Own The Moment: TedX Boston Executive Producer Danielle Duplin's Guide to a Powerful Speech
“Content is King, Quality is Queen, and Confidence is your Ace to “own the moment” on stage.” Have you ever thought of making a Ted Talk? Today’s woman dreamer, Danielle Duplin, has led a dynamic career as an award winning public speaking coach and strategic innovator. From Executive Producer/Co-Founder of TedX Boston to a Vice President of Fidelity and mentoring hundreds of startups through Mass Challenge, Fintech Sandbox and more, she has a dream for the post pandemic world to “build back better”. Danielle shares her top tips to writing a good speech, how to radiate confidence, and how every woman can “own her moment”! Enjoy her story below!
1) What makes a good speech? What makes a good TED TALK?
A good speech delivers a useful message in a clear and compelling way. A great speech connects with the audience on a deeper level intellectually and emotionally. A transcendent speech moves people to action and can literally change the world.
A TED Talk revolves around “an idea worth spreading” ~ it could be a fresh take on an evergreen idea (like love, humanity, creativity, etc.) or a ground-breaking idea on tech, science, health, environment, design, the arts, culture, etc. Most importantly, a TED talk is a catalyst for continued conversations on building our shared future in the best possible way.
It’s worth noting that a speech does not have to be long to have impact ~ Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in less than three minutes and it remains one of the most iconic and influential speeches in American democracy.
I work with clients to understand how the speech will help them achieve their larger goals, to be clear about what’s in it for the audience, and then to craft a talk that works best for the material and the context.
2) What are your tips to women on public speaking?
Content is King, Quality is Queen, and Confidence is your Ace to “own the moment” on stage.
Your content needs to include three critical elements: Inform (what you want the audience to know), Inspire (how you want them to feel), and Influence (what you want them to do).
Your quality should reflect the preparation and care you put into your talk in order for you to earn the audience’s precious time and attention.
You must also radiate confidence through your delivery. This does NOT mean you must be “perfect”, in fact, it’s OK to be nervous or vulnerable – but you must believe in yourself and your message, otherwise the audience will not fully trust or align with you. Confidence isn’t magic, it comes from continuous practice and feedback. It also emanates from the joy you feel about your material, so let it sparkle!
I work with clients to hone their content, polish the quality, and allow their best-self to shine through on stage.
3) Tell us your story. You were a VP of Fidelity, and you switched careers to become Executive Producer: TEDX Boston, and now you have a production company.
In college, I spent equal time in the computer lab and in the dance studio, graduating with a major in Math/Computer Science, a minor in Theater Arts, and advanced coursework in Business throughout my career! And now, I produce innovation events for companies that aim to solve hard problems, achieve strategic goals, and light up an audience. I’ve spent decades as a Software Engineer, Executive Leader, Board Strategist, Coach, Convener, and Consultant to build innovation ecosystems using the power of connection, creativity, and communication. I’ve always been drawn to complex, high-growth scenarios where innovation, curiosity, community, and above all, enthusiasm, can make all the difference in having a great experience and a memorable outcome. Public Speaking is an essential part of the journey if you want to implement bold ideas, and I approach it with the precision of a computer scientist and the panache of an entertainer.
4) What is your next big dream?
I’ve worked at the company scale, the city scale, and the community scale, and now I want to have impact at the world scale. I’d love to connect people across cultures and explore ways to collaborate and innovate. As the world begins to emerge from the pandemic with new perspectives and a deeper sense of empathy for each other, my dream is to foster the next Renaissance as we collectively ‘build back better’ . . . I’d make a fabulous Ambassador :-)
5) You have an interesting mantra, “own the moment” What does “Own the Moment” mean to you? how can every woman “own the moment?
“Own the Moment” is that moment when the audience spontaneously gasps; drops a tear; rises to their feet; applauds with joy and generosity. That moment when your words connect with another human in a way that lights up their eyes and sparks something in their soul. That moment when you step off stage and people rush to you for more, or reach out to you years later to say how your talk changed the course of their life. That moment when you worked so very hard and nailed it when it mattered most. That moment when time suspends in order to absorb the sheer magnitude of it all. That moment when something new and wonderful manifests in the world and you can trace it back to another moment when you said the right thing to the right person at the right time in the right way that set off a chain reaction. The world needs more of these moments, and everyone needs to know that they can achieve them.
Thank you Danielle for sharing your inspiring story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Bio: Danielle D. Duplin, President, FreeWind Productions, is an award-winning public speaking coach, and a producer of strategic innovation programs. Danielle offers a range of private coaching, corporate workshops, conference keynotes, thought partnership engagements, and emcee roles to help clients achieve their strategic goals and move ideas to action. Danielle applies her unique blend of 30+ experience including: as a Vice President at Fidelity Investments to lead enterprise-wide innovation initiatives; as a Software Engineer to solve complex operations with tech and launch new lines of businesses; as an Executive Producer to design/produce over 800+ events on emerging tech and business trends; as a Mentor and Pitch Coach to hundreds of startups and scaleups via MassChallenge, FinTech Sandbox, Leading Cities, AGENCY, and TechStars; as a Cofounder/Producer of TEDxBoston (20+ million video views), Telefest (a corporate TV series), and the inaugural HubWeek Ideas Festival to amplify big ideas on stage and on screen; and as a Coach to help over 1,500 speakers to inform, inspire, and influence their audiences and launch the careers of key opinion leaders and innovators. Danielle is a board advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank Working Cities Challenge to spark systems-level change in under-resourced cities, and a board member and international delegate for Leading Cities to foster urban innovation. Danielle’s latest entrepreneurial venture is Cofounder and Global Director of AGENCY: Worldwide Innovation for Living Longer and Aging Better. AGENCY combines premium coworking for startups, with expert programming and a global community of innovators focused on improving the aging journey. Ms. Duplin earned a B.S. in Mathematics/Computer Science from Binghamton University in N.Y. with a concentration in Performing Arts, and an Executive Certificate in Innovation from MIT Sloan School of Management.
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