TED Talk was one of my most enriching experiences during the Diploma Programme. This year, at FS students were granted the remarkable opportunity to access the TEDx platform and speak on topics they were passionate about. Commencing the process with rolling out of google forms, which were filled out by interested students. This initial step was followed by a series of consistent early-in sessions structured to familiarize us with the format of TED Talks. These sessions also provided us with time for self-reflection. Ultimately, nine speeches were selected, which were to be performed on the official ted ex platform. This platform offered me a unique space for personal improvement and growth, allowing me to share my perspectives with a broader audience in the hope of inspiring positive change. For my talk, I chose to address the issue of anorexia, a prevalent eating disorder that affects individuals worldwide. Despite its widespread impact, many people have a limited understanding of its complexities. Through my presentation, I aimed to shed light on the challenges faced by those who suffer from anorexia and to foster a deeper awareness of this critical issue. This entire experience consisted of numerous learning outcomes.
LO-2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Presenting a talk, was never a piece of cake, several things had to be considered and kept in mind, the talk should be able to give and serve with a broader picture of the issue i intend to emphasize upon, the factual data and qualitative data within the talk should be proportional, engagement had to be ensured, the talk had to answer questions like what? how? and why? but, besides all of this, coming up with the topic was one of the biggest task for me, after days of brainstorming, I stumbled upon this rarely addressed psychological issue, as a person who is really passionate and interested in psychology, I thought of why not actually gather data and speak on behalf of people who connect and relate, I went through every material and reliable source i could find on the internet. Furthermore, once the idea was clear and data was in my hand, I also had to make sure that the presentation should look appealing along with delivering the talk with utter confidence such that it alarms and awakens the audience in context of the issue and make it easier for them to perceive things from the end of those who face the issue, to improve upon that I watched couple of ted ex videos available online. The final talk required an entire month of consistent editing, reading out my talk to my friends, getting approvals from people, asking them to ask more questions if they had any so that I can improve upon the pre existing material. While doing so, I had developed research skills, consistency and the ability to perceive things as a listener.
LO-4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
The entire month hadn’t been full of excitement for me, there had been times when I did not feel like brainstorming on ideas anymore since I wasn’t able to come up with any interesting, powerful, insightful and interesting ones. Additionally, once the topic was decided, initial excitement and drive to complete the script did exist but, going back to edit the script repeatedly was another task for me since, reading the script over and over again had become very tedious, however, it did turn out quite perfect due to the constant improvements. Waking up early and attending the first sessions was again another task. However, I knew that if I had to really speak up for my concerns regarding an issue and reach out to the people to present it so openly and have been given this opportunity, I could not let it slip, that kept me going and kept me committed to this experience.
LO- 6- Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
As mentioned above, this talk largely deals with eating disorder faced by people worldwide, comprising of statistical data of the number of people who go through this, all the information present in the talk was based on research and experiences. however, the talk does not offer professional help to those in need. Knowing the significance of this global issue was very crucial since it specifically mentions of the changes that we need to bring in the society, although professional help cannot be provided by people, but we as society might be responsible for this disorder in a way we might be unaware of, so the talk specifically focuses on how things might be wrong from society’s end and on an individual level as well, that is how it hold the society accountable and gives them a sense of responsibility and aims to make them feel as if they have the power on an individual level to bring a change. It was utterly important to make them realise the scale of concern of this issue because of increasing idealization of certain body types, criticism, psychological and emotional stress on individuals ultimately also leading to something as severe as death.
LO- 7- Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
When writing the script for my TEDx talk, I prioritized ethical considerations to ensure the content was sensitive and did not cause undue stress or harm to the audience. As a psychology student, I understand the potential triggers that can arise when discussing psychological issues. Therefore, I made sure to present the topic through a hypothetical story, carefully avoiding any explicit details that could be linked to individuals experiencing similar challenges. Maintaining anonymity and confidentiality was crucial, as was the responsibility to minimize any potential distress for listeners. Ethical considerations are paramount when publicly presenting psychological issues, as they help safeguard the well-being of the audience while fostering a respectful and supportive environment for open dialogue.
overall, the experience was a memorable one, which instilled a lot of confidence and hope within me.
