We caught up with the Irish Polyglot Benny Lewis who shared his story with TEDxSanAntonio back in 2011. Benny’s currently preparing for 4 book launches, but took some time to keep us up to date with how his TEDxSanAntonio talk changed his life.
What was your experience like working with a curator?
Benny Lewis: Excellent – it was my first TEDx and my first true professional speaking experience and the team were extremely helpful!
What first brought you to TEDxSanAntonio?
BL: I wanted to give a talk encouraging adult language learners, and I specifically sought out TEDx events in communities where I felt it would make the greatest impacts. San Antonio has one of the highest populations of Hispanics that do not speak Spanish, so I felt that some help was needed. This relevance to the local community made it a perfect fit.
What tips do you have for future speakers?
BL: Think about not just how your talk might help the world, but how it might help the local community. If a talk isn’t really relevant to the San Antonio community or fitting with the theme of that event, you may want to rethink it. Otherwise, if you are nervous before your talk, watch previous speakers at that event and you’ll get a burst of inspiration!
What’s your favorite TED talk?
BL: How great leaders inspire action – Simon Sinek
How has your life changed since doing your TEDxSanAntonio talk?
BL: A lot! Up until that point, I had only really gotten my message across to encourage adult language learners through my blog and my own YouTube channel. The legitimacy of the TEDx brand and the professionalism in having that talk recorded and edited well made a lot of people take what I had to say more seriously and led to an active speaking career and multiple books being published, as well as further TEDx talks. That first one really did change my life!
What’s your favorite quote from your own talk?
BL: “There are seven days in a week and “someday” is not one of them!”
Where/how can we keep up with you now? What projects, etc. are you working on now?
BL: I’m still blogging on fluentin3months.com, and my biggest passion has been to combine my encouraging language learning words with the world and am honored to be working with a big language learning publisher to combine our efforts in a course, which is getting published in September, starting with Spanish, French, Italian and Spanish. Check it out at languagehacking.com
Follow Benny Lewis here:
Twitter: @irishpolyglot
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fluentin3months
Website: Fluentin3months.com
Watch Benny’s TEDxSanAntonio talk Fluent in Three Months? Rapid Language Hacking from the 2011 It’s Time For… event.
Join the TEDxSanAntonio community and previous speakers at this November’s Now You Know event. Buy your tickets online now. >>>>>> tedxsanantonio.com/2016-fall-speakers/