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How Do You Make Education More Entertaining?
In the 1960's TV had a problem. Kids were watching hundreds of hours of ads and cartoons but they weren't learning anything. That was until Joan Ganz Cooney came along. She revolutionised TV and invented a whole new genre when she launched Sesame Street in 1969 against all the odds. She quickly became one of the most influential people in TV.
The story of how Sesame St. came to life is a real hero's journey about fighting systems, challenging the status quo and taking the advice of kids over consultants.
In this 10-minute episode, I take a quick look behind the scenes of how Joan created Sesame Street, and I share the actual report that secured the original $8M funding.
A little inspiration perhaps for something you're trying to change at the moment... 🌈 🍪EPISODE LINKS
Joan Ganz Cooney [Bio] Sesame Workshop - Joan's Legacy Non-Profit -
What Would Happen If I Got an AI to Interview Me?
Let's find out...
I just asked an AI to INTERVIEW ME and here's what happened!!! 🤯 Everything in this clip is real and the only thing I have edited is the sound quality. (I can't export audio yet from the LLM so I needed to use a lav mic).
I gave the AI model my social media posts, my Linkedin profile and my podcast as a basis for her to ask me questions - so that we could have a conversation about the art & science of business storytelling.
This is only a short playful exercise using the paid version of ChatGPT-4o - but it really shows how much fun anyone can have with AI as your creative collaborator.
Too many folks are still using AI to just do basic tasks, such as writing emails or creating exec summaries of large documents - but the real power is in using it as a critical thinking assistant, or as a curator of content, to help you think about something differently.
Perfect for brainstorming.
Great for interviewing yourself! 🤣
EPISODE LINKS
FREE GEN-AI ACADEMY by IBM "Achieve More With AI" MASTERCLASS.com [SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED]--
For a deeper dive inot the art and science of generative AI, my colleague Amand Ruiz has created a short course to help you know all the core concepts of Generative AI, in just 5 minutes a day.
Topics he covers:
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜
Overview of generative AI and its importance in business.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮: 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀
Exploring different generative AI models like GANs, VAEs, and transformers.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗟 𝘃𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜
Comparing traditional machine learning with generative AI methods.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗣𝗨𝘀
Understanding the role of GPUs in AI and machine learning tasks.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟱: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹
Insights into the resources and processes for training large foundation models.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟲: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀
Discussing techniques for customizing foundation models for specific uses.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟳: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗟𝗟𝗠𝘀 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 -
Overview of the most widely-used large language models and their features.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟴: 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀
Exploring practical applications of generative AI across business sectors.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟵: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸
Understanding the components and architecture of the generative AI tech stack.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟬: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀
Discussing the rise and importance of small language models in AI.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀
Exploring the role, responsibilities, and required skills of AI engineers.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟮: 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜
Discussing the ethical challenges in AI development and deployment.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟯: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽
How to develop a strategic AI integration roadmap for businesses.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟰: 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜
Exploring future developments and trends in AI.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟱: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆
Providing resources and advice for continued AI learning and exploration.
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Why Do Great Talks Do Six Things?
How do you connect with an audience who has no idea who you are? And more importantly, how can you inspire an audience to do something which they didn't expect to do - especially if that concerns giving you a lot of money?
This episode is a fast but thoughtful deep-dive into the art and science of persuasive storytelling according to civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson. His TED Talk received the longest standing ovation in TED history, but not only that - he received $1.3M in donations to his organization from the audience without even askibng for it! How did Bryan's 21 minute talk do that? Especially when, on paper, it looks like this talk shoud not have worked.
In this episode, Jeremy takes a few minutes longer than usual to unpack this talk, and using AI, Jeremy goes behind the scenes to look at what you can learn from Bryan in order to become a better mission critical storyteller yourself.
EPISODE LINKS
Bryan's TED Talk Equal Justice Initiative Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson [BOOK] Just Mercy [TRAILER]EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Why Do Great Talks Do 6 Things?
