Today, social entrepreneurship is recognized by all sectors of society even if its definition remains vague. Changemaking has gained popularity too. Many organizations and even schools now urge everyone to be changemakers, or agents of change.

Helping people become changemakers became my sole mission as well.

I stopped producing documentaries and launched a new foundation, Global Youth Fund, to engage as many young people as possible in creating social and environmental change.

Why did I feel the need to leave the media when it has unrivaled potential to raise awareness and inspire?

I suppose it has to do with what I recognized as the limits of social issues media. In my experience, media leaves most people in the same place, with the same question: “I’m inspired. Now what?”

My work in the last 10 years — at the Creative Visions Foundation, Ashoka’s Youth Venture and my own organization — is basically a series of attempts to answer that simple question.

What have I learned?

The first thing I would say is that it remains a difficult question to answer and we shouldn’t trivialize it by saying, “Just do something, anything!”

It remains difficult because most would-be changemakers are smart enough to foresee some potential problems. (And if they don’t anticipate them, they run into these problems sooner rather than later.)

1. Wrong Action
   They fear they don’t know enough about an issue to know what solution to champion. Even worse, they might support the wrong action and make things worse, which is actually quite common.
2. Little Impact
   Assuming they’re doing something constructive to address a problem, they worry they won’t make much of a difference, that their efforts won’t amount to a hill of beans.
3. No Support
   Finally, they worry about sustainability. Even if they are doing the right thing and creating real impact, can they really sustain their efforts, given limited resources and all other demands on their time?

These are not trivial concerns.

Having mentored hundreds of youth in starting their own social change projects, I encounter and wrestle with these issues all the time.

That’s why I’ve come to believe we need to change how we engage new practitioners of social innovation so that they don’t fall prey (so easily) to the most common mistakes. We need to shape a new path for “amateur” activists so that mass engagement can truly mean massive change.

In partnership with the Creative Visions Foundation, I’ve put together a new road map to help individuals and teams launch new social change initiatives.

This new “Creative Activist Toolkit” brings together several key best practices that I consider to be essential to social innovation.

In short, they help changemakers avoid three of the most common mistakes in early stages of changemaking, namely:

1. Locking in on ideas too quickly
   Problem solving requires creativity and, to be creative, you need both divergent and convergent thinking. Innovators need to stay open-minded to different possibilities and different solutions before locking in on one. However, most people feel lucky to come up with just one idea. Afraid they can’t come up with more, they commit to it too quickly and defend it against any and all critique. Changemakers can do themselves a huge favor by staying open to different solutions and only commit to one when they have to.
2. Focusing on outputs rather than outcomes
   What you do (outputs) is different from the difference you make (outcomes). Most people don’t make this distinction. They assume the more they tutor, volunteer, fundraise, and lobby, etc., the more impact they’re making for other people and the environment. So, they set goals to maximize their outputs. But, social change is ultimately about outcomes — how people are better off or how the environment is better off. Often, maximizing outcomes is not about doing more but taking different actions. So, set goals based on outcomes, not outputs.
3. Setting unrealistic goals
   We tend to assume there’s one ultimate solution to a problem and our job as changemakers is to figure out and implement that one solution. However, that kind of thinking can easily spin out of control. It can lead us to develop solutions that we have no hope of realizing, given our abilities and resources. Instead of scaling down expectations, we scale up: we’ll raise more money, stretch out the timeline, create a killer app, etc. Without concrete results, momentum and good will are quickly exhausted and one’s project dies a quiet death. Instead of reaching for the moon, achieve some short-term impact using available resources and use your early success to fuel more ambitious dreams.

I don’t pretend this Creative Activist Toolkit can provide even a fraction of the guidance you’ll need as changemakers but I hope it makes the journey a bit less intimidating.

And if you’re still inspired, now what?

Development Marketplace provides funding for early stage social entrepreneurs and has given away millions of dollars to ore than 200 organizations through its global competitions.

The toolkits are part of the support the Development Marketplace provides its winners to help them achieve greater impact and sustainability.

