THE BIG IDEA: Talking with Impact

About this course:

All of us have a unique insight, or a "Big Idea" that could change the world. The potential of our insight to inspire change depends on our ability to identify, articulate, and distill this "Big Idea" for an audience of one or one thousand. This class will use the tools and process of building a TED TALK to enhance and refine presentation literacy, resulting in nothing less than articulating a "Big Idea" that could change the world. Learn to create the most compelling way to engage your audience. Learn how to take the familiar and upend our understanding. Overturn our expectations. Provoke the unexpected response in the service of a call to action. We're not out to create a lecture, pep talk, pitch, self-promotion, sermon, or propaganda. This is about how each of us have the ability to ignite curiosity. To tell a story in the service of disrupting the status quo. To mine your expertise and experience from an unexpected angle, understandable to a 5th grader and challenging to an expert. Each student will present a polished, memorized 12-minute TALK that crystallizes and articulates their "Big Idea." This will be supported by life experience, objective data, and observation. Visual components to your talk will be discussed and integrated as appropriate. Everyone has a TALK in them. How would you unearth and distill the essence of what you’ve learned from your life experience? What's your point of view? What will make a difference? What do you passionately believe? What is your...BIG IDEA?