Preparing for a TEDx talk

I’ll be speaking at a TEDx event in KL in a few weeks time. The event is unique as it’s one of the rare TEDx that’s in Mandarin. Needless to say it’s a very challenging talk as the last time I did public speaking in Mandarin is probably 讲故事比赛 in primary school.

I’ve learned a few things so far:

• Radio DJs do read your blog because they need to create relevant questions to ask you, so no matter how abandoned it seems, there’s always gonna be someone reading it
• Being interviewed on a phone is not as bad as it seems. Before a camera one has to sit and look proper, which is totally my weakness. On a phone however, I could be dancing around the house to get the mind to expand my vocabulary (especially in Mandarin!!) at an instant
• I didn’t know preparing for public speaking consumes me emotionally, and bleeds into my working environment. Need to find a way around it. So far one trick has worked, that is to repeat the same speech rather than always updating it to the latest and greatest content available.
• Last but not least, never credit your photographer for every picture he took for you. Just like if you were to rearrange my music for your group’s specific need, just say you’re the arranger, it’s ok. Every artist I know makes deliberate decisions on their art. If you change it (crop, recolour, touch up etc.) it’s no longer the original work, and artists might not always want to be associated with it for professional integrity reasons primarily.

3 weeks to go! *back to slides*