When I worked at Adobe several years ago I conducted some research which tried to understand what made a great piece of content. Basically – what was the value of a story? It was based on research I did with Facebook a few years earlier when I was working on measuring the value of an audience.
The conclusion that me and my team came to, after simplifying the findings of our research, was that great stories do 6 things really well.
They INFORM, INSPIRE, EDUCATE, ENTERTAIN, CHALLENGE and SOLVE PROBLEMS.
I started to spend a lot of time with neuroscientists and psychologists, and soon started to realise why these 6 elements were present in great stories.
It was a simple left brain – right brain story.
Our emotions are triggered by our right brain (within our lymbic system) – and we then justify those emotions with rational and logical thought based upon our left brain (our neo-cortex).
Right Brain = INSPIRE, ENTERTAIN, CHALLENGE Left Brain = INFORM, EDUCATE, SOLVE PROBLEMSI was working on this research 13 years ago but it came to life again for me this week after I watched the Jamie Foxx & Michael B. Jordan film “JUST MERCY” based on the book by civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson.
If you don’t know who Bryan Stevenson is – you should – and you soon will!
Bryan is one of the most compelling voices in the global pursuit of justice. As a civil rights lawyer, Bryan has dedicated his life to confronting some of the deepest injustices in society. He is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that defends the wrongfully convicted, advocates for the poor, and represents inmates on death row. His work is not just about individual cases but about exposing the systems of inequality that have shaped the modern legal landscape.
Through his advocacy, he has fundamentally reshaped conversations about race, incarceration, and human dignity. His TED Talk has been viewed over 10M times, and his memoir, Just Mercy, (also, film) is a powerful testament to the possibility of hope even in the darkest corners of society.
Bryan’s impact is rooted in his extraordinary ability to communicate truth, inspire empathy, and persuade others to see the humanity in every individual.
So let’s have a look at how he uses the power of words and ideas to create change — and how storytelling, truth, and hope can move people, challenge systems, and influence history. For Bryan, this is about more than the law. It’s about the art and science of persuasion and the role communication plays in building a more just world.
OK...
So I said great stories do 6 things.
After watching the movie Just Mercy I watched Bryan’s TED talk again.
It’s a famous TED talk even among the inner circles of TED because it’s famous for having the longest standing ovation of any TED talk.
And not just that – when Bryan spoke at TED in Long Beach California in 2012, his organisation was in urgent need of $1M to continue fighting a key case in the US Supreme Court. Bryan didn’t mention this once in his talk, but his stories had such an impact on the audience that he left California with $1.3M of contributions from members of the audience.
That’s mission critical storytelling for you.
So - just for fun (!) I fed the transcript of Bryan’s talk into the AI Storytelling Assistants I used at work to analyse talks – to see if I could understand WHY this talk had such a profound impact on the audience - and I made some pretty astonishing discoveries.
Bryan’s talk contained – you guessed it – 6 parts.
His 21 minute, 3,981 word talk meant that he spoke at 190 WPM – which pretty much means it should NOT have worked.
But it had a VERY low readability score of 8.94 (meaning he used short sentences and lots of two-syllable words) which made it easy for the audience to follow, despite the fast pace at which he spoke.
He used the word “BUT” 18X. To add drama or contrast - about once every 70 seconds which is within 5 seconds of the average attention span of an elite-business audience.
Clever.
But let me show you the real discovery.
Stories contain 6 elements right?
Inform. Inspire. Educate. Entertain. Challenge. Solve Problems.
Let’s have a listen.
After Bryan’s short introduction he shares a funny story about his grandmother. He spends almost one-quarter of his time (21%) on this story, but it’s important because it helps to build a strong emotional connection with an audience who didn’t know who he was before.
This story ENTERTAINS.
[GRANDMOTHER]
Next he INFORMS his audience with information about his identity and his relationship with alcohol
[IDENTITY]
For the next few minutes, he talks his mission and how the Equal Justice Initiative which he founded seeks to try and SOLVE some of the PROBLEMS within the criminal justice system
[DESERVE TO DIE?]
