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540: Tricia Brouk: Stepping Into the Red Circle: How to Land a TEDx Talk

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Content provided by Karen Litzy, Dr. Karen Litzy, PT, and DPT. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Karen Litzy, Dr. Karen Litzy, PT, and DPT or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

On this episode of the Healthy, Wealthy and Smart Podcast, I welcome Tricia Brouk to talk about how to land a TEDx Talk. Tricia is an international award-winning director, author, speaking coach, and podcast coach.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • What is a TED talk?
  • How do you get chosen?
  • Why do you need to vet organizers?
  • What makes an exceptional TED talk?
  • How do you prepare?

Resources:

Round Table Talks

Tricia's Website: Tricia Brouk

www.TheBigTalkAcademy.com

www.speakersalonapplication.com

Tricia's Social Media:

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Podcast

More About Tricia:

Tricia Brouk is an international award-winning director. She has worked in theater, film, and television for three decades. Her work includes the writing of two musicals, both produced in New York City, a one-woman show, and four documentaries, two eligible for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominations. She had an extensive career as a dancer performing all over the world. In addition to her work in the entertainment industry, Tricia applies her expertise to the art of public speaking. Tricia founded The Big Talk Academy where she certifies speakers in the art of public speaking. She was the executive producer of Speakers Who Dare and TEDxLincolnSquare and now The Big Talk Live. She has shepherded more than fifty speakers onto more than fifteen TEDx stages in under three years. She is currently being featured in a new documentary called Big Stages, which highlights the transformation of her speakers. Tricia’s commitment and devotion to inclusion is a priority as all of her shows, events, and communities are diverse. She curates and hosts the Speaker Salon in NYC, The Big Talk, an award-winning podcast on iTunes and YouTube. She directed and produced The Big Talk Over Dinner: Race and Immigration that premiered at the Be Your Best Self Expo in 2020. She was awarded Top Director of 2019 by the International Association of Top Professional and is relentless about her vision of amplifying voices all over the world. Her book, The Influential Voice: Saying What You Mean For Lasting Legacy was #1 New Release on Amazon in December 2020. Tricia lives in New York City with her husband, Joe Ricci, and their two cats, Lola and Bella. Their building faces the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater where she gets to watch young dancers realize their dreams every single day.

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Read the full transcript here:

Speaker 1 (00:01):

Hi, Tricia. Welcome back to the podcast. Third time. Third time on I'm so excited to have you here.

Speaker 2 (00:08):

I am so excited to be birth. Third time, Karen, it's always awesome to talk with you.

Speaker 1 (00:14):

Agreed, agreed. Awesome to talk to you. Not to me. Now this month we're talking all about TEDx talks, how to get on that stage. We've spoken to, we're going to speak to a couple of TEDx speakers, which I'm really excited about and you help prepare speakers for the TEDx stage. So we've got a lot to talk about. My number one question is what is a Ted talk?

Speaker 2 (00:43):

This is such a great question. And for anybody out there who really wants to dig deep and go into the world of Ted Chris Anderson's book, the official guide to public speaking, Ted talks, the official guide to public speaking is really the place that you need to go. A Ted doc is an 18 minute or less talk. And Chris Anderson actually says, 12 is the new 18. It is a gift, not an anus. It is an idea, not an issue. And you want the audience to adopt your idea as their own. At the end of this talk, a Ted talk is an idea worth spreading, and it is really meant to get the audience to think differently. And there's very specific format and outline when it comes to what a Ted talk is. And I highly recommend you dig deeper with Chris Anderson's book.

Speaker 1 (01:37):

Yeah. And for those who are watching here, it is. I just happened to have it coincidentally right on my bookshelf next to me. So this is the book. Great. And, and because I do want to differentiate that a Ted talks, not a keynote talk,

Speaker 2 (01:54):

Right? A Ted talk is 18 minutes or less, and it's really all about getting the audience to think differently. A keynote is 45 to 60 minutes long, and the keynote is going to start out by you telling the audience why you're the credible expert to talk about this idea. You're going to share with us what you're going to cover. Then you're going to cover it. Then you're going to summarize what you covered. And then there's a very clear call to action, which is buy my book, sign up for my program, donate to a worthy cause. And when you're thinking about that in relationship to a Ted talk, it is so different because literally you can open a Ted style, talk with music. This is how I see the world though, through Spiaggia trickle lens, you can open with music with video, with compelling slides. And it's really about taking the audience on a journey from where you start. What is the idea worth spreading that you want the audience to think about, taking them on a personal journey, your personal story, or someone else's personal story, and then wrapping up so that they think differently and potentially walk out of that theater, adopting idea, adopting your way of thinking as their own and maybe even behaving differently in the world.

Speaker 1 (03:06):

Yeah. And I, a great example of that is a Ted talk from Ted X, Lincoln square that you produced on forgiveness. You know, the one, I mean, right.

Speaker 2 (03:18):

I do Sarah Montana, one of the most compelling speakers I've ever had on my stage, she applied to TEDx Lincoln square with a talk about forgiveness. The idea was about forgiveness and how do we teach people to forgive? We all know forgiveness is important. It's good for our health. It's really important, but nobody teaches you how to do it. So in her application, the written application, she submitted her talk about forgiveness with a personal story that her mother and brother were murdered on Christmas Eve. And I thought, how in the world is this woman going to be able to share an idea worth spreading from the stage where I don't feel bad, the audience doesn't feel bad. We are not just sad hearing her talk about this horrible tragedy in her life. So I gave myself the challenge Garren, I thought, okay, I'm going to challenge myself and ask her to submit a video because I could not imagine how this story could be shared in a way that was an idea we're spreading.

Speaker 2 (04:22):

That would get me to think differently. All I could focus on was the trauma. So she submitted this incredible video and what was wonderful about this, and this is really an important takeaway here. She was healed from the trauma. She did not share a vulnerable story before she was ready. And she was able to tell us the story. So she set up context and then take us on the journey of her journey of forgiveness and how she ended up forgiving so that we could potentially put into motion, her practices of forgiveness into our own lives. And that is an incredible example of someone who is sharing a powerful idea, worth spreading, also giving context and her personal journey so that we can observe as the audience member not feel bad, but observe and adopt this idea as our own.

Speaker 1 (05:19):

Yeah, I, it was such a powerful story. We'll have a link to it in the show notes. It was just so wonderful. And that actually leads perfectly into my next question is how does one get chosen? So you gave us a little bit of the backstory of how she was chosen, but for the listeners who are thinking, Oh, I really want to do a TEDx talk or a Ted talk one day, how does that happen?

