Comments on: (Belated) BTC: Yep, Douglas Wolk is Still Totally Rad

By: foxtongue

foxtongue — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:06:05 +0000

Less a mini TED talk and more a younger, americanized, more bit sized PechaKucha.

By: Fritz Bogott

Fritz Bogott — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:34:18 +0000

Thanks @KK. For my next Ignite talk I’m planning to role-play a compulsive liar I used to know. His need to top anybody else’s story (no matter what the story was) was belligerent bordering on the violent. I’m figuring that type of madness might serve me well.

I dig the open-mic-y-ness of Ignite. I can’t think of another easy opportunity to bomb in front of 750 people. It’s a pretty damn good self-knowledge exercise. And the talks that rock, rock!

By: Mer

Mer — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:50:33 +0000

Yeah, Douglas has that effect on people. :)

By: Jon Munger

Jon Munger — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:46:43 +0000

Douglas is smart like Dr. Doom. When I met him, he sent Nadya and I back with an armload of graphic novels. I was as happy as Tony Montana in a coke factory.

By: Kale Kip

Kale Kip — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:05:36 +0000

@Fritz

Stage fright… well that’s something you just have to overcome. You can do it the hard way by speaking audiences so many times that you hate yourself so much you get indifferent. You hate yourself after a failed speech, right? Well, you haven’t suffered enough!

But there is an alternative: Get on a stage, do a five second silence to build anticipation (it is the optimum time) and then pull your pants down or something the like. Right after that, you will actually notice that nothing has happened, that it is really not so bad to make an ass out of yourself. After that, speaking for audiences is a push over. It’ll take only one minute of precious ignite time, and you will have four minutes left to speak about anything you want.

By: Mer

Mer — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:12:58 +0000

Um, sure, I guess it’s like the scrappy little sibling of TED? But there are some major differences, too.

By: L

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:38:11 +0000

Hm, so basically like a TED talk. Really enjoyed the Zoe Keating!

By: rickie

rickie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:25:25 +0000

this was totally geeky but awesome at the same time!

By: Fritz Bogott

Fritz Bogott — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:29:35 +0000

Sublime.

…

I gave an Ignite talk a few months ago that fell down platsch based upon stage fright and inadequate/misdirected practice. Anybody have suggestions how best to gear up for one of these?