By talking about the students who he teaches about race he spends a few minutes EDUCATING the audience with some powerful statistics about the death penalty.
[DEATH PENALTY STATS]
He then CHALLENGES the audience for the next 2 minutes about why our identity is at risk – after previously setting up why identity is so important
[IDENTITY]
And in closing, he spends the final thirds of his time (35% of it – 1,421 words) sharing a powerful story about Rosa Parks which doesn’t just INSPIRE the audience – it inspires them to act.
As evidenced by the $1.3M in donations he received shortly after his talk.
[ROSA]
Great stories don’t just make an audience FEEL something – they inspire an audience to DO something.
Powerful stuff.
Go and watch the full talk for yourself right now.
It’s the best 20-minutes you’ll probably spend doing anything today.
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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How Do You Write Speeches Which Change Lives?
In this episode we put the spotlight on one of the world's greatest speechwriters - Theodore "Ted" Sorensen - so that we can understand how he wrote such iconic speeches for President John F. Kennedy. What was his process? And what can we learn from it to become better communicators ourselves?
There was a simple framework which Ted used, which I'd love to share with you in this 10-minute masterclass. It's a framework I use to train AI models today, and it's a methodology that's as relevant for speakers and storytellers today, as it was back in the 1960's.
EPISODE LINKS
Original recording of "4 Words & 5 Lines" from Ragan Speechwriters Conference (2009) BetterStories.org - The 9 Principles of Better Stories - inspired by Ted's 4+5 Sorensen "On writing JFK's speeches" (4 mins) Sorensen "On writing a good speech" (12 mins) Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History by Theodore C. Sorensen [AUTOBIOGRAPHY]EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
How Do You Write Speeches Which Change Lives?
In the last episode we looked at someone who read for a president. Today, we’re going to look at someone who wrote for a president – so we’re going to step back into a pivotal moment in history, to learn from (one of) the greatest speechwriters of all time: Theodore “Ted” Sorensen — the man who proved that a well-told story really can change the world.
I want to introduce you to the process he used which will help YOU to be a better storyteller an a more effective communicator. He’s responsible for some of the most iconic lines, of any speech, of any generation.
[JFK “ASK NOT”]
When you think of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches in the 1960’s like that Inauguration speech, or his Peace speech at American University (best) or his vision of a moonshot that reshaped history—the mind behind those words was Ted Sorensen.
But Sorensen wasn’t just a wordsmith. He was JFK’s trusted advisor, a master strategist who understood that great communication is about more than beautiful rhetoric. It’s about driving action, creating urgency, and shaping the world. Sorensen was instrumental in ending the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 – 13 days that took the world as close to a global nuclear war as it’s ever been.
Kennedy & Sorensen didn’t just want to deliver speeches—they wanted to craft a vision for a better future.
Here's what Sorensen had to say about writing the kind of speeches which could do that:
[SORENSEN CLIP – WRITING EFFECTIVELY]
Monotone! “Comfortable in anonymity” - COUNSELOR – His memoir. Excellent. I have a lovely leather signed first edition! Unfortunately I never got to meet him.
Sorensen’s legacy is everywhere today. From boardrooms to campaign stages, hi principles—brevity, clarity, and purpose—are timeless. He showed us how to communicate with conviction, inspire people to act, and create narratives that matter. For business professionals, executives, and storytellers, his lessons are more relevant than ever. In a world drowning in information, Sorensen’s genius reminds us: it’s not about saying more—it’s about saying what matters most.
So, how did he do it? And how can we, as modern communicators, adopt his techniques to cut through the noise, build trust, and drive meaningful action?
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Let me transport you back to a short speech he gave 16 years ago.
It’s a freezing cold February morning in 2009.
-3°C.
And one hundred speechwriters are gathered together at the Ragan Speechwriters Conference in Washington, D.C. to hear Sorensen talk about the art and science of rhetoric. Ted was 80 and he needed help getting up to the platform to speak because his health was rapidly deteriorating. He could hardly see, but his mind was still as sharp as a tack. Speaking with eloquence and empathy, Ted stepped onto the platform to inspire this ballroom full of wordsmiths. His session was titled, “How to Write a Good Speech”.