Speaker 2 (05:41):

This is really great. You have a million search engines looking for Ted talks all the time. The best thing to do is start with cities, TEDx, Philadelphia, TEDx, New York, TEDx, Dallas, TEDx St. Louis TEDx, all cities. It doesn't have to be where you live, but there will be amazing Ted X events in major cities, TEDx, Los Angeles. That's where you want to start, because the reason you want to start there is that they will have been around for a while and they will know what they're doing. And we'll get into that leader of the next step is universities, TEDx, university of Nevada TEDx case Western reserve, university TEDx rush, you universities put on TEDx events all the time. And the other reason that's a great place to start is because they will have the support of the school. They will have the support of the, of the university.

Speaker 2 (06:38):

Tedx UCLA is an Epic event. It's really hard to get into that one. And it's wonderful. And that's because they've been around for awhile, they know what they're doing. So cities, universities, and then you can actually go to ted.com and they have a map of all the TEDx events in the world. So if you want to speak in Ghana, if you want to speak in the UK, if you want to speak in New Zealand, you can search the map and it will identify where those TEDx events are happening. And then you just get in touch with the organizer. So the next thing you want to do is subscribe to all of the TEDx events that you can get on their mailing list so that you are notified when the applications open applications are rolling for many events, meaning you can apply all year and many have a specific window. So you want to make sure that you don't miss that six, eight week window where their applications are open. And this happened to one of my clients. She lives in Chicago. I gave her the application information. We worked on her application for months, months so that it would be right. She knew the deadline and she missed the deadline

Speaker 1 (07:55):

For heartbreaking. It was

Speaker 2 (07:57):

So heartbreaking. There was a little bit of is this self sabotaging thing happening right now. So just know that they do close. So make sure that you understand if you're notified, get those dates on your calendar, create a spreadsheet for yourself. Because if you believe you're going to apply to one event and land that event, you're a unicorn. I

Speaker 1 (08:18):

Have had unicorns. Trust

Speaker 2 (08:21):

Me. I haven't had unicorns. I currently have a unicorn, Dr. Kristin Donnelley, we just started working together and her first application was accepted. So she's going to be speaking itself, Lake Tahoe in may, which is super exciting. It does happen. However, she'd got my support. So if you are working on applications, apply to as many as possible. And if you are chosen for more than one, guess what you can do more than one, or you can determine which one you actually prefer. And you can take that stage. So making sure that you start with cities, moved universities, go to ted.com and search that way. Google is not your friend here. There's a million million, million ways that you can go around that and find the actual events that you want to speak out. And

Speaker 1 (09:07):

Let's say, I, there are three TEDx events that I want to speak at. Can I submit the same talk to all three? Or should I have a different talk for each one?

Speaker 2 (09:18):

Submit the same idea. We're spreading to as many applications as possible. And when, and if you're chosen for more than one, you can determine with the organizer. When you want to switch your idea, most organizers, 99.9% organizers are not going to let you do the same talk at multiple stages. You can absolutely speak at multiple stages, but you want to speak with the organizer about, Hey, I just accepted TEDx South Lake Tahoe, and I'm talking about tolerance. Can I talk about empathy at your event? It's similar, but I want to talk about something different and you can have that conversation with the organizer.

Speaker 1 (09:56):

And when it comes to the applications themselves, is there, are there any tips or tricks or to make yourself stand out?

Speaker 2 (10:08):

Yes. Very, very important that you do not pitch your business. This is not about how to get sales. This is about an idea worth spreading. So if you have a business where you are connecting rescue animals, to people who need support and that's your business, that is not your idea. We're spreading. You have to dig deeper and find a reason to talk about why animals can serve us in humanity. The other thing is, if they're asking you a little bit about yourself, go, go above and beyond. Don't cut and paste your bio. Tell us who you are. Tell us that you love cooking. Tell us that you absolutely that you've been married. And then you have two cats or personal things. The reason that is going to make you stand out is because nobody else is doing it. I coach all of my speakers to incorporate who they are in that question.

Speaker 2 (11:05):

Tell us more about who you are. And that is because you want to be a human being. When producers are choosing their speakers, it starts with the idea worth spreading, and then it moves into do I want to work with this person for nine months? And if you are high maintenance or lazy by cutting and pasting a bio into the application, we take cues. We are looking for who you are in those applications, which means if I say, I want one line for your idea worth spreading, and you write three, you can't read directions. You're not going to follow the rules, which means you're going to be difficult to work with once I book you. So I'm not going to, I'm not going to choose you. If you submit a video. And I say, I want a two minute video and it's two minutes and three seconds. You just disqualified yourself because I have hundreds of other people who are actually following the rules. So it's really important when you apply to these events that you answer the questions they're asking, you do not pitch your business and do not cut and paste a bio because that tells us you're lazy or somebody else supplied for you. Not you.

Speaker 1 (12:15):

Ah, I love the rule following thing. I'm a rule follower, but it, you know, I think that's great for the listeners here because that's how specific TEDx talks are because hundreds of people are applying. So like you said, if I say one sentence, you give me three. They're not even, they're not, you're not going beyond that. It's a next

Speaker 2 (12:38):

That's right. That's how I do all of my operations. It, we don't have, but not brutal, but smart, efficient, efficient. Yeah. We don't have time to handhold. We want to work with speakers who we know are going to show up prepared. And if we say you have eight minutes that they're going to actually deliver eight minutes. Because ultimately, if you are working with an exceptional TEDx producer who knows how to produce a show, they are putting on a show. There is a journey here. There is an arc and a through-line to that performance, to that show, to that event, which means you're going to put you in specific orders as speakers so that the audience goes on a journey. And I say specifically, a good TEDx producer. And that's something that is really, really important to remember. Not all Ted TEDx events are created equally. Not all TEDx events are going to give you the support that you need. So it's really important that you understand that as well, when you're looking for events

Speaker 1 (13:41):

And how can you pick that out? Like if you're like a newbie to the TEDx world, this is your first time applying, how do you, how do you know who's good and who's not good.

Speaker 2 (13:53):

First thing you want to do is go to the YouTube channel and watch the videos from past events. If the sound is bad, if the set is wonky, if the lighting is terrible, you can't trust that event's going to be improved. If you decide you do want to speak, there, have a conversation with the organizer, making sure that they have the proper audio and video. That's the first place you want to start. The next thing you want to do is get in touch with people who have spoken at those events. And this is the thing that people are afraid of, or have not been given permission to do. Karen, it's reached out to other speakers who had the experience. They will tell you the truth. They, if it's a good event, they will tell you it's a good event. And they may even put you in touch with some of the organizers, some of the, the the volunteers, so that you can talk with them about the process.

