congrats buddy! You made another one off your bucket list. You’re on a roll now.
In life sometime the silliest thing is the most memorable one to be told over and over as part of your life’s history.
It takes a lot of courage, bravado and confidence of what you have accomplished!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Pingback: The Journey | Road to a New Life
Pingback: Ted Talk, Here I Come 2 | Road to a New Life