After sharing a few stories and anecdotes for about 15 minutes, Ted delivered his not-so-secret “magical method” process for crafting Kennedy’s communications. And as with all great processes it was short and sweet.
And in 4-minutes he shared some of the most powerful communications advice you’re ever likely to hear. Like all great advice – it’s beautifully elegant and so simple that you can write it on the back of a napkin.
It all comes down to just 4 words and 5 lines.
Here’s what Ted said at that conference (I’m reading from the transcript because the audio quality was pretty bad and might hurt your ears!):
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“It’s not that tough to write a good speech, it’s just a matter of a few lines. Number one, the OUTLINE. I begin everything with an outline.
Number two, the HEADLINE. What’s going to be the headline in this speech? What’s new, and what’s the news in it? What do you want the public to take from this speech?
Then number three, the FRONTLINE. What’s the most important point in this picture, in clear language and will emerge as the front line early in the speech.
And then a few SIDE LINES. Side lines are quotations, or poems (I like to throw poems in occasionally), or humour.
And then finally, the BOTTOM LINE. You ought to have a subtle ending that makes the audience leave the hall saying, “Now that was a memorable speech”. So those are just a few lines.
And then I would add to that, in a way that helps people to remember, are the four features that characterise a good speech; number one, CLARITY (that’s the purpose of the outline).
Number two, CHARITY, praise your audience, make them feel like you’re asking them to do something important because they are doing something important.
Number three, BREVITY because Kennedy believed that anything worth saying could be finished in twenty to twenty-five minutes - unless it’s a State of the Union address which by its nature goes on and on.
And number four, LEVITY. Not a speech consisting just of jokes, but Kennedy had this wonderful eye for wit, but not only would he begin his speech with a humorous comment, but he would work them into the text as well.
So it’s easy to remember those four characterisations: Clarity, Charity, Brevity, Levity.
And that’s all there is to it!”
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Brilliant.
There’s probably more wisdom in those 303 words than in many of the storytelling and speechwriting books that I’ve read over the years. Ted sadly passed away a year later from complications after having a stroke, but the gift of advice that Ted left with us that day has become part of his legacy.
I use these 4 words and 5 lines today as the foundation of AI storytelling assistants that I’m building & training to help business leaders all over the world to tell better stories. I’ve even built a whole website dedicated to this methodology at www.betterstories.org where there are hundreds of links, books, courses and tutorials where you can dig into this in a lot more detail.
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So the next time you’re struggling to write an important speech, especially if people’s lives (and livelihoods) depend on it – then just think 4 words and 5 lines.
OUTLINE: Will the shape of your story resonate with your audience? Is it “transformational”? Does it contain “intention & obstacle”? HEADLINE: Can you describe your story in ONE sentence? (10-15 words or less?) FRONTLINE: Will your story capture your audience’s attention in the first 2 minutes (or 200 words)? SIDELINE: What sidelines can you add to your story to personalise it? (How can you make it so unique & differentiated that you’re the only person who can tell it? BOTTOMLINE: What do you want your audience to do as a result of hearing your story? Is there a clear call-to-action? Business stories don’t just make an audience FEEL something, they inspire an audience to DO something. CLARITY: Have we done a good enough job at simplifying any complexity in our story CHARITY: Will the audience feel a shared purpose in the mission you’re asking them to join you on? BREVITY: Is it short enough? Why speak for 30 minutes if you can get the job done in ten? LEVITY: Have you added light relief where necessary? Especially if you’re talking about a heavy topic which can be intense. (AI ethics? Social impact?) A little humour or a few quotes could make all the difference.Ted said,
“A speech is made great, not from the words used, but from the ideas conveyed. If the ideas, principles and values and substance of the speech are great, then it’s going to be a great speech, even if the words are pedestrian.”