Speaker 2 (14:45):

So make contact, reach out, ask all the questions you want to ask. Were the organizers micromanaging your script. If they were think about that, did they take your voice out of your talk and make it their voice? If they did, you need to think about that. You need to create boundaries immediately, which means I'm so excited that I'm going to be speaking at your event. I am very, very competent in terms of writing my script. I will absolutely take your feedback, but the final script is mine. Not yours, set boundaries right away. People are afraid to actually tell organizers what they want. And that's something that I want to invite you and all of you to give permission so that you take back the control. It's your talk. Now let's be real. You do not own that. Talk. Once you take a Ted stage, head owns it. It is forever there's you cannot do it anywhere else. So be, be mindful, your image and your script will belong to Ted for the rest of eternity, which is also why you do not want a bad video to end up on YouTube for the rest of your life, because you have zero control over it. You cannot take it down. So really important that you vet organizers and that you're clear on how they work, what the process is. And if it's something that you are willing to champion or risk. Yeah, I would be safe.

Speaker 1 (16:15):

So nervous to say that to a Ted organizer. I mean, just because that's my personality, as you know, I would be like, Oh, well, you know, I mean, this is, this is what I want to do. And if it's okay with you, I'd like to do it this way. So to be able to set those boundaries, but not be dismissive of them. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (16:37):

Right. Their event, you want to honor, it's their event and Bay. They are the producer of this particular TEDx event. And you can absolutely respect all of that. And I encourage you to take that very seriously. They're in charge and reminding them that it's your idea worth spreading. They chose you for a reason and they need to allow you to be your amazing self and not try to infuse you with something else in that moment.

Speaker 1 (17:06):

Yeah. And, and that makes perfect sense. And you just have to keep your, have your confidence in yourself

Speaker 2 (17:12):

And in what you're doing. Absolutely. And I've had speakers who are extremely seasoned that I've worked with, who have come back to me because the TEDx events will, will provide you with a speaker coach for free. And I've had clients come back to me and say, the speaker coach thinks we need to do it this way. And they want to take this out of our script. And I'm really freaking out right now. It's two weeks before the event and all these nerves. And like all this panic, my talk is terrible. All that happens until you say, thank you so much for your feedback. I really, really appreciate it. And I'm going to do the talk I've written and they all say, no problem, no problem. They all say no problem.

Speaker 1 (17:53):

Excellent. Well, that is great advice for, for those folks out there, like me who are like, Oh, I don't, you know, want to offend anyone. And so that is really, really good to know. And the other thing that you said earlier that I just want to circle back on is when you're vetting these TEDx producers, you said that this might be someone you're working with for nine months. What can you explain that

Speaker 2 (18:20):

If you are going to work with a TEDx producer or say yes to an event, it needs to be yes. To an event that is not two weeks from the day you're accepted my event applications, whether it was TEDx Lincoln square or speakers who dare applications opened up in September, I made the decision in December and then the event was in March. So January, February, there was three months of speakers preparing. Now. They were also submitting in September. So September, October, November, December, January, February, that's eight months where I was spending time with these speakers, watching their videos, reading their applications. So you will want to have at least three months no less to prepare for your event. If you're being asked to speak in an event that happens in less than four weeks, I would gracefully decline because you are not going to have enough time to write a powerful talk and memorize it so that you can be your best self on that stage. And trust me, it has happened many organizers. This is really important. The one question Ted X does not ask on the application to become a licensed holder and organizer is, do you know how to produce an event?

Speaker 2 (19:52):

Anyone can get a TEDx license if they go through the process and they're granted a license, not everyone knows how to produce an event. And that is why vetting is important. And it's also important for you to know that this is an opportunity for you to share a very important message that you care deeply about in order to serve in order to reach people. The Ted brand is a massive platform. You have an opportunity to end up on ted.com and reach millions of people, which is why you want to set yourself up for absolute success and have a runway so that you can write an amazing talk, get the coaching you need, and then perform it beautifully. And that leads

Speaker 1 (20:39):

Perfectly into my next question. You answered it a little bit just then, but what makes an exceptional Ted talk?

Speaker 2 (20:48):

If the talk is really truly an idea worth spreading, that's the audience to think differently. And if you are activating from the stage, which means, you know how to deliver this content in a way that is how is MADEC in control in command while also sharing the idea worth spreading. And it doesn't mean teaching. It means sharing the idea worth spreading gifting, this idea, making sure that it's not an issue. And it's truly an idea. For example, teachers in public schools do not get enough support financially. We all know that to be true. It is an issue. If we reframe that as teachers are the GPS of our children's future, that is an idea. So really be clear that you are sharing an idea worth spreading, that you were in command of the material that you care about it, and that you are gifting this material to the audience so that they adopted as their own.

Speaker 1 (21:56):

And that was a great example, just switching the, the framework of the title makes all the difference. And, and I like that. It's, it's an idea, not an issue, an idea worth spreading, not an issue that we all kind of know, or maybe take for granted or something, right? Yeah. And that makes a big difference. Okay. How do you prepare for a Ted talk or a TEDx talk? It seems so daunting.

Speaker 2 (22:25):

It's the same preparation. If you are a speaker for any kind of stage, you are about to take, you begin with the writing process. You write and you rewrite and you write and you rewrite and you edit and you kill your darlings and you end up hating your talk and you think it's terrible. And you get past that part of the process. And now you have your, your final talk, your script. Then you begin to memorize. There is nothing sexy about memorization. It is boring. It is wrote. It is hard work. It's bicep girls it's plays. It is over and over and over start with the first sentence, move to the second, finish that paragraph. If you cannot prevent yourself from glancing down at the script, you are not memorized in that first paragraph. Do not do not cheat yourself. You want to make sure that first paragraph is memorized before you move on to the next, once you have the next paragraph, go back to the burst and tie those two together with the transition.

Speaker 2 (23:27):

So the last sentence of the first paragraph with the first sentence of the second paragraph, connect those dots. Once you have that and you are in complete control of those two paragraphs, then move on once you've done that through the whole talk, start in the middle and go to the end. Then mistake speakers make again. And again is they have the first half memorized cause they keep starting at the beginning and then they get on stage and nerves happen and they can't remember the second half. Once you have it all memorized, go back to the middle and work on the middle to the end. Once you are truly memorized and you can also record yourself doing the talk and listen to it in the car and listen to it on the treadmill, listen to it outside. When you're walking, when we're listening to songs, we memorize them because we're doing it while we're doing something else. Same thing applies here. Listen to yourself, give the talk over and over and over and over once you're memorized and really memorized, then do what I call an Italian run through. And this is from the world of theater, fast as possible, no emotion at all. You just want to give the talk as fast as possible. So your synapses are firing and you know that, you know the words, the moment you don't know the words, that's the section you're not memorized.

