Reclaim the power of personal narrative
This is a 17-minute TEDTalk. It’s a longer than I would prefer to post on my blog. Many things have changed since this presentation was delivered in 2011. But the content is thoughtful. Robert Tercek inspires me in my passion to empower others to tell their stories.
Robert Tercek is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and educator. For over 30 years, he has supervised the design, development and launch of digital services on all platforms. He is an expert in telecommunications, digital media, technology, software and services and has launched new digital services in Asia, the Americas and Europe.
Today, media production has shifted from the hands of the experts
into the hands of everybody. Here’s a summary of what the master of mainstream media creator says in his talk: (text in parenthesis mine)
For the last 60 years, we’ve outsourced our storytelling to professionals. I’m referring to television and broadcast media. For 60 years, we’ve let these terrific storytellers and Hollywood tell us the meaning of our lives. And they do it in a great way…
Tercek says: For too long we’ve allowed the main stream media to take the complex and put them into (their) narrative to help us make sense of life. TV is there for you to buy something. The product of television isn’t the show. The product of the TV is the audience that are converted into consumers. And so the shows are really a kind of bait, a lure to get you to bite down hard on the commercial (or narrative).
(But there is hope.)
In his talk, Tercek shares stories of how ordinary people are reclaiming their voice. They don’t need store-bought identities. They don’t need the easy answers from television. They’re starting to understand the world in a different way. They’re starting to answer urgent questions. Questions like,
- Why is this situation happening?
- Why is this the case?
- How can I change it?
- What can I do?
- What resources do I have within me to make a change?
(Urgent questions that the main stream media are avoiding or skewing.)
The main stream media guru says: I would like to encourage everybody in the audience tonight to do is to seize that power. Go out now and reclaim your power to tell a personal narrative. Use your social media to help you tell people what you care about the most. Use those power to express those concerns that you’ve got. Answer the difficult questions.
As your Story Coach, I say to you:
Today, you have in your hands a powerful media production house called the mobile phone. YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, social media that allow us to become broadcasters right from our homes. Power in our hands to no more be consumers but creators, no more lost sheep but storytellers.