So there you have it.
The Truth in Ten.
Thanks for listening everyone.
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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How Do You Turn a Presentation into a Performance?
In the second episode of The Truth in Ten Podcast, host Jeremy Connell-Waite takes you on a journey to discover how the world's most famous spoken word poet, Amanda Gorman, overcame her fear of public speaking (and a speech impediment).
Just two weeks after hundreds of protesters stood on the exact same spot and stormed the Capitol Building, 22-year old Amanda had just 6-minutes to try and heal a nation with her words, with millions all around the world watching to see what she'd say.
74% of people suffer from Glossophobia (the fear of public speaking) according to the National Mental Health Institute.
This episode is not just a profile of Amanda, it's a storytelling masterclass for anyone who struggles with public speaking and wants to be a better communicator.
SHOW LINKS:
Amanda Gorman's performance of The Hill We Climb Amanda's Masterclass on Writing & PerformingEPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
How Do You Turn A Presentation Into a Performance?
On 6th January 2021 at 2:10pm on on a freezing cold Wednesday afternoon, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of Donald Trump supporters in an attempted self-coup, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
174 injured in the attack. 1,200 charged for playing a role in the attack. 2 bombs were discovered. 5 people died.On TV it looked like a civil war was breaking out. People were asking the question “How could this happen?”
But just two weeks later, a nervous “skinny young Black girl” stood on those very same steps to read a poem she wrote at the Inauguration ceremony of President Biden.
Tensions couldn’t have been higher.
The world was watching.
No pressure.
[THE HILL WE CLIMB]
Within minutes, it felt like everyone on the internet was asking a different question:
“What was the poet’s name?” “Who was that incredible young woman?”
Her name… is AMANDA GORMAN.
And what’s astonishing about this story is not that she was only 22 when she wrote this powerful poem to try and heal a nation, or that she gave such an electrifying performance when she read it in front of 40M people on US TV (and millions more around the world).
Or even the fact that she took just 6 minutes to capture global attention, seeing her poem printed in newspapers all over the world the next day. As amazing as that was.
No. It was that not long before that moment that she was terrified of public speaking. Many of us are, right?
But Amanda had good reason to be.
She has an auditory processing disorder which means she is hypersensitive to sound. She also had a serious speech impediment which made it especially difficult to pronounce her “R’s”. Not ideal for a spoken word poet. And especially one who’s name is GORMAN.
But not ideal for a spoken word poet!
She’d be writing about environmentalism and protecting “earth”– but she couldn’t say “EARTH” properly when she reads her poem out loud, so she had to use words like “planet” or globe” instead.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health 74% of us suffer from Glossophobia in some form like Amanda did. The fear of public speaking.
10% are terrified of speaking in front of people. 10% of the population loves speaking in front of people. 80% fall somewhere in the middle.So how did Amanda go from a someone who only liked reading and writing because she couldn’t pronounce her “R’s” – to the confident and compelling performer who spoke truth on the steps of the Capitol Building in front of world leaders?
Let’s back up a bit first.
When she was 15, Amada saw Malala Yousafzai giving her Nobel prize acceptance speech, she was so impacted by it that she decided right there and then that she also wanted to speak on a global stage; she just didn’t have the tool’s or techniques to be able to do it yet.
Amanda thought “Whatever you’re struggling with - chances are there’s someone from the past who has walked a similar path. Maybe not exactly the same path. But someone who can inspire you to keep moving forward – especially if others are telling you that something you want to do - can’t (or shouldn’t) be done.”
Amanda always loved reading Maya Angelou’s poetry, and she learned that Maya, her hero, was mute for several years. One of the world’s greatest spoken word poets, another powerful black woman – didn’t just have a speech impediment, she didn’t even speak for 5 years! This became an “aha moment” for her. Amanda said, “If Maya can do it, so can I.”
Amanda continued to struggle for a couple more years, and she continued to write furiously, but then she stumbled across another political writer. One who was also famous for writing furiously.
Alexander Hamilton.
