We’re already through the first quarter of 2019 and TEDxAsburyPark has its third appearance at the Paramount Theatre scheduled in less than two months, so our volunteer team is feeling the heat. Although the concept of CHAOS is abstract, we have an incredible speaker lineup to celebrate it, and we knew the build-up to the main event had to be different this year within the life of the TEDxAsburyPark community.
While our Live Audition and Open Rehearsal events are often what push individuals to become full-day, main event audience members, we knew our idea community craved more information about our speakers between and leading up to the live events. That’s why in January 2019, a new concept was born in the life of our speaker team: live interviews.
Thanks to a partnership formed with A Shared Universe PodcaStudio, a podcasting studio located in Eatontown, NJ, our speaker team and the co-host of the main event, Ben Freeberg, have conducted and recorded, exclusive interviews with TEDxAsburyPark 2019 speakers. These interviews are recorded at the Shared Universe studio then transcribed by our volunteer team and edited for length to be published in the TEDxAsburyPark blog for our idea community.
You may be wondering why we don’t just skip the interview and write a blog about the speaker’s ideas, expertise, and background that can be captured through their LinkedIn profile or personal website. Simply put, writing will never replace a face-to-face or verbal conversation.
These 15-30 minute interviews that translate to, maximum, 8 pages of transcribed content, capture insights and information of these speaker’s ideas that go beyond a 1,000-word bio. Anthony Longhitano, a TEDxAsburyPark volunteer leading the initiative, said these interviews capture each speaker’s “interesting insights about our theme of CHAOS.” He adds that through the additional information captured in the interview, “We gain a better appreciation for what the speaker plans to talk about, which also helps the speaker crystalize their topic and customize their message for the TEDxAsburyPark community.”
Our powerhouse Production Director, Marcia Blackwell, believes these conversations are valuable because “It’s easier for people to speak about rather than write about their idea.” Indeed–writing simply doesn’t capture the emotion and expression that are necessary in telling personal stories like the ones being told on the TEDxAsburyPark stage. These interviews also have the benefit of being longer than a TED-style talk, leaving room for us to learn more than what speakers have time to share with us from the stage.
As May 18th, 2019 draws closer, we’ll be updating our blog weekly with speaker interviews, so stay tuned! Get notifications with the most up-to-date information about speakers, the main event, and Open Rehearsal by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
We look forward to see you at Open Rehearsal on April 4th as well the main event on May 18th!