Model TED Talk #1: Alexa Meade

Although this TED Talk is more of a personal essay, it is one that inspires me in my own life.  That's why I love it.  Alexa Meade doesn't say it explicitly, but she heavily implies that she has taken her own path in life and that has made all the difference.

At first glance, a viewer might think this TED Talk is simply about a woman who is an artist.  She offers many examples of her work, in which she takes live subjects and actually paints them into a background.  Yes, she paints directly on the person to make these amazing works of art in which you can't quite tell where reality stops and artistry starts.  Look at this example of a man on a bus. 

Look closely.  This guy is not photoshopped into this picture of people on a bus.  As Alexa says "There's no photoshop here."  Alexa actually painted on him and then put him on a bus with non-painted people.  I can hear you already:

uh, Mendelis, who cares?  So she painted some guy and stuck him on a bus? 

Good question.  And to others this may seem like just a weird artist doing her weird stuff.  But the story Alexa Meade tells about how she got to this place is extremely inspiring.  Did you know that Alexa Meade actually has a degree in Political Science?  She is open about this in her talk.  She jokes about getting this degree and being so excited to sit behind a desk for hours at a time.  Something in her heart changed her mind.  She wound up in her parents' basement creating art.

Why This is a Model TED Talk
To me, a TED Talk is more than just sharing ideas.  A TED Talk should make the viewer take a different angle on the world around them.  The speaker should show the world that seems ordinary at first glance, and then hit the viewer with an idea or perspective he or she maybe never thought of before.  But, the speaker shouldn't present him or herself as some genius.  Rather, just an everyday person who has the optimism and eye for the amazing.

Alexa Meade does this in her talk.  She didn't give up her life to discover this unrealistic goal that no one else can ever even imagine attaining.  She just . . . "played with shadows."  When I create my TED Talk, I want my audience to feel like they can discover or create something amazing too.

Apollo Robbins TED Talk: The art of misdirection

Apollo Robbins:  The art of misdirection

This TED Talk features Apollo Robbins and secrets behind his pick-pocketing genius.  Robbins shows us that it's only your outward attention that needs to be distracted to be able to "pick your pockets," it's your inward attention.  Robbins has his audience move their attention to memories, which distracts them even more than simply drawing their attention in another direction.






What I like best about this TED Talk was that Robbins used audience participation.  He stated his theory about the ability to draw away people's attention, but then actually demonstrated it too.  My favorite part was when he changed his own appearance without anyone noticing it happen.