You can see the toolkits on their site here.

| Get your Presentation Pack

Admit it. The day you learned you get to give a TED talk, you couldn’t help but burst with pride. Sure, it’s not the TED conference… just a local TEDx event. But who cares?! In many people’s eyes, you’ve arrived.

This is your 18 minutes of fame! Finally, you get to talk to people outside your profession. And it puts you in front of a high-powered, well-connected, and insatiably curious audience… the TED community, known as TEDsters.

These days, I find myself having to prep quite a few speakers for their TEDx talks. Maybe it’s because I used to be a journalist. Or maybe it’s because I’ve developed toolkits on communication and storytelling. Or maybe it’s because I’ve given a TEDx talk before at TEDxTaipei.

Whatever the reason, I’ve now worked with quite a few youth leaders on their speeches. Each time, it’s a real privilege to see their story take shape. As they all begin to discover, it’s not just a “talk.” It’s about who they are and what their Purpose might be.

So how do you prepare for these TEDx talks with such high expectations? Having worked on several of them from first draft to last, I would offer these general principles and guidelines:

1. Read the TED Commandments
These are the official guidelines from TED on how to prepare your talk. If you’ve been invited to speak, you probably have received a copy of this. Chew them over one at a time and let them sit with you until each one triggers new ideas.

• Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick.
• Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before.
• Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion.
• Thou Shalt Tell a Story.
• Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy.
• Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
• Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desperate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness.
• Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
• Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
• Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee.

2. Watch some TED talks.
The more the merrier. You might do it anyway just because so many of them are so damn good. But you might want to save this step till after you have a first draft of your own speech. Allow yourself to formulate your talk before you’re influenced by others.

You’ll see from the talks just how diverse they are. There is no standard template, really. Nor should there be.

But do pay attention to each speaker’s delivery style. Some might more closely match your own. Look to them for inspiration on how to structure and deliver your talk.

3. What is the question?
Establish near the beginning of your talk what question fascinates you, and by extension, what question your talk will try to answer. What is the central question you’re trying to answer through your pursuits? Once this is established and your audience finds the question interesting, they will be hooked. They’ll come along for the ride.

An interesting question becomes an itch you want to scratch. Create that itch and people will want you to scratch it for them.

4. Give the backstory.
You were probably chosen to give a talk because you did something people noticed. The question is, “What don’t they see?”

Do they understand how it originated or unfolded? Do they know the challenges you had to go through? Describe how you got to where you are, if you think it can illuminate a subject.

Behind every interesting or inspiring thing or person, there’s a good backstory. You can’t go wrong sharing it.

5. Tell it chronologically.
Unless you’re very confident in your storytelling abilities, stick with telling your story chronologically. Don’t jump around or else it can get confusing.

Also, you want to build up to whatever it is you’ve accomplished. So don’t start off telling people about your crowning achievement or the impact you’ve had on others. Don’t give away the ending right at the beginning.

A story that follows a simple chronology is also easier to tell and easier to comprehend.

6. Strive for emotional impact.
People need to feel your story, not just understand it. Ask yourself, “Will people get this on an emotional level?” Where is the emotional peak?

Of course, it’s always hard to know how people will respond – on any level. But look to yourself. Why does what you do matter so much? Were there any moments in your career or life when you felt the importance of what it is you’re passionate about? Share those moments.

They could be times…

• When you or someone overcame challenges (against seemingly insurmountable odds)
• When you or someone expressed remarkable creativity (beyond your wildest imagination)
• Or when you or someone made an unlikely connection with someone else (despite your differences)

Make sure you’ve achieved emotional impact no later than 2/3rds of the way through your talk.

7. Share what you’ve learned. (Don’t preach.)
Let us in on your own intellectual journey. Take us back to when you knew less than you know now about whatever subject you’re talking about. What was your understanding then? What important insight(s) do you have now? Share with us the events or discoveries that caused the change.

