Written by: Vickie Sullivan | April 19, 2018
Top Thought Leadership Strategies from TED2018
Another TED Conference for the record books — TED2018: The Age of Amazement in Vancouver. It was fabulous, with conversations during the breaks just as interesting as the main stage speakers.
Speaking of speakers, here is the first installment of my top TED2018 Talks. While I liked the bold vision of the event, this list contains the best examples of people who are using the thought leadership tools of the trade. Drum roll please. …
Best use of analogy: Max Tegmark’s talk about how AI could overtake human intelligence. His use of a rocket launch was a great way to organize his points and was a fitting analogy for our journey in this area.
Best demonstration: Supasorn Suwajanakorn’s killer opening. The Google computer scientist showed four videos of President Obama saying the same words and asked us which one was real. The shock answer: none. Then he showed us how he can create those fake videos using photos and audio files freely available. Cool, yet scary.
Best provocative description: Thoughtless pessimism. Psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinkershowed us compelling statistics that prove civilization is a lot better off than we think. Don’t worry; be happy.
Best call to action: Tracee Ellis Ross (star of popular TV comedy “Blackish”) kicked us off with an uncomfortable conversation about the Me Too movement. Her conclusion, though — with “invitations” for both sides — was a fabulous ending that brought all of us together.
Best use of voice: YouTube superstar Simone Giertz(ask your kids about her) could’ve just told her story. But instead, her quirky and authentic style made those who didn’t know her love her. It was a fabulous alignment of what you do and who you are.
Best mental picture: Biomedical engineer Giada Gerboni claims her territory with “soft robotics,” advocating a new, more limber machine. Great juxtapositions make great labels.
You can watch all of their presentations via the TED2018 website. Note: There is a $25 fee for each session, each of which has several presentations.
Your best next step: Check out these talks, and ask yourself, “How can I apply what they did?”