Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit

Link to Angela Lee Duckworth's Talk: The key to success? Grit
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     In Angela Lee Duckworth’s Talk: The key to success? Grit, she discusses what motivates individuals and she believes that is grit. She defines it as: “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.” She continues her talk by explaining her methods of testing and building her credibility before describing how grit applies to education. She believes grit is what helps student succeed in school, and now she wants educators and scientists to figure out ways to teach grit and help students develop the skills that allow them to set long-term goals and follow through with them, therefore helping them stay in school and finishing their education successfully. She ends the talk by explaining a few methods of how to build grit, but ultimately leaves it up to us and herself to figure out better solutions in the future for how to build grit and inspire students throughout their education.

Do you know anyone that has true grit? How has it helped them to succeed?

Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind

Link to Lisa Bu's Talk: How books can open your mind
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     In Lisa Bu’s Talk: How books can open your mind, she presents a unique perspective of her childhood in China; a perspective that I had never considered because I was born and raised in America. From a young age, Bu was told she had to go to a certain school and have a certain job, even though she had a lifelong dream to be a Chinese Opera Singer. Since she wasn’t able to get any support education from any of the adults in her life, she turned to books. Bu explains that books gave her new insight into the lives of other individuals, and the hardships they have endured. It gave her a new perspective on her life and inspired her to do what she believed in and felt was right.
     Bu’s speech is interesting and engaging through her use of humor and examples of books and writers that are well known. She also uses examples of literature from her home country, and explains the significance and opportunities gained by reading books in two different languages. Bu provides the viewer with a new way to look at books and literature and inspires us to go home and read a book to help us better understand the world and other people’s situations and lives. She also encourages reader to practice comparative reading, an interesting concept that I had never tried before. Comparative reading entails reading two books that are similar in events, time periods, topics, etc. and comparing and contrasting them as you read. I plan on trying out this method once I get some free time, as I believe it will be a learning experience that will help broaden my mind and my perspective on particular events.

What are some of your favorite books that inspire you? What about these books inspires you?

Angela Patton: A father-daughter dance ... in prison

Link to Angela Patton's Talk: A father-daughter dance ... in prison
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     In Angela Patton’s talk, A father-daughter dance… in prison, Patton tells a lively story for her viewers. She explains how a father daughter dance in prison came to be. While Patton’s story is fascinating and engaging, her message is even more important: prisoners are still people and deserve to be treated fairly. Just because a man is in prison, doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to have a relationship with his daughter or family. By creating a father daughter dance within prisons, the men and daughters were able to create bonds and memories that would otherwise not be possible. Patton’s story is a friendly reminder that we can all be doing things to help girls and families in the community… sometimes all it takes is listening to young girls and helping them develop their ideas.

What are some other things prisoners and families could do together while they are in jail? Have you heard of any unique concepts being implemented in various prisons?

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: Women entrepreneurs, example not exception

Link to Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's Talk: Women entrepreneurs, example not exception
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     In Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s talk, Women entrepreneurs, example not exception, Lemmon discusses women and their ambitions. Lemmon provides information about women from not only America, but various other countries such as Afghanistan and Bosnia. She provides interesting insight and perspectives that many of us are not exposed to and able to experience for ourselves. 

     The main purpose of this talk is to educate individuals on the challenges and experiences of women entrepreneurs. By educating society, women entrepreneurs may be able to gain more respect and help, especially when it comes to financial aid. Lemmon is an effective speaker through her tone and diction. She clearly explains her personal connection to this topic and why it matters to her.
     Lemmon isn’t the only one who believes in women entrepreneurs as Geri Stengel also does. In her article 11 Reasons 2014 Will Be A Break Out Year For Women Entrepreneurs in Forbes, she explains the rising success of female entrepenuers. She states, “The number of $10-million-plus women-owned firms increased by 57% — a growth rate nearly 50% more than $10-million-plus firms overall according to Growing Under the Radar: An Exploration of the Achievement of Million-Dollar Women-Owned Firms”. She also explains, “There is room for improvement, but the U.S. ranked #1 among 17 countries on having the conditions that foster high potential female entrepreneurship, according to Gender-Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI).” Hopefully 2015 will continue to be a positive, success year for female entrepreneurs.

Do you know any women entrepreneurs? If so, share their stories (i.e. who they are, what they do, how long they have been doing it, etc.)

