Reflections from Delivering My 2nd TEDx talk

I just delivered my 2nd TEDx talk last Friday and I had so much fun with the audience!

I talked about what Math can teach us about solving real-life problems and unlocking possibilities.

The big idea was this: “Problems are simply possibilities waiting to be ignited.”

I then shared a formula to solve any problem.

My TEDx talk journey had 3 parts:

1. The Preparation – this was the most challenging part of the journey. It took months for me to fine-tune the idea, write my talk, edit it 100x, and then practice it over and over and over again

2. The Talk – this was the most fun part!!! I loved interacting with the audience and I loved loving the audience through my talk. I really, really enjoyed giving the talk! The stage was my playground.

3. After the talk – this was the most rewarding part. Audience members came up to me and I got to meet them up close, chat with them, and hear their stories on how the talk inspired them and ignited possibilities in them.

It was not all roses, though. Let me share with you some challenges and glitches:

Challenge #1: Nap time ??

The TEDx talk was a whole day event from 8 AM – 6 PM.

We had our lunch break at 11:30 AM.

At around 12:45 PM, I felt very sleepy because it was my nap time. Hahaha! My speaking slot was at 1:30 PM and I wanted to be fully alert during my talk.

So I discreetly closed my eyes from where I was seated.

At 1:00 PM, I was ushered backstage. There was no aircon there, only an electric fan. My concern was that my make-up might melt. Hehe! I had my full make-up on (I hired a professional hair and make-up artist to do my hair and make-up).

While I was backstage, my eyes were too heavy. I just wanted to close my eyes and nap. One of the speakers backstage was friendly and wanted to chat with me. I smiled at him and chatted a bit. Then I had to remind myself of my most important role that day — to deliver the best TEDx talk I can possibly deliver and I am responsible for making sure my body is fully present during my talk.

I smiled at the other speaker and I said, “Let me take a quick nap. I just need to close my eyes for a few minutes. We can connect after our talk.”

He understood.

Challenge #2: Tech glitches

There were some technical glitches during my TEDx talk.

The clicker was given to me while I was already speaking on stage, the monitor where I could see the slides being projected to the audience didn’t work in the first minute, and the clicker wasn’t working well, so the tech team helped me control my slides and the timing of the slides was not perfect.

After my talk, the production team profusely apologized for the glitches. They really felt bad about it, I had to comfort them and say, “It’s okay. I understand that tech glitches do happen. You did your best.”

I and my team had a lot of experience organizing our signature in-person events such as the Global Authors Summit, Mission Happiness Conference, etc. I know how challenging and stressful it is to organize events. That’s why I understood the organizing team.

I chatted with the production team backstage and I learned that one of them didn’t have lunch yet. That was around 1:30 PM.

I bumped into her at 3 pm and she still hasn’t eaten anything since 6 AM.

During snacks, I went to the snacks bar, got some snacks, and brought it to her backstage. She cried. She must have been so hungry and drained already.

The best-case scenario was for everything to work well. But even in the presence of glitches, I could still say the talk was very successful. This was affirmed after my talk when participants came up to me for selfies and they told me how much the talk inspired them and changed their perspective.

Comments from the audience

Some of the comments I got were,

“Your talk inspired me to write a book!”

“Your talk inspired me to sing!”

“Your talk inspired me to go for my dreams!”

“I never thought that I could use my being a Math person and apply it to creativity.”

“Your talk was the best talk I’ve ever heard.” “Your talk was our favorite!”

“I saw my problem in a different light, that there is a solution to it.”

“The A.B.S. Formula is very powerful!”

HIGHLIGHT (Lesson)

“Aim for excellence, and be prepared to handle unexpected glitches.”

Call to ACTION

In my experience organizing our signature events through the years, I can spot from a mile away if an event was well-organized or poorly organized. The TEDx event at U.P. Visayas was well-organized! There were so many moving pieces to make it happen. It was also the most ambitious TEDx event with 20 speakers coming from all over the Philippines and all over the world. Kudos to the organizing team Leah, Sophia, Shanne, Gerianne, Terrence, and everyone! ??

Here’s a tip for speakers: If you speak at events, please be kind to the organizing/production team. It’s no joke to organize events. Also, part of being a professional speaker is to be prepared for tech glitches in case they happen.

Have you encountered a problem recently that you were able to overcome? Congratulations!

Do you have a problem you’re currently dealing with? Remember that problems are simply possibilities waiting to be ignited!

I wish you fearless possibilities!

Sha Nacino

Keynote Speaker l Author l Adjunct Faculty, Asian Institute of Management

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