By acknowledging that you have learned from your experience, you avoid coming across as a know-it-all. You will appear humble and even vulnerable. The audience will be able to relate to that.

8. Flip the paradigm.
Try to have a take away message that invites people to think differently about something. First, you have to identify what ideas or beliefs you have that are unusual or more refined than what is commonly held. Often, when you become an expert in something, you will develop ideas that most non-experts don’t have. Are some of them worth exploring? Talk about how you formed one of those ideas.

By the time you get to your concluding remarks, you should make it very clear what your alternative viewpoint is. State it explicitly so that people register your “sticky” message.

9. Present photos and video, not text.
In an 18 minute talk, you are saying a lot. You shouldn’t put more words on screen for people to digest. Instead, show them photos and videos that help transport them to places and moments mentioned in your talk.

Only create slides with text if people often compliment you on how beautiful your PowerPoint or Keynote presentations look. Otherwise, don’t bother.

10. Write two different talks.
If you’re really struggling with what to talk about, come up with two completely different talks. Test them on friends or just sit with them for a few days. You’ll know which one feels right.

This is how designers work. They come up with two or three different designs and then get feedback before deciding which one works best.

Abandon the idea you have only one good TED talk in you.

11. Memorize the beginning and the end.
If you feel you have to memorize your entire speech, go ahead. But the most important parts to perfect are the beginning and the end. Start well and end well.

What about the middle – the bulk of the speech? Ideally, your talk is mainly a story (or a series of events told chronologically). It should have a natural or logical flow. Let that help you remember what to say. You’ll find that you don’t need to remember a story word for word. Your audience will allow for a few fumbles, or a more causal or chatty delivery.

But try not to fumble at the beginning (when you’re trying to hook them) or at the end (when everything has to be tied up).

If you have your own tips, I invite you to post them below. And if this guide helped you prepare your TEDx talk, share a link to your talk as well.

Good luck!

Charles Tsai is a journalist, writer, speaker and consultant for social entrepreneurs. If you like more posts like this, subscribe to his blog.

Now that I feel more settled in Washington, DC, I hope to post more regularly, starting with this update.

I’ve begun working on what should have been the first toolkit, the one that ties together all the toolkits.  But I needed to work on the individual chapters to get a sense of how they will all hang together.

What I’m working on is a Pocket Guide to Social Change, which maps out the basic journey of a changemaker.  What basic steps should one take to produce impact on the world?  That’s the question I will attempt to answer.

If you’d like to be one of the first to view this guide, just send me a note on what you think should be one of the basic steps.  I’m limiting the steps to five so pick your step well.

It’s already getting a good response but I look forward to additional feedback in the weeks ahead.

Youth can offer so much in terms of great ideas and positive action, but are often dismissed as being “kids.” How can we as a society best serve and cultivate their potential?

Don’t talk down to them. Young people truly want to make a real difference in the world. Let’s not confine them to bake sales and car washes. Let’s help them innovate solutions and create tangible outcomes.

We should do all we can to help youth get better at creating change. To quote Kathy Sierra: “People can’t be passionate about things they suck at.” So the better young people are at creating change, the more passionate they will be.

And we need them to be passionate. The future they face – we all face – demands nothing less.

Link: Change.org Interview

A companion chapter to Perfect Your Pitch (Chapter 7), this one offers a template that you can use to create a funding pitch for your social change project. It’s also available in PowerPoint format.

If you ever have to present your project to funders, this chapter on how to “perfect your pitch” may come in handy.

Chapter 6 of The Creative Activist Toolkit deals with MacGyver’s approach to problem solving and why social change leaders might want to learn from his example.

The fifth chapter of the Creative Activist Toolkit. This one applies teachings of Made to Stick to storytelling and social change.

I’ve been itching to get this chapter completed for the Creative Activist Toolkit.

It speaks to an aspect of social change that is too often neglected – outcome. People tend to focus on what they do – their program’s activities – rather than what change they’re bringing about. It’s not always easy to measure outcome but I hope you will agree that it’s what really matters, in the end.