Lin Manuel’s “Hamilton” musical had just opened off-Broadway and Amanda became obsessed with one of the main songs.
[AARON BURR]
Learning this song off by heart and reciting it over-and-over became her training regimen.
"It just compacts the ‘R’ sound over and over again." said said. "I would listen to the track of 'Aaron Burr, Sir,' and try to do it over and over and over again, and I told myself, 'If you can do this song, you can speak this sound wherever.'"
With the help of a speaking coach – and a lot of bravery practicing at open mic’s in front of friendly audiences – Amanda started to bring her words to life off the page.
She started to experiment more with rhyme, alliteration, rhetorical devices like repetition, meter and stressed syllables…
Her training regimen made her ask questions like “does this need to live on the page - or does this need to come to life on a stage?”
Because there’s a difference.
Let me give you an example.
Listen to this part of her Inauguration poem again and you’ll see what I mean, because some things are written to be performed.
[HILL WE CLIMB]
When you really want to inspire an audience, you might have something in your mind that doesn’t quite make sense on the page, but it comes to life when spoken.
Like “Justice vs Just is”…
Impressive.
Amanda stopped seeing her speech impediment as a crutch. She started to treat it as a gift and a strength.
If you watch the video of Amanda performing this poem, you’ll also notice something else...
Her speaking and pronunciation is almost flawless, but it’s not that - she’s reading her poem.
Does that strike you as strange for a performer?
It did for me.
Performers don’t read their own words!
But this is another way Amanda has faced her fears to turn her presentations into performances.
She doesn’t memorise her poems for when she reads them out loud. For a spoken word poet (or any performer for that matter) that was a new concept to me.
Of course great performers memorise their words???
Nope. Not Amanda.
Remember, Amanda is still a nervous public speaker. She just needs to do a good job of hiding it.
Here’s a real piece of golden advice for you to take away from this episode:
You don’t need to worry about memorising your words - it’s how you bring it to life that matters.
Some presenters worry that having notes might make your performance sound wooden, or worse still – look like you’ve not rehearsed.
No.
Having a script to read from tells your audience at that you’ve done your homework and you’ve come prepared.
What’s important is that you speak from the heart. Instead of worrying about your words and what to say next, you can focus on speaking with pride and compassion but show your flaws.
Don’t worry about remembering your words. Worry about remembering WHY you wrote them.
And then transfer that feeling to your audience.
That’s an important distinction.
Fear (of public speaking) never really goes away… which is why it’s important for you to have the tools available for when you’re asked to perform in any mission critical moment.
I LOVE that Amanda included a reference to Hamilton in her inauguration poem as a nod to the musical which empowered her to find her voice (she called it her “speech pathology”)…
[HISTORY HAS ITS EYES ON US]
And now the musical…
[HAMILTON]
That’s a nice touch.
In a full circle moment, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote Amanda’s profile for her TIME 100 Next ranking:
“If the hardest part of an artist’s job is to fully and honestly meet the moment, Amanda delivered a master class. She spoke truth to power and embodied clear-eyed hope to a weary nation. She revealed us to ourselves.”
And she’s continuing to speak truth today.
Amanda is still only 26 but her words, and a wisdom beyond her words, have put her on the cover of every magazine. She’s written Nike ads, performed at the Superbowl and been photographer by Annie Leibovitz for the cover story of Vogue.
On Good Morning America not too long ago - Robin Wright asked if she was serious about a joke she made about running for president in 2036:
[GMA]
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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How Do You Turn a Moment into a Movement?
In this pilot episode of The Truth in Ten Podcast, host Jeremy Connell-Waite takes you behind the scenes of a ten-minute presentation which won not one, but two Academy Awards! It's a presentation which Jeremy has given many times himself, and he shares some insights about where the presentation came from, and what you can learn from it.
"Sorry I gave such a long presentation. I didn't have enough time to create a shorter one!"