Amy Purdy: Living beyond limits

Link to Amy Purdy's Talk: Living beyond limits
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     In Amy Purdy’s Talk: Living beyond limits, she opens with the question, “If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want your story to go?” She then explains the situation which first made her ask herself this question, and that was a rare disease that left her with a 2% chance of living. Purdy lived, but she sadly lost both of her legs in the process. While this was a hard phase of Purdy’s life, it also forced her to find her inner confidence and positivity to push through her situation and move on with her life. Instead of seeing the bad in the situation, she saw the good: with prosthetic legs, she could now be as tall (or short) as she wanted, she could have whatever shoe size she wanted, and her feet would no longer get cold when she went snowboarding. Purdy’s personal story reminds us all that there is good in every situation, and each one of us can choose to see the bad, and live an unhappy life, or we can choose to see the good and make the best out of our situations and be happy.

Question for you all: If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want your story to go?

Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion

Link to Rita Pierson's Talk: Every kid needs a champion
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     In Rita Pierson’s talk: Every kids need a champion, Pierson encourages everyone to support and inspire children in their education. Pierson has been an educator for the past 40 years and has a lot of experience with different types of students. In her talk, she shares some of the successes and failures she has had as a teacher, mainly to emphasize for others what has worked for her. She admits to once teaching an entire lesson wrong, and having to admit to the class that she had incorrectly taught them. But even though she messed up, it was OK, because it taught her students that its alright for everyone to mess up, and that it is best to own up to your mistakes and make them right whenever possible.
     One of her main points is the necessity of believing in students; if they know their educator doesn’t believe in them, how are they expected to believe in themselves? Pierson explains, “Can we stand to have more relationships? Absolutely. Will you like all your children? Of course not. And you know your toughest kids are never absent. Never. You won't like them all, and the tough ones show up for a reason. It's the connection. It's the relationships. And while you won't like them all, the key is, they can never, ever know it. We teach anyway, because that's what we do.” Pierson encourages positivity in all situations, and I believe her talk is one that all instructors can benefit from watching and considering her advice.

Who was one of your favorite teachers? What qualities made them such an excellent teacher? Did they share any common methods or beliefs with Pierson? 

Katherine Fulton: You are the future of philanthropy

Link to Katherine Fulton's Talk: You are the future of philanthropy
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     In Katherine Fulton’s Talk: You are the future of philanthropy, Fulton does an excellent job of explaining philanthropy clearly, while inspiring viewers to get involved and make a difference in a way that matters to them. Fulton clears up confusions that philanthropy only means giving money; she explains, more importantly, it's about giving time and talents too. These are things we all have and can give to the charities, organizations, and social movements we are most interested in. 
     Fulton gives lots of examples of charities and organizations individuals can become involved in, but she always makes sure to state that people should do what they are most passionate about. She ends her talk by encouraging each and every one of us to inspire our future generations, just as her ancestors have inspired her. I found the end of her speech to be very motivating and emotionally engaging, and think it was the perfect ending to encourage people to go out in the community and get involved by giving their time, talents, or money.

What philanthropies are you passionate about? What do you do to help those causes?

Hanna Rosin: New data on the rise of women

Link to Hanna Rosin's Talk: New data on the rise of women
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     In Hanna Rosin’s Talk: New data on the rise of women, Rosin provides uplifting facts and statistics for women about their increased involvement in society. She summarizes that more women are getting degrees, getting jobs, becoming managers and higher positions, and many more exciting statistics. While her talk is female centered, she does a great job of avoiding “man hating” or putting males down. Instead, she provides the facts as they are, and makes a point to tell men that this is important information for all men and women to know.      
     Rosin’s facts are clear and easy to understand which can sometimes become challenging when giving a talk on research that is over your audience’s head. Her graphs and images help further explain her points and some of them (especially the ones of celebrities) provide the audience some entertainment. I personally enjoyed her stories about her experiences, especially in Kansas, because I am originally from there! It was interesting to hear her experiences and how they relate to her information.      
     A few days after reviewing Rosin’s talk, I began to observe my classes and the percentage of males to females. I believe I am in very gender-neutral courses, such as psychology, mass media law, and communication, but I found it interesting to note that almost all of my classes have more women than men. I think I may be doing some research in the near future of the amount of women to men at my university, and other universities around the country, as I think it is fascinating to compare different schools and states. More to come. 

