Mark Blevis

So having just come back from the TedX and the after party, I have to say first of all thanks for expressing your frustration. I feel *some* of it. This Ted did not blow my mind as much as I’d hoped – and certainly some of the speakers were not as prepared or in command of their subject matter as I’d hoped. But I did stick it out to the end, and met a lot of fantastic folks as well as finding a couple of unexpected gems in the speaking lineup. All in all a worhtwhile day, well worth the paltry $50 I spent (I go to other events for the same price and receive far less – although they don’t take a whole Saturday).

My advice to the organizers would be: broaden the circle. Find orgnizers who are really well connected and think very deeply about their subject areas (yes I’m offering help here). And look for speakers who can not just enlighten and inform, but *rivet* the audience with their subject matter. And if there are speakers who have an amazing story but lack the presentation skills, help them out with graphics / coaching / whatever they need.

Every event has a lot of pros and cons – and certainly, even TedXOttawa 1.0 {which happened at Westgate, actually, not Gladstone, just FYI} had it’s ups and downs.  We certainly worked our butts off that day to try to make it as good as we could, with some pros and cons as well.

 I am glad to hear that the greeters and crew for this one also seemed to have worked hard to make it a good event.I agree that even some communication between 1.0 and 2.0 might have had some “learn from our experience” assistance, while still totally allowing the folks organizing this one to chose to do things their own way.I both spoke and volunteered at 1.0, and was also a sponsor, along with many others listed on the original website, so certainly it was not hard to figure out who to contact for any kind of potential chatting/suggestions/etc. Or even ask us to be sponsors again – I would have stepped up, but was never approached.So, good for the folks in charge of this one for putting out the effort to make 2.0 happen – and hopefully if someone decides to try for a 3.0, they’ll feel welcome to contact anyone involved with 1 or 2 to get some ideas about what can work for the future!And thanks Mark for including me in your list of insomnia inspiring speakers :-)

Mr. Blevis: 

I think it is absurd that you would write this post after leaving only 25 per cent into the event. You missed a compelling speech on education and the use of Canadian students’ efforts and time by Dr. Jim Davies, you missed a passionate poem and a very heartfelt talk by Brandon Wint, a very cool architectural snapshot from Bret Cardinal and more. While I agree that Kelli Catana was uninspiring and completely unfocused, the rest really gave it their all.As an “experienced conference organizer” I’m sure you would prefer to have your hard work judged publicly following a fair review. For the group of young organizers that put their heart into this, it is at least worth your full attention. 

I thank you for your comments. This was my first ever speaking engement, and I spoke from the heart. Maybe that wasn’t what was you were expecting and I respect that. it certainly wasn’t meant as a self promotion more as self inspriring.  I blog for my self and here I was thrust into the TedX world and wanted other women who felt like me to know that there were creative options out there for them. Perhaps if you had taken the time to chat instead of leaving we could have discussed.

I believe there’s been three TEDx events in Ottawa, yesterday being the third. I’m certain there was an event themed on kids last year.

I don’t think it’s absurd to think I could write a post about my experiences and thoughts on any portion of my day. That’s the launching point of many conversations. I otherwise agree with you that I took a chance on missing a positive shift in the program and did indeed miss some shining moments due to my early departure.

I gave the morning program my full attention. I accepted in the process that the program had been “kept secret” as one tweet I saw suggested, and that speaker order had been changed twice according to the blocking on the back of my lanyard in the first two hours of the day (Natasha and Brandon moved later, Kelli moved earlier). I simply had been given no specific reason other than possibility that the organizers had put together the kind of program I’ve come to expect from the TED brand. I could have stayed the whole day and been just as disappointed or incredibly surprised. It was a chance I took and took ownership of, and I shared my experiences and rationale on my blog.

Another thought just occurred to me about our judgement patterns. I wonder how many of us heard a song come up on the radio or on a CD, gave it until the first chorus (if that much) to win us over before changing stations or advancing to the next song.

Content creators/curators (musicians, speakers, writers, filmmakers, event organizers, etc…) who want to “capture” and keep their audience’s attention need to pull out all of the stops. It’s not always easy to hook a listener in the opening of a song or get a live audience to lean forward in their chairs with your opening thought. But winning them over depends on how early in the material (or program) you capture their interest. Then, you have to harness it and carry them to the finish line with you.

