As we approach Thanksgiving, a few things we’re thankful for.
Watching our seventeen speakers deliver their talks at “Now You Know” last Saturday was absolutely thrilling. I’ve had the pleasure of watching these speakers develop, refine and practice their talks over the last few months and to see them executed so well when it mattered the most took my breath away.
Because the speakers delivered their talks so effortlessly, it might not be obvious to the audience just how much work they had to do to get to that level. Selected speakers were invited to speak back in August. In the nearly two months since, each speaker spent hundreds of hours writing, re-writing, practicing, rehearsing, re-writing, practicing, rehearsing… repeat ad infinitum. I heard from the husband of a speaker who said they’d heard their wife’s talk no less than three times a day over the course of the last two months.
Each speaker was paired with a volunteer to help develop their talk. This volunteer role is called “Curator”. Each curator also spent dozens if not hundreds of hours working with their speaker. Every speaker has different needs and curators have to be adept at being editors, coaches and sometimes shoulders to cry on.
For a talk to appear effortless it takes a nearly incomprehensible amount of work.
Huge thanks to our TEDxSanAntonio “Now You Know” main stage Speakers:
- Ethan Aldrich
- Dr. Lindsay Bira
- Dr. Travis Block
- Tony Bowie
- Rev. Reuben Lashley
- Dr. Esteban López
- Sarah Lyons
- Heidi Musser
- Art Nicholson
- Troy Peters
- Douglas Petersen
- Lisa Phillips
- Stephanie Scheller
- Jason Straughan
- Mayor Ivy Taylor
- Christina Wallace
- Rob Wicall
Great job everyone!
Beyond the seventeen speakers on the main stage, let’s not forget about the six brave and lucky souls who delivered TEDxSanAntonio Pop-Up Talks during the lunch break. TEDxSanAntonio Pop-Up Talks were an experiment for us. They were inspired by our first visit to the Mays Family Center at the Witte Museum about a year ago.
As we set up the application process in the morning I was a little worried that we might not have anyone apply. Maybe the thought of delivering a talk with only a few hours notice might seem too intimidating. Well, I’m happy to report that I was massively wrong about that – we had more than 20 attendees apply. We initially planned to have only five speaking slots so I notified those five attendees and one alternate. The process ran so smoothly that we were able to accommodate all six of them. We saw some absolute FIRE in the amphitheater at lunch. I have a feeling we might see some of these folks on the main stage in the future.
Huge thanks to our TEDxSanAntonio Pop-Up Talk Speakers:
- Fiona Burmeister-Morton
- Martha K. Grant
- David Henry
- Daniel Herbruger
- Monique Jones
- Cliff Zintgraff
More Thanksgiving Thank You’s:
- Thanks to our Emcee, Sonny Melendrez
- Thanks to our Sponsors
- Thanks to our Volunteers
- Thanks to our Attendees
Photo:
Foreground: Lisa Phillips; SGT Rambo.
Kneeling Row: Rob Wicall; Esteban López; Tony Bowie; Art Nicholson.
Standing Row: Sonny Melendrez; Stephanie Scheller; Ethan Aldrich; Reuben Lashley; Jason Straughan; Sarah Lyons; Travis Block; Heidi Musser; Lindsay Bira; Douglas Peterson.