Speaker 1 (24:35):

Yes. And I remember doing this in the speaker salon, and I will say everyone, all you people listening that what Tricia just said, how to prepare, how to memorize. It works. Like, don't think your way is better. It's probably not. This is what works. Trust me. I did this when I had to give a keynote talk a couple of years ago. And the other thing that you cannot just glance over is the writing process. Because Trisha, remember when I first came out and gave my talk and Trisha is so wonderful because she'll say, Oh, you know, I really thought this was very strong, but Mike, you think about, and then she'll give her feedback and it's such a gentle way to give feedback. And you can, you can expand on that in a second. But I remember giving my talk and you were like, is this about you?

Speaker 1 (25:30):

And I said, well, yeah, it is. And you were like, why are you doing it in the third person? So I have this clever talk. It was, I mean, it was all written out. I was ready to go. I was prepared. And like Trisha said, you're gonna edit, edit, edit. You're going to feel uncomfortable with it. And then you're going to do it. And that's exactly what happened. And it was all the better for it. So the other thing I would say is get feed back from a coach from a trusted person, because when you're in it, it's hard to see out of it.

Speaker 2 (25:58):

And we are not comfortable being vulnerable right away. We often need permission. We often need to have a safe place to become vulnerable. And that's what I witnessed with you. Karen, as you walked up on stage, super confident sharing the story, it was very compelling story and zero vulnerability. And the moment you told us it was about you and that it was about your chronic pain. We all leaned in and could not take our eyes off of you. It was the most powerful transformation. One of the most powerful transformations I've seen. And I've seen a lot when you're talking about feedback and this is really, I'm great. I'm really grateful that you brought this up. Karen feedback is paramount. And you also need to know when you're asking for feedback and from you. Many of my speakers in the past have asked for feedback one or two weeks before their Ted talk and we're not specific.

Speaker 2 (26:58):

And all of a sudden they're getting feedback from random people. I think you should change the beginning. I don't really like what you're doing with the choreography and the blocking is not good. And all of a sudden they have absolutely no confidence. And that's because they weren't specific in asking for feedback three months before the event ask for feedback from somebody you trust a coach, whomever, because you have time to make those adjustments two weeks or one week before your event. Let's say two weeks. I'd like to know if there's anything about this specific talk that you love week before. You're a warm body. I don't want you to say anything afterwards, except thank you for giving this talk. Right? So get really specific when you're asking for feedback so that you don't derail yourself a week or two before, you're about to deliver a talk that you have memorized and no longer have time to make adjustments.

Speaker 2 (27:57):

Yeah. And that is great advice. And it reminds me of advice that jazz, who we both know, lovely, lovely, jazz set on this podcast. She said, you know, cause we were talking about asking for feedback from people and she's like, you wouldn't leave your apartment to go get a cup of coffee and ask every person you passed on the street. What kind of coffee you should get? Because you're going to get a different answer. And it's just crazy-making. It is crazy-making and nobody needs crazy-making two weeks before they're set to give a Ted talk. No, that's the visualization making needs to be happening. You need to be visualizing what it looks like to walk out onto that stage. You need to be visualizing what it looks and feels like to be delivering perfect mandating, powerful idea, worth spreading. You need to be visualizing what it's going to feel like when they applaud and when they rise to their feet and give you a standing ovation, you need to be visualizing what it means to walk into an out of that red circle.

Speaker 2 (29:01):

And this is part of the deep preparation work that I do with my TEDx speakers and with my community and clients is it is a big deal to walk out onto that stage and deliver your powerful message. You can change and save lives by speaking, whether it's in the red circle or not. So taking the role of speaker seriously and understanding the magnitude of your responsibility requires you to go above and beyond. It's not just about memorizing and talk and going and doing performance. Think about how powerful it is when that person is going to be watching your video. And they're going to think differently. They're going to potentially behave in their lives and that ripple effect can reach every other person in their life. So it is a very big responsibility when you are speaking from any stage. So give yourself permission, set yourself up for success by going through the process.

Speaker 2 (29:58):

And that's why I say nine months, because you really want to give yourself enough time to identify that idea, cultivate that talk, frat that beautiful, powerful talk, memorize it in a way that is so solid. You, if the chandelier falls on your head, you could absolutely continue and then give yourself the success set up by visualizing, by knowing what you're going to eat. And at what time you're going to eat it before you take that stage so that your body is not using energy to digest, but it's using energy to support you as a performer. This is about being an athlete and any and everything that you can do. You want to shoot that ball into the, into that hoop over and over again so that your muscle memory is ready to go. It is game on and Kyrene did this so beautifully. We worked like an athlete, works repetition over and over mindset. Self-Sabotage we did every possible trick and, and practice in order to have her walk out onto that stage and own it. She got a standing ovation.

Speaker 1 (31:06):

Yeah, she's amazing. It was an amazing talk. And again, we'll have that in the show notes here as well. Well, you know, I was going to ask you, would you like to sort of wrap things up, but you already did it. That was a perfect way. Now, before we before we end the podcast where can people find you? And if you don't mind, can you talk about your new book?

Speaker 2 (31:28):

Oh my goodness. I would love to talk about my new book. I'm a new author and it is so exciting. It's all the influential voice saying what you mean for lasting legacy. And it is on presale now@theinfluentialvoicebook.com. And you can find me at Tricia, brooke.com. I'm on Instagram, LinkedIn, and the influential voice is really a book about how to be a good human being while also teaching you to effectively communicate on stage and off. And I wrote it in June of 2020 instead of going to Mexico for 10 days with my husband, because we were all quarantining inside. I decided to use that time to write a book about how to teach people, to communicate with dignity, respect, curiosity, and love. And it is my hope that it will teach people that their voice matters and how to use their voice for good in the world.

Speaker 1 (32:25):

Amazing. And what a great use of time during quarantine. Geez. I feel like I just like rearranged my apartment. You wrote a whole book. That's amazing. Amazing. Yeah. And so we'll have links to that as well. Now, Trisha, before we leave I've asked you this question a couple of times already, but you're going to get it again. At what advice would you give to your younger self knowing where you are in your life,

Speaker 2 (32:51):

In your career? You can not imagine what is waiting for you. So keep taking those forward steps, excellent

Speaker 1 (32:59):

And advice. And Tricia, thanks so much. This was fabulous. I think everyone here will be inspired. They will start looking up those TEDx stages and, and again, get your book, get Chris Anderson's book, Ted talks. I think there are two great resources to sort of set you up for success in your speaking career, regardless of you get on a Ted stage or not. So thank you so much for coming on. Thank you, Karen and everyone. Thanks so much for listening. Have a great week and stay healthy, wealthy and smart.