SHOW LINKS
An Inconvenient Truth Day After Tomorrow Nancy Duarte Interview Duarte Inc. Storytelling Resources Al Gore The Coming Global Superstorm [Book] An Inconvenient Truth [Movie] Truth In Ten [Al Gore's Slideshow] Truth In Ten [Jeremy's Slideshow] Join Climate Reality Leadership Corps--
The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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S01 E01: FULL TRANSCRIPT
How Do You Turn A Moment Into A Movement?
On 27th May, 2004 the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” premiered in New York.
You remember the film?
[CLIP]
Great movie.
It’s a science fiction disaster movie with Jake Gyllenhall and Dennis Quaid, based on a book called “The Coming Global Superstorm”.
The book warned that global warming might produce sudden and catastrophic climate change events.
It was one of the top grossing films of the year.
Anyway – after the premier there was a “Global Warming Townhall” to discuss climate change. And as part of that townhall meeting, there was a panel. The former US Vice-President Al Gore was one of the panellists. And as part of that panel, he had 10 minutes to make his case, so he presented a 10-minute version of a slide show that he’d been working on about the climate crisis.
[INCONVENIENT TRUTH CLIP]
One of the people in the audience that day was a movie producer called Laurie David. She said afterwards that she was “floored” by his presentation.
Interesting sidenote: Laurie David was married to Larry David at the time (the creator of Seinfeld & Curb Your Enthusiasm) – and they both know a thing or two about storytelling and how to capture an audience’s attention. (Laurie & Larry David. Bit of a mouthful at dinner parties!)
As soon as the evening was over, Laurie asked Al Gore if he would present his slideshow to her influential friends in New York and LA. She thought it was the most powerful and clear explanation of global warming she’d ever seen, and she decided right there and then that she would make it her mission to get everyone she knew to see it too.
Now Laurie is a movie producer, so Laurie did what Laurie does best…
She assembled a small team and asked them to explore the possibility of turning Al’s ten minute slide show into a movie. As far as they knew, nothing like this had ever been done before – but Al Gore wasn’t convinced.
Since losing the race to become US president 4 years earlier, he’d decided to focus all his attenion on the climate crisis, and he’d now given this presentation thousands of times.
He had slaved over this deck for years and spent hundreds of hours presenting it. This slideshow was his baby, and he didn’t want to put that baby, as fragile as it was, into the hands of any Hollywood movie makers. Hollywood executives might corrupt the story. They might take their “creative licence” too far and undermine the integrity of the message.
It was a real concern.
But Laurie assured Al that the message was more important than the money - and that what was at stake was the planet, saying "None of us are going to make a dime at the box office anyway!”
He reluctantly allowed her to explore the possibility so they met up with director Davis Guggenheim (ER, 24, NYPD Blue, Deadwood, He Named Me Malala and Netflix’s Inside Bill’s Brain). He’s a big deal. He’s even made a film for IBM! But Guggenheim wasn’t convinced it would work either.
Until, that is, he saw the 10 minute presentation for himself and he was “blown away." (His words). He left that meeting thinking that global warming was the most important issue in the world – and he admitted that he had no idea how to make a film out of it, but he wanted to try.
Not easy!
Guggenheim’s films usually take a couple of years.
But An Inconvenient Truth needed to be filmed and produced in a matter of months - and on a really tight budget of just $1.5M.
Remember - that this all started with just ONE 10-minute slideshow.
Have that in the back of your mind the next time you’re putting a presentation together.
That’s the power of a great story.
Great stories create urgency and can inspire audience’s to act. And act quickly.
When asked about the project, Guggenheim said "We all felt like we were on a mission from God just to make it as fast as we could. We just felt like it was urgent. The clock was ticking, and people had to see it.”
So what happened next?
How do you turn a slideshow into a movie?
How do you turn all those numbers into a narrative?
Enter Nancy Duarte.
She’s one of my hero’s and one of the people I most look up to in the world of business storytelling.
If you don’t know her, watch her TED Talk.
Duarte.
D.U.A.R.T.E.