Were you surprised by Rosin’s statistics on the rise of women? Why or why not? Do you have any personal experiences about women rising in society that you would like to share?

Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model.

Link to Cameron Russell's Talk: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model.
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     In Cameron Russell’s TED Talk, she describes what life is truly like as a model. While she discusses the perks, the pretty pictures, and the wonderful travel experiences, she also describes the hardships and insecurities. She explains that just because you are pretty and thin, does not mean that you are not insecure or doubting yourself constantly. Beauty does not always come from your looks on the outside, but from how you feel on the inside that really makes you feel beautiful.
     I found Russell’s speech to be effective through her use of humor and real life examples, as well as her tone. She was relatable and down to earth, which made her talk easy to listen and understand her point of view. While her speech was effective and inspiring, I do wish Russell had focused her ideas on one issue. Besides inner beauty, Russell also touched on race issues, especially within modeling. But due to the fact that her talk was rather short, it was difficult to keep up and know exactly the purpose of the talk. I wish Russell had developed the race issues into its own talk because it would have been a really interesting topic. Russell made her point clear when she ended her talk with her takeaway regarding beauty, which helped to bring the speech together.

What topic did you enjoy the most in her talk? What topic do you wish she had discussed further?

Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

Link to Jill Bolte Taylor's Talk: My stroke of insight
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     In Jill Bolte Taylor’s talk, Taylor describes what it feels like to have a stroke. Taylor is a brain scientist, who was able to study herself and understand what happened to her upon having a stroke. She explains her research and scientific explanations clearly, so those with little knowledge of the brain can understand just as easily as those who are knowledgeable. Taylor surprised the audience when she brought a real human brain to the stage to help her explanations.
     Taylor’s speaking method was effective because she was clear and concise, but also animated, and inspiring. It is evident that Taylor is passionate about what she is discussing, as she even becomes emotional when sharing her ideas. Taylor explains not only did she have a physical stroke, but also in her moment of life or death, Taylor had a “stroke of insight” that helped her understand how meaningful our lives are and the joy and beauty of doing all that we can with our time. Taylor encourages us all to live life to the fullest and experience our stroke of insight (just hopefully ours is not during an actual stroke).

What did you think of Taylor’s speaking style? Did it inspire you? Why or why not?

Susan Cain: The power of introverts

Link to Susan Cain's Talk: The power of introverts
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     In Susan Cain’s talk: The power of introverts, Cain explains the need for introverts and the skills they bring. She believes our society is centered around extroverts and helping them succeed, but we need to be focusing more on helping both kinds of people, as there are no true introverts or extroverts. “Even Carl Jung, the psychologist who first popularized these terms, said that there's no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert. He said that such a man would be in a lunatic asylum, if he existed at all. And some people fall smack in the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum, and we call these people ambiverts. And I often think that they have the best of all worlds. But many of us do recognize ourselves as one type or the other.” Our society needs to be more accepting and willing to help introverts and extroverts alike succeed and do their best, in their own way.
     After watching this TED Talk, I was interested to see whether I was an introvert or extrovert, so I found this quiz on Buzzfeed: What Level of Introvert Are You?
I found that I was a “mild introvert” as it stated that I have some introverted tendencies, but you have some extroverted tendencies too. Sometimes it tips more in one direction, but overall, you’re a rather balanced person.

Feel free to take the survey above to see how introverted you are! Were you surprised by your results? How does being an introvert help you? How does being an extrovert help you?

Sandra Aamodt: Why dieting doesn't usually work

Link to Sandra Aamodt's Talk: Why dieting doesn't usually work
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     In Sandra Aamodt’s speech regarding dieting, and why it usually doesn’t work, she uses a variety of tactics to engage her viewers and help them understand her points. Aamodt uses reason with facts and statics, personal stories and struggles, and humor to connect the audience and build her credibility.
     Then, Aamodt breaks her information down so that all viewers can understand it and relate to it. She describes us all as two different types of eaters: “those who rely on their hunger and those who try to control their eating through willpower, like most dieters. Let's call them intuitive eaters and controlled eaters. The interesting thing is that intuitive eaters are less likely to be overweight, and they spend less time thinking about food. Controlled eaters are more vulnerable to overeating in response to advertising, super-sizing, and the all-you-can-eat buffet. And a small indulgence, like eating one scoop of ice cream, is more likely to lead to a food binge in controlled eaters”. Once viewers have identified their “type”, they can set goals for dieting success more easily.
     Aamodt’s big idea is not how to diet, or which diets are effective, but how to begin listening to your body and knowing when it is truly hungry and what it is hungry for. Aamodt states, “ Diets don't have very much reliability. Five years after a diet, most people have regained the weight. Forty percent of them have gained even more. If you think about this, the typical outcome of dieting is that you're more likely to gain weight in the long run than to lose it”.