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On this episode of the Healthy, Wealthy and Smart Podcast, I welcome Tricia Brouk to talk about how to land a TEDx Talk. Tricia is an international award-winning director, author, speaking coach, and podcast coach.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • What is a TED talk?
  • How do you get chosen?
  • Why do you need to vet organizers?
  • What makes an exceptional TED talk?
  • How do you prepare?

Resources:

Round Table Talks

Tricia's Website: Tricia Brouk

www.TheBigTalkAcademy.com

www.speakersalonapplication.com

Tricia's Social Media:

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Podcast

More About Tricia:

Tricia Brouk is an international award-winning director. She has worked in theater, film, and television for three decades. Her work includes the writing of two musicals, both produced in New York City, a one-woman show, and four documentaries, two eligible for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominations. She had an extensive career as a dancer performing all over the world. In addition to her work in the entertainment industry, Tricia applies her expertise to the art of public speaking. Tricia founded The Big Talk Academy where she certifies speakers in the art of public speaking. She was the executive producer of Speakers Who Dare and TEDxLincolnSquare and now The Big Talk Live. She has shepherded more than fifty speakers onto more than fifteen TEDx stages in under three years. She is currently being featured in a new documentary called Big Stages, which highlights the transformation of her speakers. Tricia’s commitment and devotion to inclusion is a priority as all of her shows, events, and communities are diverse. She curates and hosts the Speaker Salon in NYC, The Big Talk, an award-winning podcast on iTunes and YouTube. She directed and produced The Big Talk Over Dinner: Race and Immigration that premiered at the Be Your Best Self Expo in 2020. She was awarded Top Director of 2019 by the International Association of Top Professional and is relentless about her vision of amplifying voices all over the world. Her book, The Influential Voice: Saying What You Mean For Lasting Legacy was #1 New Release on Amazon in December 2020. Tricia lives in New York City with her husband, Joe Ricci, and their two cats, Lola and Bella. Their building faces the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater where she gets to watch young dancers realize their dreams every single day.

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Read the full transcript here:

Speaker 1 (00:01):

Hi, Tricia. Welcome back to the podcast. Third time. Third time on I'm so excited to have you here.

Speaker 2 (00:08):

I am so excited to be birth. Third time, Karen, it's always awesome to talk with you.

Speaker 1 (00:14):

Agreed, agreed. Awesome to talk to you. Not to me. Now this month we're talking all about TEDx talks, how to get on that stage. We've spoken to, we're going to speak to a couple of TEDx speakers, which I'm really excited about and you help prepare speakers for the TEDx stage. So we've got a lot to talk about. My number one question is what is a Ted talk?

Speaker 2 (00:43):

This is such a great question. And for anybody out there who really wants to dig deep and go into the world of Ted Chris Anderson's book, the official guide to public speaking, Ted talks, the official guide to public speaking is really the place that you need to go. A Ted doc is an 18 minute or less talk. And Chris Anderson actually says, 12 is the new 18. It is a gift, not an anus. It is an idea, not an issue. And you want the audience to adopt your idea as their own. At the end of this talk, a Ted talk is an idea worth spreading, and it is really meant to get the audience to think differently. And there's very specific format and outline when it comes to what a Ted talk is. And I highly recommend you dig deeper with Chris Anderson's book.

Speaker 1 (01:37):

Yeah. And for those who are watching here, it is. I just happened to have it coincidentally right on my bookshelf next to me. So this is the book. Great. And, and because I do want to differentiate that a Ted talks, not a keynote talk,

Speaker 2 (01:54):

Right? A Ted talk is 18 minutes or less, and it's really all about getting the audience to think differently. A keynote is 45 to 60 minutes long, and the keynote is going to start out by you telling the audience why you're the credible expert to talk about this idea. You're going to share with us what you're going to cover. Then you're going to cover it. Then you're going to summarize what you covered. And then there's a very clear call to action, which is buy my book, sign up for my program, donate to a worthy cause. And when you're thinking about that in relationship to a Ted talk, it is so different because literally you can open a Ted style, talk with music. This is how I see the world though, through Spiaggia trickle lens, you can open with music with video, with compelling slides. And it's really about taking the audience on a journey from where you start. What is the idea worth spreading that you want the audience to think about, taking them on a personal journey, your personal story, or someone else's personal story, and then wrapping up so that they think differently and potentially walk out of that theater, adopting idea, adopting your way of thinking as their own and maybe even behaving differently in the world.

Speaker 1 (03:06):

Yeah. And I, a great example of that is a Ted talk from Ted X, Lincoln square that you produced on forgiveness. You know, the one, I mean, right.

Speaker 2 (03:18):

I do Sarah Montana, one of the most compelling speakers I've ever had on my stage, she applied to TEDx Lincoln square with a talk about forgiveness. The idea was about forgiveness and how do we teach people to forgive? We all know forgiveness is important. It's good for our health. It's really important, but nobody teaches you how to do it. So in her application, the written application, she submitted her talk about forgiveness with a personal story that her mother and brother were murdered on Christmas Eve. And I thought, how in the world is this woman going to be able to share an idea worth spreading from the stage where I don't feel bad, the audience doesn't feel bad. We are not just sad hearing her talk about this horrible tragedy in her life. So I gave myself the challenge Garren, I thought, okay, I'm going to challenge myself and ask her to submit a video because I could not imagine how this story could be shared in a way that was an idea we're spreading.

Speaker 2 (04:22):

That would get me to think differently. All I could focus on was the trauma. So she submitted this incredible video and what was wonderful about this, and this is really an important takeaway here. She was healed from the trauma. She did not share a vulnerable story before she was ready. And she was able to tell us the story. So she set up context and then take us on the journey of her journey of forgiveness and how she ended up forgiving so that we could potentially put into motion, her practices of forgiveness into our own lives. And that is an incredible example of someone who is sharing a powerful idea, worth spreading, also giving context and her personal journey so that we can observe as the audience member not feel bad, but observe and adopt this idea as our own.

Speaker 1 (05:19):

Yeah, I, it was such a powerful story. We'll have a link to it in the show notes. It was just so wonderful. And that actually leads perfectly into my next question is how does one get chosen? So you gave us a little bit of the backstory of how she was chosen, but for the listeners who are thinking, Oh, I really want to do a TEDx talk or a Ted talk one day, how does that happen?

