Editor's Note: This is our first guest post by one of our speakers, John Marcotte, whose talk, "Girls can be their own superheroes," captured the hearts of real life superheroes everywhere. In this post, John shares three of his favorite talks. If you're a TEDxSacramento fan and would like us to feature your top three, please email us. For the *live* TEDxSacramento experience, register for our next conference.
By John Marcotte
I will start by admitting defeat..
I was asked to share my three “favorite” TED or TEDx talks, and I can’t. Not because TED talks are not brilliant, funny, poignant and inspiring -- they are; often all at the same time -- but because there are so many brilliant, funny, poignant and inspiring talks that it becomes impossible to choose a favorite. It’s a surplus of riches, and we won’t even get into the fact that I have only seen a small fraction of all the Talks out there.
Since I can’t pick three favorites, instead I am going to choose three talks that explore different ways TED and TEDx speakers inspire and inform me.
Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are
I knew Amy Cuddy’s research before I ever saw her talk. I actually cited her research on “power poses” in my own TEDxSacramento talk, but she is the source of the genius that I only skim the surface of. Her talk is one of the most popular of all time, and it explores how you can become a better person just by changing the way that you stand.
Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how "power posing" -- standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident -- can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.
Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity
Charlie Todd is the man behind Improv Anywhere. His large scale, public pranks are often brilliant, but never mean-spirited. He is a hero to me because he shows that you can make the world a better place for the people around you if you just try. There is a powerful, empowering message hidden among the pantsless subway rides and grocery-store musicals.
http://www.ted.com Charlie Todd causes bizarre, hilarious, and unexpected public scenes: Seventy synchronized dancers in storefront windows, "ghostbusters" running through the New York Public Library, and the annual no-pants subway ride. At TEDxBloomington he shows how his group, Improv Everywhere, uses these scenes to bring people together.
Terry Moore: How to tie your shoes
While I have seen dozens of TED talks that inspire me, challenge me or make me see the world in a different way, I can honestly say that there is not a single talk that I use more frequently in my day-to-day life than Terry Moore’s “How to tie your shoes.” I had wrongly assumed I knew all there was to know about tying shoes and that there was no way to improve upon the system I had been using since childhood.
I was wrong.
http://www.ted.com Terry Moore found out he'd been tying his shoes the wrong way his whole life. In the spirit of TED, he takes the stage to share a better way. (Historical note: This was the very first 3-minute audience talk given from the TED stage, in 2005.)
So there you have it. Three TED talks -- all worth watching, all showcasing different ways that watching TED talks can make you a better person and the world a better place as a result.