With all the strict requirements TED puts on the organizers… Perhaps speaking with previous TEDx organizers in your area should be one of them?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I didn’t go (Beforehand – I did notice a disconnect from the first TEDxOttawa & TEDxCarleton which I also found mind-blowingly inspiring…) The organizers are young and I’m sure know what to do better next time. It sounded like there were some great highlights from the day, and hopefully it was a positive experience for those who have not previously attended a TEDx event.

Organizing any event is indeed an incredible commitment and responsibility, particularly if you’ve joined an established franchise. I will never take that away from the TEDxOttawa organizers. Every event is a learning experience. That’s what helps make all future efforts more successful and easier to manage.

On reflection, I think the biggest problem is the name this group of organizers chose. Had they simply called it “TEDxAlgonquin, TEDxNepean, or even TEDxOttawaWest, I don’t think we’d be having this discussion.

This sounds similar to the disillusionment I’ve felt with Podcamp Toronto as the years have gone on. It takes serious effort from the organizers to ensure that speakers are appropriate. 

I wish I knew how to maintain the character of a conference. It seems like the ones I love fall apart by the 3 year mark unless the organizers work hard to keep it together and keep sales pitches out of the talks. Even the ones that maintain their character still have that problem occasionally.

Thanks for weighing in, Adam. Great to hear there has been some communications between organizing teams. As you’ll notice in my comment you responded to… “I’m surprised how disconnected the organizing teams for Ottawa TEDx *appear* to be.” Notice the emphasis on *appear*.

You raise some interesting points, Nicholas. The technical side usually impacts and reflects more on the speaker than it does on the event. It’s like that with live music as well. Bands are often judged on the quality and volume of the sound, something typically well beyond their control when they’re performing on stage. Part of the technical challenges can be addressed with prep discussions between those responsible for staging/speaker relations and the speakers themselves.

You’ve just captured why program is so important, Brent. I’ve noticed the same trends. Perhaps that’s why I felt it was necessary to do this post. Having said that, this was the first conference I left because of what I perceived to be a poorly planned program.

I think the problem, from what I can gather, is that the TEDx brand is associated with making people think and inspiring change. From feedback (not just from Mark, but others), it seems this event fell short in that department.

I don’t think anyone’s “calling out” young people, and it’s sure to be a great learning experience for them. But the TEDx brand is a well-known one, so if events fall short they’re bound to be looked at in more detail.

As the lead organizer for TEDxOttawa I have been silently following this conversation and have a few things I would like to share and address:

1) THANK YOU. Thank you to everyone that shared your thoughts and opinions on TEDxOttawa. Mark, although your experience with our event didn’t meet your expectations, it is always good to know where we need to improve. Sorry we didn’t meet your expectations, but thank you for getting this conversation started.

2) OUR SPEAKERS. Our speakers were chosen to represent a variety of subject areas and interests. Although the few speakers Mark saw didn’t resonate with him, I know that several of our other attendees took away some valuable messages, found inspiration and learned something new. 

3) OUR ORGANIZERS. Our team of organizers and volunteers are “young”, but we are enthusiastic, willing to learn and willing to take a risk. We decided to take on the huge responsibility and challenge of TEDxOttawa because we wanted to see this event back in Ottawa. Our organizational due diligence (just to clear the air) included consulting with several TEDx organizers (both local and abroad) and TED officials. 

4) OUR PROGRAMMING. We purposely left the speaking schedule off of the website. The event is supposed to be taken in as a whole and not in a variety of parts. The speaker’s topics were also purposely left off the website so that they could reveal it themselves on the day of the event. The theme of the event “Creative Actions” perhaps could have been more clearly articulated so that it wasn’t missed. It was summed up nicely by Alexandra Reid: “Its theme, “creative actions,” explored the creative effort that goes into reversing, reworking and reinventing previously held ideas and the profound results that come from taking this kind of action.” Sorry to all those that missed it, we will be sure to make it clearer next time.

5) OUR VISION. We aim to renew our TEDxOttawa license and put the event on again next year! With the abundance of feedback (good and bad), I know we can make the necessary improvements and put on an even better TEDxOttawa.

As the curator of TEDxCarletonU, I believe Dennis has a very valid point here.  The decision to host a TEDx “Ottawa” means the organizers are, in essence, taking on the responsibility of selecting our city’s “ideas worth spreading” that meet TED’s core philosophy and standards.  TEDx events organized for a wider geographical scope will, by definition, attract a broader constituency of people with divergent expectations.  That is why local TEDx organizers should take ample care and time to select their speakers.  That said, I congratulate Sarah and her team for taking on the formidable task of hosting the most recent TEDxOttawa.