After months of keeping her application, selection stages and rehearsals a secret from everyone, including family, Kirsty took to the TEDx stage in Northwich in July - BUT as a speaker.
Whilst TEDx speakers often go on to volunteer at events or acquire an organising licence, it is fairly rare to cross the line the other way - from organiser to speaker.
The achievement sees Kirsty acquire a TEDx haul (i.e. a hat-trick +1) having now been a spectator, volunteer, organiser and speaker.
Presenting to a live audience and now approved on the TEDx YouTube channel, Kirsty’s idea was that legacies are not just what we leave behind but rather living and breathing micro opportunities built from collective achievement. She invited the audience to consider who and what really builds legacy, to recognise the value of the unseen, and to consider what could happen if we harnessed the power of the collective. Her words “look around you. Things do not just happen” were intended as a reminder that success, achievement and legacy are built by the unseen, the unsung, the cogs in the wheel, the 'I'm JUST a … Brigade’. Kirsty’s talk creatively included stories from the Apollo moon landing to the London Marathon, and quotes from Aristotle to the parable of the three bricklayers, to question life purpose, perspective, and community.
Kirsty said: “As challenges go, it was right up there with skydiving and heading into labour three times not knowing how much it might hurt and for how long. Delivering a 12-minute speech off by heart was both terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure but I feel very proud and privileged to now call myself a TED❌ speaker.
Her TEDx talk 30-second video clip has just been released and can be watched at: https://youtube.com/shorts/9mN_KN-CLiY
The full talk can be viewed at https://youtu.be/KnseD4tteic?si=BxRDbzZTgHY-V_Jb
A review of all 9 speakers at TEDxNorthwich 2024 can be read at: https://kirstyjames.co.uk/event/a-review-of-tedxnorthwich-2024/
As for the golden questions in many minds:
1 - was speaking easier or harder than organising? Kirsty’s answer was that they were both rewarding and challenging in different ways but organising wasn’t as nerve-racking.
And 2 - will TEDxWarrington be returning in 2025? The answer was a resounding yes – but only once suitable venues, sponsors and team structures are in place. Before then, Kirsty is off to TED in the US to learn from big TED itself and bring back new ideas. For those interested in future speaking, sponsoring or team roles, you are encouraged to sign up for the TEDxWarrington newsletter at the foot of the website home page: https://tedxwarrington.com/