Have you had success with diets? Have you had success with Aamodt’s tactics of learning to listen to your body regarding when it wants to eat and what it wants to eat? Share your experiences!

Courtney Martin: This isn't her mother's feminism

Link to Courtney Martin's Talk: This isn't her mother's feminism
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     In Blogger Courtney Martin’s TED Talk: This isn't her mother's feminism, Martin discusses a variety of issues. She begins her talk by describing her childhood and her parent’s influence on her. Having two feminist parents, Martin followed in their footsteps, and is now her own kind of feminist. Then, Martin shares her three paradoxes, which include: 1. Growing up is about rejecting the past, and then promptly reclaiming it. 2. Sobering up about our smallness and maintaining faith in our greatness all at once. 3. Growing up is about aiming to succeed wildly and being fulfilled by failing really well.
     Martin discusses feminism a lot in her talk, but she also focuses on another issue: failure. While both are important topics, I had a difficult time making the connection between the two issues. This caused me to feel that Martin’s TED Talk was confusing, as I felt she had tried to take on too many topics and ideas in a short period of time. Since she is a great speaker with relevant personal stories and interesting ideas and advice, I would love to hear her split these two topics into two separate TED Talks so that her message is more clear to her audience.

What was the most important thing you took away from Martin's speech? Was there any advice that you found particularly useful that you would share with others? 

JK Rowling: The fringe benefits of failure

Link to JK Rowling's Talk: The fringe benefits of failure
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     Author JK Rowling gave a speech about the fringe benefits of failure at the 2008 Harvard Commencement. Rowling’s speech is informative and entertaining (especially for Harry Potter fans). She states several key ideas and thoughts for students to take away from her speech, while also providing comic relief that keeps them entertained.
     Rowling begins her speech by stating that she had lost several pounds due to her anxiety over giving this speech, but jokes it was a “win-win” situation. She then explains that she must move forward by taking a deep breath, and give her speech the best she can. Rowling also makes jokes such as “This is the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion!” and “I’m fortunate to have friends who didn’t sue me for naming death eaters after them”. These jokes entertain viewers that understand the Harry Potter references, but I did wonder if it made other viewers feel left out. While it is always helpful to entertain and engage your audience, speakers must also be careful to not isolate viewers who do not understand the references or jokes. Viewers who are isolated may become detached and lose interest.
     Rowling had wonderful advice for graduating students such as how to get through a nerve-racking speech, how to grow from failure, and why to value imagination. Rowling describes her personal experience with failure, and how it affected her. Rowling also explains how imagination can helps us all; mainly, it can help us to understand situations we have not experienced ourselves, but others have; it makes us more empathetic and understanding, which ultimately encourages us to help others. She reminds all students that imagination can be a useful skill throughout life, and not just in childhood.

How have you grown from your failures? Do you have any advice regarding failure or imagination that you would like to share with others?

Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are

Link to Amy Cuddy's Talk: Your body language shapes who you are
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     In Social Psychologist Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk, she reports how “your body language shapes who you are”. Cuddy describes how body language affects how not only others see us, but how we see and feel about ourselves as well. She proves that the mind can change the body, but she asks, “can the body change the mind?” The answer is yes. If you stand in a high-power pose for just 2 minutes, your mind will begin to feel more powerful following the pose. This is useful information for occasions such as job interviews, where you may be nervous, but need to seem prepared, intelligent, and powerful.
     Cuddy’s speech engages viewers through her personal stories, facts and statistics, and useful advice that we can all apply to our lives. Cuddy also uses relevant and sometimes comical visual aids that also help keep the viewer’s attention. My favorite part of Cuddy’s speech is her conclusion because she not only wants to help the viewers, but she also challenges each of them to go tell someone else the useful advice of the 2 minute power-pose. Cuddy is attempting to reach and help as many people as possible through word-of-mouth.

Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls

Link to Leymah Gbowee's Talk: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls

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     Leymah Gbowee, a peace activist, discusses how and why we should help young girls discover their greatness. Gbowee describes several different girls that she has met throughout her life that deserve a chance at a better life. Ghbowee goes on to explain what she has done to make a difference, and that is creating a space called the Young Girls Transformative Project. She states, “We go into rural communities and all we do, like has been done in this room, is create the space. When these girls sit, you unlock intelligence, you unlock passion, you unlock commitment, you unlock focus, you unlock great leaders. Today, we've worked with over 300. And some of those girls who walked in the room very shy have taken bold steps, as young mothers, to go out there and advocate for the rights of other young women”.
     Gbowee’s speech is effective through her various speech tactics which include repetition. Primarily, Gbowee repeats the word “wish”, so viewers grasp how badly these girls need help fulfilling their wishes; wishes that are understandable and things we should be striving to change, such as helping more girls go to school, seeking peace for all, helping feed the hungry, and many more. Gbowee’s speech is also effective because she makes these issues real for all viewers, and she does this by discussing a variety of countries and their problems. Gbowee doesn’t want any person to think they don’t have a role to play in solving these issues, because they are occurring everywhere in the world. Gbowee’s speech ends impactfully, with this final remark, “All of these great innovators and inventors that we've talked to and seen over the last few days are also sitting in tiny corners in different parts of the world, and all they're asking us to do is create that space to unlock the intelligence, unlock the passion, unlock all of the great things that they hold within themselves. Let's journey together. Let's journey together”. Her call to action leaves viewers inspired and ready to take on the challenge of helping girls unlock their intelligence, passion, and greatness.

Arianna Huffington: How to succeed? Get more sleep

Link to Arianna Huffington's Talk: How to succeed? Get more sleep
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     Co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington discusses a problem many of us are suffering from daily: a lack of sleep. Huffington explains the importance of sleep, and inspires the audience by explaining how much more we could all accomplish with more sleep.

     While I found Huffington’s speech to be interesting with her personal stories and experiences, I wish she had provided more facts. Including facts on sleep (or lack of) would have made her talk more credible, while also engaging more viewers. After a quick google search, I found a few interesting facts, including: “Although most people need seven to nine hours of sleep each night to function well the next day, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) 1998 Women and Sleep Poll found that the average woman aged 30-60 sleeps only six hours and forty-one minutes during the workweek” (http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/women-and-sleep).
     Facts and statistics such as these may have interested the viewer and helped them identify that they themselves have a problem with how much they sleep. However, I believe Huffington chose to leave out facts such as these because they are negative, and could potentially make viewers feel badly about themselves. Instead, Huffington chose to focus on the positive aspects of getting more sleep, such as the possibilities of more inspiration, more creativity, and more productive decision making.

Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders

Link to Sheryl Sandberg's Talk: Why we have too few women leaders
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     In COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg’s TED Talk: Why we have too few women leaders, Sandberg empowers both men and women. While some women choose to blame men for our gender inequality issues, Sandberg takes the stance that we all need to work together to solve this problem. Sandberg’s talk mainly focuses on what women could and should be doing to improve the workplace for women, but she includes men throughout her talk as well.
     Sandberg’s speech is effective and empowering because of the way she presents her message. First, she begins by engaging the viewer with shocking statistics such as, “Out of 190 heads of states, 9 are women. Of all the people who are in parliament around the world, 13% are women” and several others. Then, she presents the problem: There are not enough women leaders. With the problem, she explains what she believes there to be 3 solutions. These include “One, sit at the table. Two, make your partner a real partner. And three, don't leave before you leave". (For a full explanation of these points, see the video above!) Her points are interesting, clear, and concise so it is easy for viewers to follow along and understand her reasoning.
     Sandberg’s talk is also effective because she connects with the viewer by telling personal stories. She reveals things about her self, such as the story about a woman calling her out for only calling on the men during the Q&A. By showing her personal flaws, and helping us all learn from them, she comes across as honest and approachable. I personally really enjoy Sandberg’s speaking style with the personal stories, statics, and facts she provides to reach her audience. Ultimately, she is helping educate any man or woman who is willing to listen and help improve the issue of too few women leaders.