Speaker 2 (05:41):

This is really great. You have a million search engines looking for Ted talks all the time. The best thing to do is start with cities, TEDx, Philadelphia, TEDx, New York, TEDx, Dallas, TEDx St. Louis TEDx, all cities. It doesn't have to be where you live, but there will be amazing Ted X events in major cities, TEDx, Los Angeles. That's where you want to start, because the reason you want to start there is that they will have been around for a while and they will know what they're doing. And we'll get into that leader of the next step is universities, TEDx, university of Nevada TEDx case Western reserve, university TEDx rush, you universities put on TEDx events all the time. And the other reason that's a great place to start is because they will have the support of the school. They will have the support of the, of the university.

Speaker 2 (06:38):

Tedx UCLA is an Epic event. It's really hard to get into that one. And it's wonderful. And that's because they've been around for awhile, they know what they're doing. So cities, universities, and then you can actually go to ted.com and they have a map of all the TEDx events in the world. So if you want to speak in Ghana, if you want to speak in the UK, if you want to speak in New Zealand, you can search the map and it will identify where those TEDx events are happening. And then you just get in touch with the organizer. So the next thing you want to do is subscribe to all of the TEDx events that you can get on their mailing list so that you are notified when the applications open applications are rolling for many events, meaning you can apply all year and many have a specific window. So you want to make sure that you don't miss that six, eight week window where their applications are open. And this happened to one of my clients. She lives in Chicago. I gave her the application information. We worked on her application for months, months so that it would be right. She knew the deadline and she missed the deadline

Speaker 1 (07:55):

For heartbreaking. It was

Speaker 2 (07:57):

So heartbreaking. There was a little bit of is this self sabotaging thing happening right now. So just know that they do close. So make sure that you understand if you're notified, get those dates on your calendar, create a spreadsheet for yourself. Because if you believe you're going to apply to one event and land that event, you're a unicorn. I

Speaker 1 (08:18):

Have had unicorns. Trust

Speaker 2 (08:21):

Me. I haven't had unicorns. I currently have a unicorn, Dr. Kristin Donnelley, we just started working together and her first application was accepted. So she's going to be speaking itself, Lake Tahoe in may, which is super exciting. It does happen. However, she'd got my support. So if you are working on applications, apply to as many as possible. And if you are chosen for more than one, guess what you can do more than one, or you can determine which one you actually prefer. And you can take that stage. So making sure that you start with cities, moved universities, go to ted.com and search that way. Google is not your friend here. There's a million million, million ways that you can go around that and find the actual events that you want to speak out. And

Speaker 1 (09:07):

Let's say, I, there are three TEDx events that I want to speak at. Can I submit the same talk to all three? Or should I have a different talk for each one?

Speaker 2 (09:18):

Submit the same idea. We're spreading to as many applications as possible. And when, and if you're chosen for more than one, you can determine with the organizer. When you want to switch your idea, most organizers, 99.9% organizers are not going to let you do the same talk at multiple stages. You can absolutely speak at multiple stages, but you want to speak with the organizer about, Hey, I just accepted TEDx South Lake Tahoe, and I'm talking about tolerance. Can I talk about empathy at your event? It's similar, but I want to talk about something different and you can have that conversation with the organizer.

Speaker 1 (09:56):

And when it comes to the applications themselves, is there, are there any tips or tricks or to make yourself stand out?

Speaker 2 (10:08):

Yes. Very, very important that you do not pitch your business. This is not about how to get sales. This is about an idea worth spreading. So if you have a business where you are connecting rescue animals, to people who need support and that's your business, that is not your idea. We're spreading. You have to dig deeper and find a reason to talk about why animals can serve us in humanity. The other thing is, if they're asking you a little bit about yourself, go, go above and beyond. Don't cut and paste your bio. Tell us who you are. Tell us that you love cooking. Tell us that you absolutely that you've been married. And then you have two cats or personal things. The reason that is going to make you stand out is because nobody else is doing it. I coach all of my speakers to incorporate who they are in that question.

Speaker 2 (11:05):

Tell us more about who you are. And that is because you want to be a human being. When producers are choosing their speakers, it starts with the idea worth spreading, and then it moves into do I want to work with this person for nine months? And if you are high maintenance or lazy by cutting and pasting a bio into the application, we take cues. We are looking for who you are in those applications, which means if I say, I want one line for your idea worth spreading, and you write three, you can't read directions. You're not going to follow the rules, which means you're going to be difficult to work with once I book you. So I'm not going to, I'm not going to choose you. If you submit a video. And I say, I want a two minute video and it's two minutes and three seconds. You just disqualified yourself because I have hundreds of other people who are actually following the rules. So it's really important when you apply to these events that you answer the questions they're asking, you do not pitch your business and do not cut and paste a bio because that tells us you're lazy or somebody else supplied for you. Not you.

Speaker 1 (12:15):

Ah, I love the rule following thing. I'm a rule follower, but it, you know, I think that's great for the listeners here because that's how specific TEDx talks are because hundreds of people are applying. So like you said, if I say one sentence, you give me three. They're not even, they're not, you're not going beyond that. It's a next

Speaker 2 (12:38):

That's right. That's how I do all of my operations. It, we don't have, but not brutal, but smart, efficient, efficient. Yeah. We don't have time to handhold. We want to work with speakers who we know are going to show up prepared. And if we say you have eight minutes that they're going to actually deliver eight minutes. Because ultimately, if you are working with an exceptional TEDx producer who knows how to produce a show, they are putting on a show. There is a journey here. There is an arc and a through-line to that performance, to that show, to that event, which means you're going to put you in specific orders as speakers so that the audience goes on a journey. And I say specifically, a good TEDx producer. And that's something that is really, really important to remember. Not all Ted TEDx events are created equally. Not all TEDx events are going to give you the support that you need. So it's really important that you understand that as well, when you're looking for events

Speaker 1 (13:41):

And how can you pick that out? Like if you're like a newbie to the TEDx world, this is your first time applying, how do you, how do you know who's good and who's not good.

Speaker 2 (13:53):

First thing you want to do is go to the YouTube channel and watch the videos from past events. If the sound is bad, if the set is wonky, if the lighting is terrible, you can't trust that event's going to be improved. If you decide you do want to speak, there, have a conversation with the organizer, making sure that they have the proper audio and video. That's the first place you want to start. The next thing you want to do is get in touch with people who have spoken at those events. And this is the thing that people are afraid of, or have not been given permission to do. Karen, it's reached out to other speakers who had the experience. They will tell you the truth. They, if it's a good event, they will tell you it's a good event. And they may even put you in touch with some of the organizers, some of the, the the volunteers, so that you can talk with them about the process.