Her Californian presentation company, Duarte Design, was approached to condense and update Al Gore’s slide deck, mostly by adding some video and animation. It was already a pretty good slide show, but it needed more drama to make it engaging on the silver screen.
Another interesting side note in this story - Al Gore was on the board of Apple! He knew Steve Jobs pretty well, so he had a pretty good presentation coach! That’s why Al Gore’s slides have always had a similar style to the one’s Steve used in his keynotes.
But still, Nancy made them better. And once Al Gore saw how devoted this small but motivated team were to his cause, and how impressive the new slides were, he agreed to go ahead and make the movie.
An Inconvenient Truth opened in 2006 in New York, just a few blocks away from where Al Gore gave his 10-minute slideshow just two years earlier.
The trailer claimed it was “the most terrifying film you will ever see”.
At the Sundance Film Festival, the movie received THREE standing ovations. Six weeks later, it won two Oscars.
Unheard of.
In his acceptance speech, Gore gave a brief speech. Just 48 words. That’s BREVITY for you:
“My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue; it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it.”
So…
A 10-minute presentation.
An Academy Award winning documentary.
And a 48-word speech.
Right after the film launched, Al Gore founded The Climate Reality Project of the back of the film’s surprise success. He trained 1,000 activists that year, teaching each of them how to give his 10-minute presentation about the climate crisis to their friends and colleagues.
He called it “The Truth in Ten.”
In 2019 I became one of those leaders when I became part of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. I’ve now given Al Gore’s The Truth in Ten presentation dozens of times to thousands of people over the last few years, and as you’ve probably figured out by now, I love the title of this presentation so much that I named this podcast after it.
Because I’d like this show to shine a light on some short stories from a few inspirational people who made a real difference – and hopefully their words and their process might inspire you to become a better storyteller yourself.
Here’s the thing about the process behind Al Gore’s slideshow…
Truth in Ten is an unusual thing to present. It breaks all the rules of presenting.
There’s a lot of charts (with sexy animations of course – thanks Nancy!).
There’s a lot of stories.
You need to explain the science clearly but you have to make it interesting and easy to understand.
There’s a clear Aristo-telian 3-act structure: “Must we change? Can we change? Will we change?”
There’s 55 slides and you need to speed up and slow down the transitions to create drama and anticipation, but that still works out at an average of one slide every 11 seconds. That’s fast! (And not easy to do).
There’s a cadence and a rhythm to the way it’s presented.
Intense slides with lots of words sit alongside dramatic photos of wildfires and floods. A few of the photos are so dramatic I’ve broken down myself a few times when presenting them.
It’s emotional. (Both for the person presenting it and the audience listening to it).
And finally, you need to speak at around 180 words a minute – which is usually never a good idea for any audience.
This presentation shouldn’t work.
But it does.
Because this is not your average presentation.
This is a 10-minute presentation which took FOUR years to create. It’s given birth to a double Oscar-winning documentary - which to this day, is still one of the highest grossing documentaries of all-time.
It’s a presentation which changed the world.
Political agenda aside, and whatever your view of Al Gore, he took a master-deck of 615 slides and turned it into 10 minutes of truth which got the world talking. That’s a feat in itself.
Anyone can speak for a long time with a lot of slides. You might bore the audience but it’s not that hard.
But not enough of us know how to impact an audience in under 10 minutes. For anyone who wants to be an effective storyteller (given how short attention spans are these days) – this is something we should you should study: inspirational people who used storytelling to turn moments into movements.
So...
What’s the real message behind this episode?
The purpose of every story is to make an audience FEEL something. That’s what transformational storytelling is all about. Whether it’s a movie, a book, a song, a play, a poem or a keynote.
And if there’s one thing that Al Gore has taught me to do – and the tens of thousands of climate leaders he’s personally trained as part of his Climate Reality Project – it’s that the purpose of a story –
A “Mission Critical Story” (like The Truth in Ten) – is not just to get an audience to FEEL something, it’s to get an audience to DO something.
[APPLAUSE]
