Unearthing Stories, Shaping Talks: Inside the TEDxSingapore Experience

The second time I talked to heritage preserver Sun Yao Yu, he spent almost two hours telling me about the history of typesetting in Singapore and across Southeast Asia. I was lost in the depths of words and terms I had never heard: Heidelberg press, typecase, Jawi, composing stick, embossing, and many more. As we got off the call, I tried to organize my thoughts and the mountain of information Yao Yu (or just YY as the team affectionately called him) shared with me and wondered how we could ever turn such a complex topic into a ten-minute TEDxSingapore talk to be delivered at Esplanade Waterfront Theater in front of an audience of hundreds in just a few months.

Last year was my first time being on the core team for TEDxSingapore, I found out about the organization the year before and helped take photos at the 2023 event, The Spaces Between, but I wanted to be more involved to support the program and learn more along the way. Like many people, I had watched many inspiring TED talks online, but I never realized there were local community-led versions around the world. So, as the planning kicked off, more than six months before the event, I was welcomed to the core team and made part of the speaker team, whose role it is to source speakers and curate their talks by working closely with them throughout the process. Our goal being to develop impactful talks relevant to the local audience that would watch live, as well as an international audience that would be able to watch the talks online for years to come.

Lead curator and TEDxSingapore organizer, Vivian Lim, gave us training on the TED process for curation, what the curation process is like, and how best to work with speakers. But there was a lot of freedom in how each speaker coach worked with their speaker to get the best out of them for our audience. We had a fantastic lineup of speakers this year, each with their own unique perspective, expertise, and story to share. I was honored to get to know all of them and have small inputs on many of the talks, but YY was the speaker I worked with from the start and advocated to bring onboard after our first speaker open mic night. I was fascinated by his story, the many years he had put into searching for and collecting artifacts from old printing shops around Singapore, and most of all - what drove him to keep going when seemingly almost no one else cared.

The TEDxSingapore community is amazing, from people who just love hearing the talks to past speakers, partners, and volunteers, it has been amazing to connect with such an interesting and diverse group of people. But we could always use more friends; I encourage anyone who has an interest in TED and the kind of ideas that change everything to attend a future event, or even better, get involved in the community. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and the people around you.

And then the day arrived and we were walking into the giant theater with only a few hours until it would be filled with an excited audience. The rest of the day was a blur of the dark backstage, peeking out from behind the curtains, helping speakers with last-minute practice, and supporting them with food or drinks and anything else they needed. Finally, the curtains closed, and we were done with the final product of over six months of work and preparation. Reflecting back, I feel proud of what we accomplished and the quality of the talks the speakers gave. The biggest lesson I learned was that there are so many interesting people and stories out there, even in a small country like Singapore. People are doing cool things, have amazing ideas to share, and lead unique and interesting lives - and if we don’t take the time to get to know each other, to listen and talk to others - we miss out.

Nicholas Braman has been a TEDxVolunteer since 2023. He is a seasoned B2B marketer, leading innovative strategies in the APJ region. Nicholas is also the host of Before We Get There, a podcast that explores personal and professional journeys through candid conversations. Passionate about people's stories and meaningful connections, he is always looking to learn from others and gain new experiences through both his work and personal pursuits.