TED Talk Analysis - Parker Michel

I watched three Ted talks around the topic of self-esteem, and finally found one that spoke to me and was relatable to Girls on the Run. This TED Talk, called “Meet Yourself: A User’s Guide to Building Self-Esteem” was given by Niko Everett on February 8, 2013 at the TEDxYouth Conference at Bommer Canyon, CA.

Niko began her talk with a narrative, that I think was effective in capturing the audience and making her topic more relatable. She began by detailing thoughts she had about herself at different ages: when she was young, she hated her freckles, when she was a teen she was embarrassed of her mom, and she threw up to make herself skinny. At every age, there was something she did not like about herself. These stories made her topic relatable--everyone struggles with how they see themselves.  

Niko did well with making it seem like she was talking to me. I don’t know if it’s just because I could relate, but everything she said made sense. Her body language, facial expressions, and the look in her eyes made me feel like she felt for me, that she had empathy and compassion for me and her audience. Although Niko did not really bring in any jaw-dropping moments, she brought in one shocking statistic. I learned that 1 in 4 girls have sex for the first time more because they think people might like them more if they do. This idea, that people might like us if we do something as monumental and important as having sex for the first time is not rare. I do things and my friends do things just because other people are doing it.

Because this topic was pretty serious, Niko did not really have to bring in humor to make it more effective. There were a few lighter moments, but none that made me laugh. She did not hit the 18 minute mark, and I think she could have told more stories about her work and herself to drive home her ideas. Niko had a powerpoint at the end, that quickly detailed ways that she has found effective to build self-esteem. This powerpoint was simple, which made it effective. Her ideas to build self-esteem are:

From fashion-italy.blogspot.com

1- Spend time with people who make us feel good. Niko said to find "our Julie"--your best friend.

2- Turn up the volume on positive thoughts and delete negative ones--try to push the negatives out and let the positive thoughts reverberate.

3- Tell others what we like about them--help jumpstart their positive thinking. Helping others feel good about themselves can help us feel good.

4- When we receive compliments, stand our ground, look giver in the eye, let it in, and say thank you. We have to learn to take compliments.

From kyrm.org

These ideas have helped her and the young girls she works with. Receiving compliments has always been hard for me, and I imagine it’s sometimes hard for others. At Girls on the Run, we do thing called Spirit Awards. The girls nominate another girl and give her an award--it could be something little, or something big. Most of the time, awards are given to a girl who ran the whole time even if she was tired, or who paced herself, or who stuck with her friend the whole time. These awards give the girls the boost that they need. They feel someone has recognized their efforts so it makes it easier for them to do it. Niko’s ideas to boost confidence definitely help, and I hope that we can try to implement some of these ideas into Girls on the Run. I love seeing the girls happy and feeling good about themselves.

Giving Spirit Awards at GOTR