Speaker 2 (14:45):

So make contact, reach out, ask all the questions you want to ask. Were the organizers micromanaging your script. If they were think about that, did they take your voice out of your talk and make it their voice? If they did, you need to think about that. You need to create boundaries immediately, which means I'm so excited that I'm going to be speaking at your event. I am very, very competent in terms of writing my script. I will absolutely take your feedback, but the final script is mine. Not yours, set boundaries right away. People are afraid to actually tell organizers what they want. And that's something that I want to invite you and all of you to give permission so that you take back the control. It's your talk. Now let's be real. You do not own that. Talk. Once you take a Ted stage, head owns it. It is forever there's you cannot do it anywhere else. So be, be mindful, your image and your script will belong to Ted for the rest of eternity, which is also why you do not want a bad video to end up on YouTube for the rest of your life, because you have zero control over it. You cannot take it down. So really important that you vet organizers and that you're clear on how they work, what the process is. And if it's something that you are willing to champion or risk. Yeah, I would be safe.

Speaker 1 (16:15):

So nervous to say that to a Ted organizer. I mean, just because that's my personality, as you know, I would be like, Oh, well, you know, I mean, this is, this is what I want to do. And if it's okay with you, I'd like to do it this way. So to be able to set those boundaries, but not be dismissive of them. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (16:37):

Right. Their event, you want to honor, it's their event and Bay. They are the producer of this particular TEDx event. And you can absolutely respect all of that. And I encourage you to take that very seriously. They're in charge and reminding them that it's your idea worth spreading. They chose you for a reason and they need to allow you to be your amazing self and not try to infuse you with something else in that moment.

Speaker 1 (17:06):

Yeah. And, and that makes perfect sense. And you just have to keep your, have your confidence in yourself

Speaker 2 (17:12):

And in what you're doing. Absolutely. And I've had speakers who are extremely seasoned that I've worked with, who have come back to me because the TEDx events will, will provide you with a speaker coach for free. And I've had clients come back to me and say, the speaker coach thinks we need to do it this way. And they want to take this out of our script. And I'm really freaking out right now. It's two weeks before the event and all these nerves. And like all this panic, my talk is terrible. All that happens until you say, thank you so much for your feedback. I really, really appreciate it. And I'm going to do the talk I've written and they all say, no problem, no problem. They all say no problem.

Speaker 1 (17:53):

Excellent. Well, that is great advice for, for those folks out there, like me who are like, Oh, I don't, you know, want to offend anyone. And so that is really, really good to know. And the other thing that you said earlier that I just want to circle back on is when you're vetting these TEDx producers, you said that this might be someone you're working with for nine months. What can you explain that

Speaker 2 (18:20):

If you are going to work with a TEDx producer or say yes to an event, it needs to be yes. To an event that is not two weeks from the day you're accepted my event applications, whether it was TEDx Lincoln square or speakers who dare applications opened up in September, I made the decision in December and then the event was in March. So January, February, there was three months of speakers preparing. Now. They were also submitting in September. So September, October, November, December, January, February, that's eight months where I was spending time with these speakers, watching their videos, reading their applications. So you will want to have at least three months no less to prepare for your event. If you're being asked to speak in an event that happens in less than four weeks, I would gracefully decline because you are not going to have enough time to write a powerful talk and memorize it so that you can be your best self on that stage. And trust me, it has happened many organizers. This is really important. The one question Ted X does not ask on the application to become a licensed holder and organizer is, do you know how to produce an event?

Speaker 2 (19:52):

Anyone can get a TEDx license if they go through the process and they're granted a license, not everyone knows how to produce an event. And that is why vetting is important. And it's also important for you to know that this is an opportunity for you to share a very important message that you care deeply about in order to serve in order to reach people. The Ted brand is a massive platform. You have an opportunity to end up on ted.com and reach millions of people, which is why you want to set yourself up for absolute success and have a runway so that you can write an amazing talk, get the coaching you need, and then perform it beautifully. And that leads

Speaker 1 (20:39):

Perfectly into my next question. You answered it a little bit just then, but what makes an exceptional Ted talk?

Speaker 2 (20:48):

If the talk is really truly an idea worth spreading, that's the audience to think differently. And if you are activating from the stage, which means, you know how to deliver this content in a way that is how is MADEC in control in command while also sharing the idea worth spreading. And it doesn't mean teaching. It means sharing the idea worth spreading gifting, this idea, making sure that it's not an issue. And it's truly an idea. For example, teachers in public schools do not get enough support financially. We all know that to be true. It is an issue. If we reframe that as teachers are the GPS of our children's future, that is an idea. So really be clear that you are sharing an idea worth spreading, that you were in command of the material that you care about it, and that you are gifting this material to the audience so that they adopted as their own.

Speaker 1 (21:56):

And that was a great example, just switching the, the framework of the title makes all the difference. And, and I like that. It's, it's an idea, not an issue, an idea worth spreading, not an issue that we all kind of know, or maybe take for granted or something, right? Yeah. And that makes a big difference. Okay. How do you prepare for a Ted talk or a TEDx talk? It seems so daunting.

Speaker 2 (22:25):

It's the same preparation. If you are a speaker for any kind of stage, you are about to take, you begin with the writing process. You write and you rewrite and you write and you rewrite and you edit and you kill your darlings and you end up hating your talk and you think it's terrible. And you get past that part of the process. And now you have your, your final talk, your script. Then you begin to memorize. There is nothing sexy about memorization. It is boring. It is wrote. It is hard work. It's bicep girls it's plays. It is over and over and over start with the first sentence, move to the second, finish that paragraph. If you cannot prevent yourself from glancing down at the script, you are not memorized in that first paragraph. Do not do not cheat yourself. You want to make sure that first paragraph is memorized before you move on to the next, once you have the next paragraph, go back to the burst and tie those two together with the transition.

Speaker 2 (23:27):

So the last sentence of the first paragraph with the first sentence of the second paragraph, connect those dots. Once you have that and you are in complete control of those two paragraphs, then move on once you've done that through the whole talk, start in the middle and go to the end. Then mistake speakers make again. And again is they have the first half memorized cause they keep starting at the beginning and then they get on stage and nerves happen and they can't remember the second half. Once you have it all memorized, go back to the middle and work on the middle to the end. Once you are truly memorized and you can also record yourself doing the talk and listen to it in the car and listen to it on the treadmill, listen to it outside. When you're walking, when we're listening to songs, we memorize them because we're doing it while we're doing something else. Same thing applies here. Listen to yourself, give the talk over and over and over and over once you're memorized and really memorized, then do what I call an Italian run through. And this is from the world of theater, fast as possible, no emotion at all. You just want to give the talk as fast as possible. So your synapses are firing and you know that, you know the words, the moment you don't know the words, that's the section you're not memorized.

