Posted on November 21, 2012 by Brian Reposted 2013 February

How TEDxSanDiego Speakers and Performers Connect with Their Audience and Inspire Action

When a hand-picked group of speakers takes the stage at Irwin Jacobs Qualcomm Hall on December 1 at this year’s TEDxSanDiego, they will be part of a growing, worldwide phenomenon intent on sharing ideas and making an impact. Since 2010, the locally organized, not-for-profit event has assembled an array of speakers and performers. Each speaker explores a theme – this year it’s “Cause & Affect” – from the perspective of his or her experience or area of expertise in technology, education, the arts, and beyond. Their goal is to cause participants to affect their world in some positive, meaningful way. Adding to the challenge: no talk can exceed 20 minutes.

So how does a speaker know if he or she has connected with the audience? It goes far beyond the applause. Presenters from TEDxSanDiego 2010 and 2011 weighed in with their unique perspectives on the anatomy of a great TEDxTalk.

ECOLIFE Foundation Executive Direction William Toone says the audience needs to see themselves in the topic. “It has to resonate with something they know, something they wondered about, something they love or hate or fear, but is about them. The real indication is when they have no desire to leave the room when you are done.”

Holding an audience’s attention for anything longer than five minutes in today’s short-attention-span world can be difficult, especially when your audience is accomplished in their own right, as are TEDxSanDiego participants. Jake Wood uses that to assess the quality of his connection with the audience. Wood, a combat veteran and co-founder of Team Rubicon, says “There’s a way to sense everyone’s eyeballs are focused on you – not looking down at their iPhone. When you have that kind of rapt attention, even in a dark auditorium, it’s palpable.”

For Sekou Andrews, the transformation he can affect is the true measure of a great talk. Andrews is an award-winning Poetic Voice whose work has been featured on such national media outlets as Good Morning America, MTV and BET. “A presentation should be a journey that leaves you somewhere different, more lifted, more hopeful, more informed, engaged and ignited than you were when it began. My goal is to transform audiences from interested attendees to delighted participants… from informed receivers to enrolled responders… from smartphone skeptics slouched in their seats texting or checking emails, to wide-eyed converts, leaned forward in their seats engaged.”

The electricity in the room is what tells Dr. Martha Beck that she’s connecting. “When I accidentally say something that resonates with a fair number of audience members, I can feel a sort of subtle electrical tide rising through the room.  If I try to chase that sensation, it disappears.  If I relax, it feels as if I’m actually riding it, like a surfer on a wave. “

Hargo Khalso, who with partner Sanjay Parekh, is the acoustic band Hargo, says applause is kind of an afterthought. It’s the personal connection that really matters. “As any performer can tell you, there is a moment when you realize you’ve established the connection with the crowd. You feel the barrier between you and them disappear and it’s just casual. For us, a great performance is one where we feel uplifted and can sense that the audience is feeling the same thing.”

Personal interaction can be immediate, as it is for Viet Nguyen, principal architect and lead programmer for NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System.  “It’s definitely the personal feedback after the talk. When people come up to me and tell me they didn’t know about something until I showed them, then I’ve done my job.”

For some TEDxSanDiego speakers, the affirmation of an impactful talk comes in the days and months following the event.  Industrial designer Gad Shaanan puts it best, “When people listen intently to what you have to say and connect with your philosophy and then come over to you years later and talk about ‘that talk you gave’ and tell you how much they use it in business and life… that is when you know you made a difference.”

Attendees at this year’s TEDxSanDiego will have the opportunity to engage with 25 dynamic speakers and performers. If past talks are any indication, they are in for a day of jaw-dropping ideas, entertainment and inspiration that will motivate them to “cause and affect” their world.