Uncover your best ideas by exploring your unique experiences, interests, and perspective.

Reflections
Small things that bring me joy are ____.
Something that annoys me is ____.
I know a lot about ____.
I could talk about ____ for hours.
It’s hard for me to ____.
People who know me describe me as ____.
I’m proud of ____.
I’ve failed at and recovered by ____.
A time I showed leadership was ____.
I wish I could improve ____.
If we stopped doing ____ we could change ____.

Lesson vocabulary:

Incredible
– very surprising or amazing; hard to believe
“[Speakers] have the power to make an incredible impact.”

Deserve
– to be worthy of something due to effort or quality
“Do you have ideas that deserve a wider audience?”

Valuable
– very useful or important
“Many people don’t realize just how many valuable ideas they have.”

Passionate
– having strong emotions or interest
“Maybe you can’t think of anything you feel passionate about right now.”

Tricky
– difficult in a way that’s not always obvious
“That’s a tricky place to start.”

Remarkable
– unusual or exceptional in a way worth noticing
“Things that other people find remarkable about you.“

Recognize
– to become aware of or identify something
“...you may not recognize your great ideas.”

Conversations
– meaningful back-and-forth talks between people
“...one good way to uncover your talk-worthy ideas is to have conversations with the people who know you best.”

Possibility
– something that might happen or be true
“[Walk] around open to the possibility that some part of your unique journey could be interesting and helpful for an audience.”

Unique
– one of a kind; unlike anything else
“...some part of your unique journey could be interesting and helpful foran audience to learn about.”

Community
– a group of people connected by place or shared identity
“Is there anything your community could teach other communities?”

Issues
– important topics or problems people care about
“What are the issues that matter most to you?”

Riddles
– confusing or puzzling questions or problems
“What are the riddles that people don't yet have good answers for?”

Opportunity
– a good chance to do something
“Why not use your public speaking opportunity as a way to find outmore?”

Presence
– the way someone appears or feels in a space (used at end: “stage presence”)
“The [most important thing] in public speaking is not confidence, stagepresence, or smooth talking.”

The TED-Ed Student Talks program provides free, customizable activities for educators to support their students in identifying, developing and sharing their ideas with each other and the world. Learn more at the Student Talks page.