Storytelling for the masses - the TED Talk
I love that TED Talks are available on I “Heart” Radio. I found
them one morning on a run and became entranced as I listened to an obscure
topic presented by Mark Ronson – whose official title is music producer and DJ.
Ronson spent sixteen-plus minutes expertly describing and demonstrating the art
of sampling music.
yvonne@bluegrottoinc.com
At first, Ronson’s topic about artists co-opting elements of
other popular music tracks may sound very niche, you might skip it if you
thought you had nothing to learn from a guy who first made a name for himself
DJ’ing in New York and Atlantic City night clubs, but I was hooked.
The track Ronson chose to highlight was by Slick Rick and
Doug E. Fresh, titled La Di Da Di.
According to Ronson, it is the fifth most sampled song of all time – sampled 547
times – and by artists including Notorious B.I.G. and Miley Cyrus, who, Ronson
noted was not even born yet when the track was first released in 1984.
Then, months later, I heard a song on the radio written and
produced by Ronson featuring Bruno Mars – Uptown
Funk – with a beat and even lyrics that reminded me of Twin Cities’-artist
Morris Day and The Time and I could hear what Ronson was talking
about: an artist’s desire to insert themselves “into the narrative of a song
while pushing that story forward.”
I circled back to his TED Talk. We all have a desire to
incorporate ourselves into a narrative and we all feel compelled in some way to
help push a story forward at one time or another. That is why storytelling, as
a concept, has become so popular – in social media channels, in the corporate
conference room, in nonprofit fundraising. We co-opt the storyline from many
places, mostly in an attempt to learn from someone else’s experiences.
TED Talk storytelling is not just a version of campfire lore.
It’s the telling, and our re-telling, of another’s story that can motivate us,
inspire us, educate us, and even protect us. Sometimes an anecdotal account helps
keep us from making the same mistake ourselves.
That’s why the TED Talks work. They not only allow a storyteller
to engage a live audience but there is an opportunity to share the storyline
around the planet, literally. Think of how many times a TED Talk, whether it’s
as brief as six minutes or as lengthy as sixty-one minutes, is streamed around the
planet. Anyone with a connection can plug in. That’s how I heard Mark Ronson
that day, on I “Heart” Radio.
As I said, anyone could easily have passed over his
Talk, for a more well-known speaker, like Melinda Gates, talking about fighting
disease in Africa. But the TED Talks make it easy to hear the stories of many other
people. People whose own lens of their work or their passion can inspire and
educate the rest of us. And that is why right below the ‘play’ button are the ‘Share’
icons – you can “Share this idea” on Twitter, Facebook and by emailing a link.
That’s the part where we come in – pushing the story
forward, as Mark Ronson says. By sharing these narratives we help to spread the
word, we subtly encourage reflection and dialogue, and we expose a little bit
of ourselves letting others in on the things we find worthy of sharing (you now
know my obscure interest in pop music).
The TED library claims “1900+ talks to stir your curiosity”
and though I listen to many, I could never get through them all, and they add
more every year. I am curious to know which TED Talks you have listened to and
enjoyed or recommended. And I am super curious to know what your TED Talk topic
would feature given the chance to expound to a live audience. Mine would likely
be something along the lines of “are you really capturing and sharing your own story?”
Below is the video of Mark Ronson’s Talk: (https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_ronson_how_sampling_transformed_music)
Yvonne Hundshamer
President, Blue Grotto Inc.yvonne@bluegrottoinc.com
Labels: storytelling, TED Talk
posted by Blue Grotto Inc. @ 9:20 AM
