The Proactive Emcee: Shining the light on others
In this last of the “Proactive Speaker” series (for now), we are lucky to have the text for actual TEDx Charlottesville introductions from two of our emcees, Kellie Sauls and Richard Averitt. After writing the post, “The Proactive Speaker: Introductions,” both reached out and offered examples* for us all. Moderators, facilitators, emcees, these are just a few of the beautiful introductions Kellie and Richard wrote. Their generosity, their clear intention to shine the light on the speaker and move the audience to be receptive and excited is palpable in their words.
In my work with speakers, I remind them that it is the emcee’s job to brag for them and establish credibility in advance so that the speaker can dig right into the exciting work without that nagging insecurity.
Below are the kinds of introductions I emulate. I aspire to this level of grace when celebrating the work of others.
Things to notice:
Building up excitement for the speaker
Centering the speaker and their work in a wider context
Honoring, celebrating, amplifying
Weaving research on the speaker and their CV into story
NOT giving away the content of the talk itself
Kellie for Deborah Lawrence:
“If you could go back in time and change one decision, would it be something really big and hugely significant, or would it be something small and seemingly insignificant? What would the impact of that one changed decision be? Our next speaker may inspire you to think about this exact thing. Dr. Deborah Lawrence is an award winning environmental scientist and professor of environmental science at UVA and her research on tropical deforestation includes field work in Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Cameroon. She has been using global climate models to explore the cumulative effect of tropical land use decisions, exploring the climate impact of land allocation among food crops, biofuels and forests across the globe. She has degrees from Duke, and Harvard and was a Fulbright Scholar and a Guggenheim Fellow. Last year, Professor Lawrence was awarded a Global Program of Distinction grant. I think we will learn more about the subject of that grant today. But this talk is not necessarily a scientific talk about the impending crisis of climate change or deforestation. It is a story about choices. It is a story about the very human side of science. It is a story of redemption. A story about each of us and of our legacy hanging in the balance of the little choices we make each and every day. Please join me in welcoming the remarkable Deborah Lawrence to the TEDx stage.”
Watch her TED Talk here.
Richard for Shyla Raghav:
“From NASA to National Geographic, the World Bank to the United Nations - scientists, researchers and policy makers are shouting from the rooftops that we are in a climate crisis and must act now. But is anyone listening?
In the past 10 years there have been 21,461 record daily highs and 11,466 lows. that’s 9 records a day.
Even Bill Nye the Science Guy dropped the F-Bomb to try and get public attention!
So who is doing something about it? On September 20th of this year, Millions of Students skipped school, made signs, and took to the streets in more than 3,600 planned strikes around the globe, part of a huge youth-led movement to protest our inaction on climate change.
As Washington Post Writer Sarah Kaplan wrote of the event: “They were young. They were diverse. And they were overwhelmingly girls.”
And out first speaker is one of their heroes. Any conversation about climate change in recent years usually comes back to one historic deal: the Paris Agreement - and Shyla Raghav was one of the negotiators who made it happen.
Born in India and having grown up in Nigeria, Australia and California, Shyla is a millennial who has seen the effects of climate change on developing countries with her own eyes. She is VP for Climate Change at Conservation International and describes herself as an eternal Optimist. Shyla has said that what keeps her going is all of the incredible young people she gets to work with. She sees this as the defining issue of her generation.
Please welcome to the TEDxCharlottesville stage, the powerhouse, Shyla Raghav.”
Watch Shyla’s talk here.
Kellie for Elliott Woods:
“Estimated Iraqi dead 150,000 – 600,000. Estimated U.S. military dead 4,487. Financial cost $845Bil. Result: malnutrition, cholera outbreak, psychological trauma, increased birth defects. US military wounded: Official count 32,226, unofficial count nearly 500,000.
Estimated Afghan dead 91,000 – 360,000. Estimated U.S. military dead 2,326. Financial cost $4Tril.
Result: government stalemate, exacerbated poverty, poor sanitation, environmental degradation.
The post-American era in these regions is where Elliott Woods has chosen to spend much of his post-military career. He goes where he can share the stories of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. He is a writer and photographer and his journalism has taken him back to Iraq, to Afghanistan and other places in addition and in between. He wants to honor the lives of those impacted by our nation’s decisions. Elliott has received numerous honors including the 2011 National Magazine Award for Multimedia. He is a graduate of UVA and a contributing editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review. Let’s listen as Elliott shares more about his experiences. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Elliott Woods.”
Watch Elliott’s talk here.
Richard for Rodney Robinson:
“As William B Yeats has said: Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire!
The most watched TED talk of all time is that of Sir Ken Robinson from the TED stage in 2006, titled “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” It has been watched more than 62 Million times!
It turns out, Sir Ken Robinson and our next speaker have more in common than just a last name. Rodney Robinson is a 19-year teaching veteran from Richmond and he has been lighting fires in Virginia classrooms for years. Rodney originally became a teacher to honor his mother, who struggled to receive an education after being denied one as a child due to segregation and poverty in rural Virginia. She ran an in-home daycare to make ends meet and it was her manner of building relationships with the kids that laid the framework for Rodney’s approach to education.
He will tell you that : "She always taught us that every child deserves the proper amount of love that he or she needs," So that was my first lesson in equity."
His connection with his students is what sets Robinson apart from his peers. As a black male teacher, Robinson is part of a group that represents only 2 percent of public school teachers in the nation. He talks about how important it is for all children to have a teacher they can see themselves in, one who represents the possibility within each of them and acts as a surrogate for what it looks like to be respected in a community for your intellect.
In 2019 Robinson was awarded the highest honor a teacher can receive: he was named the National Teacher of the Year.
According to the Richmond Public Schools Superintendent: “His defining characteristic is the love that he has for his kids — his love for them for who they are today and his love for them for who they will become,”
Please welcome - our final speaker of the day - the honorable Rodney Robinson.”
Watch Rodney’s talk here.
Thank you, Kellie and Richard!
*Please note that these introductions are from 2015 and 2019 so the information is out of date.