Working out a new TED Talk with Simone Stolzoff, Author & Journalist

32 snips

Sep 25, 2024

Simone Stolzoff, an accomplished author and journalist whose work has appeared in major outlets, shares insights while preparing a new TED Talk. He explores the delicate balance between personal identity and professional roles, advocating for redefining how we perceive our passions. The conversation delves into the iterative process of crafting engaging presentations and the role of visual aids in storytelling. Simone's willingness to embrace vulnerability sparks a lively exchange of ideas, highlighting the journey of turning raw concepts into compelling narratives.

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ANECDOTE

Mojgani's Advice

At 22, Simone Stolzoff interviewed his idol, poet Anis Mojgani, about career advice.
Mojgani suggested that doing what you love for work isn't superior to having a day job to pursue passions.

ANECDOTE

Career Goldilocks

Stolzoff spent his 20s exploring various careers, seeking the perfect, self-actualizing job.
This culminated in a difficult choice between two appealing job offers, feeling like choosing between two versions of himself.

INSIGHT

Work-Centric Identity

In America, jobs have become central to identity, partly due to declining community institutions.
Cultural idolization of work and linking healthcare and immigration status to jobs worsen this issue.

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Go inside the development of a brand new TED Talk, as Jay offers notes to friend Simone Stolzoff on his v1 draft. Simone is the author of The Good Enough Job and a journalist whose writing has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and more.

This is the first episode of a new bonus episode of How Stories Happen called "Is This Anything?" which we'll occasionally run in our off weeks. During this miniseries, you'll hear Jay and friends actively develop and work through new material for stories, speeches, and other projects.

In this miniseries debut, Simone shares an 8-minute TED Talk draft as he prepares for the big day, and Jay offers some notes to strengthen the content, insert callbacks and other framing devices, and tighten the talk track. Simo responds in-kind with vulnerable sharing, piercing questions about what might make more sense, and brand new ideas brainstormed on the fly.

It's all in the name of actively developing the speech from raw material into something special. Because that's how stories happen.

(Whispers) hey that's the name of the show!

RESOURCES:

⚫ Learn more about Simone Stolzoff and join his newsletter at simonestolzoff.com

⚫ Follow Simone on Instagram or LinkedIn

⚫ Buy Simone's book, The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work

🔵 Subscribe to Jay Acunzo's fortnightly newsletter at jayacunzo.com

🔵 Join Jay's membership program for business storytellers and service providers, the Creator Kitchen

🔵 Follow Jay on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Threads

🟢 Produced by Ilana Nevins

🟢 Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

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Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and differentiation-and-thought leadership consultant on a mission to help you make what matters to your career, company, and community. He's an advisor to experts, execs, and entrepreneurs who want to resonate deeper with others, not just reach them. To do so, he helps you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into differentiated messaging, exceptional speeches, and celebrated creative projects, equipping you with the communication techniques and power of today’s top thought leaders—because he believes in standing out through substance and stories, not hollow hype.

A leading voice in B2B content marketing for many years thanks to his roles at brands like Google and HubSpot, companies like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy have turned to Jay to strengthen their storytelling, while dozens of individual authors, speakers, consultants, and service providers hire Jay as their dedicated thought partner and exec. producer to help develop their premise, IP, speaking, and shows.

Jay lives in the Boston area with his family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan. In the 60 seconds per week he's not creating stuff for work or making his kids laugh, he likes to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with his wife, and daydream about telling stories like that of his storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain.