TEDxSalford

Choose Your Attitude

Debra Searle gave my favourite talk of TEDxSalford 2.0. If you’ve never heard of her (I hadn’t until she showed up on stage) here’s some background from the blurb accompanying the video:

Debra Searle is a renowned British adventurer, author and TV presenter. The media worldwide went crazy for the story of the 5ft 5″ young lady who carried on rowing the Atlantic solo when her husband, an experienced oarsman, left the boat after developing an uncontrollable fear of the ocean. Yet, she dared to believe and 111 days later she rowed into Port St Charles, Barbados, to a rapturous welcome. Debra, who was loving life at sea in a 23 foot plywood boat, saw no reason to stop and rowed on to become the youngest and only the third woman in the world to have rowed an ocean solo.

I think this video demonstrates many of the common qualities that make TED talks great:

It’s fascinating

In 20 minutes you’re given a rush of captivating insight into a topic you likely knew very little about before.  Debra’s story has the scale and drama of a great film, and is all the more enthralling because the tales of nearly being sunk by sea turtles and super tankers are all true.

It’s personal

Much of the strength of Debra’s speech is in making you feel like you’re on the boat with her.  Like all TED talks you’re getting it straight from the source.  This isn’t a news report or a teacher being paid to tell you something they couldn’t care less about – it’s a real person speaking with passion about their experiences, insights and knowledge.

It’s inspirational

Debra’s speech contains many a nugget of life-wisdom, without being heavy-handed about it. My instinctive reaction to anything that sounds vaguely life-coachy is generally slightly uncomfortable cynicism (we English males are socially programmed that way), but you’ve got to give credit to techniques that worked in helping Debra achieve something so epic, on her own.  In particular her advice to “choose your words wisely” stuck with me.

It’s funny!

Watch out for Debra’s sister’s reaction to being told she wants to give up, and the texts she receives from her family en route.  Like many TED speeches this, aside from anything else, is an accomplished piece of entertainment.

There you have it. It’s a great video to show any unconvinced friends what TED’s all about. If you haven’t watched it, check it out!