It's OK to eat alone: Q&A with Susan Cain

TEDTalk:

What was it like giving a TEDTalk, as opposed to some of the other talks you've given?

It was a lot scarier, for one thing.

So how did you get through that?

Well, there was "How did I prepare for it?" and then "How did I get through it when it was really happening?" One of the things I did, which I wouldn't usually do, is I worked with a coach for the week beforehand. Partly just for the moral support of preparing when somebody is there. But also, the coach did this really smart thing: I had told him at the beginning that I'm comfortable talking with people one-on-one, but the whole thing of performance on a stage, a red-carpeted stage, freaks me out a little bit. And he said, "You're going to go through your TEDTalk as if it were a regular conversation." And that's what we did. It really, really helped, because it got me more emotionally comfortable with the words. It felt more like it was me, as opposed to this other creature who was supposed to be the performer.

I tried to bring that with me, even when I was standing under those lights. I was also trying to talk as if it were just me talking. But it's funny, if you ask me, "What was it like to be actually standing up there and delivering it?" I don't know, because it was such an otherworldly experience that I can't remember it exactly. I know I was there. I know that much. But the details kind of escape me.

The best part of the experience was not the moment of being up on stage -- it was the aftermath. I was lucky to be one of the earlier speakers. That meant that all week long I got to talk to people one-on-one about how they had reacted to what I'd been saying. And that was really, really special.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 20, 2012 2:15 AM
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