Speaker 1 (24:35):

Yes. And I remember doing this in the speaker salon, and I will say everyone, all you people listening that what Tricia just said, how to prepare, how to memorize. It works. Like, don't think your way is better. It's probably not. This is what works. Trust me. I did this when I had to give a keynote talk a couple of years ago. And the other thing that you cannot just glance over is the writing process. Because Trisha, remember when I first came out and gave my talk and Trisha is so wonderful because she'll say, Oh, you know, I really thought this was very strong, but Mike, you think about, and then she'll give her feedback and it's such a gentle way to give feedback. And you can, you can expand on that in a second. But I remember giving my talk and you were like, is this about you?

Speaker 1 (25:30):

And I said, well, yeah, it is. And you were like, why are you doing it in the third person? So I have this clever talk. It was, I mean, it was all written out. I was ready to go. I was prepared. And like Trisha said, you're gonna edit, edit, edit. You're going to feel uncomfortable with it. And then you're going to do it. And that's exactly what happened. And it was all the better for it. So the other thing I would say is get feed back from a coach from a trusted person, because when you're in it, it's hard to see out of it.

Speaker 2 (25:58):

And we are not comfortable being vulnerable right away. We often need permission. We often need to have a safe place to become vulnerable. And that's what I witnessed with you. Karen, as you walked up on stage, super confident sharing the story, it was very compelling story and zero vulnerability. And the moment you told us it was about you and that it was about your chronic pain. We all leaned in and could not take our eyes off of you. It was the most powerful transformation. One of the most powerful transformations I've seen. And I've seen a lot when you're talking about feedback and this is really, I'm great. I'm really grateful that you brought this up. Karen feedback is paramount. And you also need to know when you're asking for feedback and from you. Many of my speakers in the past have asked for feedback one or two weeks before their Ted talk and we're not specific.

Speaker 2 (26:58):

And all of a sudden they're getting feedback from random people. I think you should change the beginning. I don't really like what you're doing with the choreography and the blocking is not good. And all of a sudden they have absolutely no confidence. And that's because they weren't specific in asking for feedback three months before the event ask for feedback from somebody you trust a coach, whomever, because you have time to make those adjustments two weeks or one week before your event. Let's say two weeks. I'd like to know if there's anything about this specific talk that you love week before. You're a warm body. I don't want you to say anything afterwards, except thank you for giving this talk. Right? So get really specific when you're asking for feedback so that you don't derail yourself a week or two before, you're about to deliver a talk that you have memorized and no longer have time to make adjustments.

Speaker 2 (27:57):

Yeah. And that is great advice. And it reminds me of advice that jazz, who we both know, lovely, lovely, jazz set on this podcast. She said, you know, cause we were talking about asking for feedback from people and she's like, you wouldn't leave your apartment to go get a cup of coffee and ask every person you passed on the street. What kind of coffee you should get? Because you're going to get a different answer. And it's just crazy-making. It is crazy-making and nobody needs crazy-making two weeks before they're set to give a Ted talk. No, that's the visualization making needs to be happening. You need to be visualizing what it looks like to walk out onto that stage. You need to be visualizing what it looks and feels like to be delivering perfect mandating, powerful idea, worth spreading. You need to be visualizing what it's going to feel like when they applaud and when they rise to their feet and give you a standing ovation, you need to be visualizing what it means to walk into an out of that red circle.

Speaker 2 (29:01):

And this is part of the deep preparation work that I do with my TEDx speakers and with my community and clients is it is a big deal to walk out onto that stage and deliver your powerful message. You can change and save lives by speaking, whether it's in the red circle or not. So taking the role of speaker seriously and understanding the magnitude of your responsibility requires you to go above and beyond. It's not just about memorizing and talk and going and doing performance. Think about how powerful it is when that person is going to be watching your video. And they're going to think differently. They're going to potentially behave in their lives and that ripple effect can reach every other person in their life. So it is a very big responsibility when you are speaking from any stage. So give yourself permission, set yourself up for success by going through the process.

Speaker 2 (29:58):

And that's why I say nine months, because you really want to give yourself enough time to identify that idea, cultivate that talk, frat that beautiful, powerful talk, memorize it in a way that is so solid. You, if the chandelier falls on your head, you could absolutely continue and then give yourself the success set up by visualizing, by knowing what you're going to eat. And at what time you're going to eat it before you take that stage so that your body is not using energy to digest, but it's using energy to support you as a performer. This is about being an athlete and any and everything that you can do. You want to shoot that ball into the, into that hoop over and over again so that your muscle memory is ready to go. It is game on and Kyrene did this so beautifully. We worked like an athlete, works repetition over and over mindset. Self-Sabotage we did every possible trick and, and practice in order to have her walk out onto that stage and own it. She got a standing ovation.

Speaker 1 (31:06):

Yeah, she's amazing. It was an amazing talk. And again, we'll have that in the show notes here as well. Well, you know, I was going to ask you, would you like to sort of wrap things up, but you already did it. That was a perfect way. Now, before we before we end the podcast where can people find you? And if you don't mind, can you talk about your new book?

Speaker 2 (31:28):

Oh my goodness. I would love to talk about my new book. I'm a new author and it is so exciting. It's all the influential voice saying what you mean for lasting legacy. And it is on presale now@theinfluentialvoicebook.com. And you can find me at Tricia, brooke.com. I'm on Instagram, LinkedIn, and the influential voice is really a book about how to be a good human being while also teaching you to effectively communicate on stage and off. And I wrote it in June of 2020 instead of going to Mexico for 10 days with my husband, because we were all quarantining inside. I decided to use that time to write a book about how to teach people, to communicate with dignity, respect, curiosity, and love. And it is my hope that it will teach people that their voice matters and how to use their voice for good in the world.

Speaker 1 (32:25):

Amazing. And what a great use of time during quarantine. Geez. I feel like I just like rearranged my apartment. You wrote a whole book. That's amazing. Amazing. Yeah. And so we'll have links to that as well. Now, Trisha, before we leave I've asked you this question a couple of times already, but you're going to get it again. At what advice would you give to your younger self knowing where you are in your life,

Speaker 2 (32:51):

In your career? You can not imagine what is waiting for you. So keep taking those forward steps, excellent

Speaker 1 (32:59):

And advice. And Tricia, thanks so much. This was fabulous. I think everyone here will be inspired. They will start looking up those TEDx stages and, and again, get your book, get Chris Anderson's book, Ted talks. I think there are two great resources to sort of set you up for success in your speaking career, regardless of you get on a Ted stage or not. So thank you so much for coming on. Thank you, Karen and everyone. Thanks so much for listening. Have a great week and stay healthy, wealthy and smart.

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