Frank King: Suicidal Comedian to TedX Speaker - Tips and Tricks for Finding Your Story

“There are few things on the planet more powerful than somebody with absolutely nothing to lose.”

We address:

● Keys to getting your message heard onstage

● Recognizing symptoms of suicidal behavior

● Creating a daily self-care plan for your mental health

● How to prepare and apply to become a TEDx speaker

Today, Karen sits down with five-time TEDx speaker Frank King. Aside from his prestigious speaking appearances, Frank was a former writer for the Tonight Show for over 20 years. He had also fought a lifelong battle with depression and had thoughts of suicide, and has since turned that long, hard journey into five TEDx talks, reaching all types of corporate, association, and college audiences. He uses his life lessons of all of the above as well as the lessons learned crisscrossing the country in the late 80s and 90s doing shows on the road.

Listen in as Frank explains why he uses humor to drive home his thoughts on suicide and mental health, and why he regards suicide as the secret to his success. He also discusses how to identify suicidal behavior in another person and how you can help them. Finally, Frank shares his personal self-care plan to nurture his mental health day-by-day.

3 MAJOR POINTS DISCUSSED

● People love to hear your messes and stresses before your successes. TED Talks (and Got Talent too, as Frank points out) has a very specific formula in place for everyone who goes onstage: they give their backstory first, along with their struggles, before moving onto the lesson or impact they want to make with the audience. If you can combine a message you’re passionate about with relatability and humility, you’ll make a deep impact, even if you’re a comedian speaking on suicide.

● Vulnerability is a superpower. “Even though one person dies by suicide in the U.S. every nine minutes, hardly anybody talks about it—unless you bring it up. Everybody’s got a story.” Understandably, it’s incredibly difficult for individuals struggling with depression to openly share their struggles. People often just need an example to follow, as Frank illustrates. But everybody has a story they need to share.

● To those struggling with depression, a self-care plan is a must. For Frank, there are five parts to his plan that he abides by every single day: a great diet , regular exercise , medication , the gamification of his most important daily tasks, and a routine . Especially in today’s uncertain times, everyone needs to create a structure for themselves to live by every day, if only to give purpose to each and every day.

RESOURCES

● Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo

● YourTEDxCoach.com

● The Mental Health Comedian

● Frank King on LinkedIn

● Reach Frank at [phone]

 

Frank King is a Five Time TEDx Talker, TEDx and Speaker Coach, Former writer for The Tonight Show for 20 Years

He’s fought a lifetime battle with depression, and thoughts of suicide, turning that long dark journey of the soul into 5 TEDx Talks, and sharing his insights on Suicide Prevention and Post- vention with corporation, association, and college audiences.

He uses the life lessons from all of the above, as well as lessons learned crisscrossing the country in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, doing 2,629 nights in a row on the comedy club circuit, to show