I’ve written about making TED-style talks a part of academic conferences, and about giving TED-style business presentations. But those are adult concerns — and there’s something very different happening at TEDx conferences these days:
Young TEDx Speakers Are Getting Into the Act
Take this performance by then-12-year-old Adora Svitak, who’s been writing since she was 7. Adora’s confidence, charm, and lack of pretense are as much fun as the ideas she puts forth.
The Future, Brought to You by Young Speakers
It used to take people decades to develop Adora’s level of poise — or of exposure!
Now there are more prodigies, more personalities, more young people ready for prime time than there have ever been before.
We’re also more ready to listen to them.
In this video, Zach Wahls talks about how his life changed when a speech about marriage equality that he made at age 19 went viral.
That talk has been viewed by tens of millions of people, and Zach was recently elected to the Iowa State Senate.
When I was growing up, the common wisdom was that elders set the standard for younger people. My generation tried to overturn that rule, and may have done more harm than good.
But here comes a new generation to set a public speaking standard that us older folks would do well to emulate.
Adults, get your speaking hats on!
Let’s give the kids a run for their money.