At the Single Origin coffee morning, I was having a chat with Mal about the story thing and he said that there are two TED videos with stories that absolutely blow him away. And before he said it, I knew what one of them would be. You can click on the image above and then scroll through the video on the TED site until you get 15:00 in.
This talk is one that everyone seems to love. There are probably many reasons for that: Sir Ken's ease & charm in front of an audience; the topic of the talk (creativity); etc. However the Gillian Lynne story gets me every time. It's very different to the story Obama told. Here are some of my reactions:
This talk is one that everyone seems to love. There are probably many reasons for that: Sir Ken's ease & charm in front of an audience; the topic of the talk (creativity); etc. However the Gillian Lynne story gets me every time. It's very different to the story Obama told. Here are some of my reactions:
- It happens near the end of the talk. There's a distinct change in gear that occurs with this story. The previous 15 mins had been very jokey and light and now it gets a little more serious.
- It's a story told in the third person (the narrator is not a participant).
- It's quite short (around 2:40).
- It covers a broad span of time but the real core of the story happens in the doctor's consulting room.
- It is a true story.
- There are lots of other stories that could be told around Gillian Lynne's life. Our narrator has picked one that serves his point - and been very focused in telling it.
- It's a topic that everyone can relate to - having our skills unappreciated, especially at a young age (even if we aren't dancers).
- Little details: Turning on the radio on the desk as he leaves.
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1 comment:
What gets me about the story is two things. (1) The Drs ability to see the issue, rather than the symptoms as a problem. ie she should be a dancer. And secondly the parents actually followed through.
Its interesting to think about some of the people who have gone on to impressive creative careers have been spotted at a young age and re-directed away from a normal education path. For me the most notable is Picasso, who went to art school at at a very young age - giving him his 10,000 hrs (if we are to believe Malcom Gladwell) study at an early age.
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