At first it was a frustrating experience and we had to jump through many hoops. TED Talks are highly structured, and they have a serious commitment to their format. They are perfectionists and do not compromise quality.
Of course, I was rebellious at the start – as the total time allocated was exactly 14 minutes for me and Ples, the grandfather of the young man who killed Tariq and who has been my partner in Tariq Khamisa Foundation for 22 years. Typically, my keynotes are in the range of 75 – 90 minutes, and I always start with a video of my story. There was no way to show the video; the TED organizers absolutely refused, as that is not their format.
There was much we had to provide it terms of script, and complete what seemed like endless formalities. More than once Ples and I decided to drop the invitation. But somehow, we persevered because we had made a commitment, and I take keeping my agreements sacrosanct. My biggest concern became how we could both tell our story in 14 minutes.
We did a live practice session on the Internet, which was helpful, as it was the first time I saw this actually was doable. What helped the most was the dress rehearsal at the venue prior to our actual presentation. We got good feedback from the TED team – everyone was brilliant and demonstrated a high level of competence.
At the actual presentation we were both well prepared, the talk went extremely well and it was resoundingly received by the audience. The Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans was an amazing venue with over 950 participants. And with the grace of God we were able to articulate our message in a succinct powerful presentation in – believe it or not -precisely 14 minutes. WOW!
Thank you, TED we now have, a 14-minute talk that will be seen worldwide. We can use this talk in so many different venues in the work of The Tariq Khamisa Foundation and in my extensive work and tireless commitment worldwide in teaching how to create love, unity and peace through the practice of forgiveness.
To tell you the truth I am still high from this experience
I left New Orleans with a tremendous respect for this amazing organization. TED talks are changing the world! I take my hat off to the TED team! Tune in on January 21, 2018 the posting date of our TED talk to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the tragedy that took Tariq’s life, and spawned TKF!
Who would have imagined all that has manifested in choosing forgiveness instead of revenge?
