February 19, 2025 • 20 mins
Iris Grimm not only brings a fresh perspective to leadership development; she also brings a unique perspective to life. Being raised in the former East Germany, Iris understands the importance of agility, change, freedom, growth, and innovation. She arrived in Atlanta in 1995 when she sought greater adventures. Iris is an experienced coach and facilitator with a unique canine twist. Her trademark program is called “Dog-Gone Leadership” where her clients learn and implement practical leadership strategies that come from the experience of living and working with dogs. Iris’ clients are high-performing entrepreneurs, business owners, and corporate executives who are committed to getting more out of themselves, their teams, and their lives. Additionally, she makes it her mission to raise awareness of the impact that dogs can have on our lives and encourages dog adoptions from shelters to improve our life and work performance. She shared this message in her TEDx talk “Dogs make us better leaders” in February 2023. Iris’s services are acutely tuned to both professional and personal growth so that her clients maximize their potential as leaders and as human beings.
To learn more about Iris and her "Dog-Gone Leadership" program, check out her website: https://irisgrimm.com/
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To learn more about Iris and her "Dog-Gone Leadership" program, check out her website: https://irisgrimm.com/
We Support MOSAIC GEORGIA Go Here to Donate: 👉https://bit.ly/donatetomosaic
WATCH Robin's TEDx TALK Go here: 👉https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHtx1N9YWig&feature=youtu.be
Join our FREE Facebook Group: Go here: 👉https://www.facebook.com/groups/HowToTEDx
Want to access to TEDx applications and opportunities? Go here: 👉https://RobinNathaniel.com
Want Robin to SPEAK at your next event or support you with social media? https://beacons.ai/robbinmarx
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts Go here: 👉https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/red-circle-talk-by-robin-nathaniel/id1759246927
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Yeah, it feels like you've been here before. And also
I know we've been trying to plan this for a while.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yes, it's been a while, so but we've finally made
it happen.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And in all my times connecting with you, I don't
think I really heard your ENTIREX story. So that's why
I'm really pumped about this interview because we have some history.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
So let's just start from the beginning.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
When did you decide that, you know what, I want
to get on that teedex stage.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
When did you decide that? And what caused you to
want to do that?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So I decided it a few years ago.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
However I never took it seriously because back then I thought,
you KNOWX is only a few people, a few selected
people who can actually get on THEX stage. However, it
was in spring of twenty twenty two when I met
somebody on LinkedIn who is German but he is up
(01:01):
in Tennessee, and he was telling me that one of
his goals for the year was to get on the
Tetech stage. And I said to him, that's interesting, tell
me more about it. And so he told me about
his approach. He told me that he signed up with
a company that coached him, and and then you know
(01:24):
when when he stopped talking about it, he said to me,
you know what, you should do it too. With everything
that you know about dogs, and you're passionate about dogs,
why don't you also apply for it? And I said
to him, you know what, I never even thought about it,
and he said, I'll be happy to share anything with
you what I know. And that is really how it started,
(01:47):
hearing him and about his strategy of applying for a
TTEX talk and he actually was approved to speak on
two the HEADEC stages that year. He was inspiration that
I applied for it.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, sometimes when you see see someone do something, you
can't unsee it, especially if it's something that maybe you
aspire to or want to do. And that was a
lot of my journey was being there watching you on
your talk, because at that time I hadn't been on
a teTeX stage and I was just watching and like
(02:23):
soaking in all of this energy from all of these
amazing people, and you were one of them. So I'm
grateful for you sharing your life that day because it
also inspired me. I did want to ask you though,
iris you're welcome. I did want to ask you, you know,
because I know you have a very unique topic, right,
So like lots of people get on teed X stages
and sometimes they remix existing topics, yours is very specific,
(02:48):
very unique. Talk to me about the energy and bandwidth
that it took to create a talk around your topic
and maybe just talk a little bit about your topic.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
So it was really interesting and really really good that
I had only about six weeks to get ready for
this talk, because I did not get the approval that
I was selected as a speaker until the end of January,
so I'm sorry it was two months, so maybe eight
(03:21):
weeks until again end of December, and the speech was
on February the twenty fifth of twenty twenty three, so
it was about just two months. And in the first
couple of weeks, as you may remember, we were asked
to write a draft and send it to the organizer,
(03:43):
and then I got feedback, and then I was as
signed a coach, and then we set up a call
that wasn't until I think it was the first talk
we had. Meeting we had was on the twenty first
of January, and when he looked at my speech, he
said to me, you know, this is way too broad.
You have to be more specific, you you know, scratch
(04:05):
it and start all over again. And so I did that,
and then we met again two weeks or three weeks
after that, and he looked at it and he said
it's better, you know, but still not good enough. I mean,
you can go even tighter and more specific. And then
I made the last changes on it without getting any
(04:27):
approval from the coach or any input from the coach,
I just said, all right, I got enough.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And you know, the good thing was I had.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
About a week and a half to practice to get
it all in. But that was the good piece about
it now thinking back about it, because if I had
had let's say six months for all of that, it
would have stressed me.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Out for six months. I had it only for two months.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And again the last week and a half I had
a bunch of pressure to really get it in my head.
But it was not month agonizing about it, because, as
you know, sometimes we can be our worst critic.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And when you practiced this speech, did you memorize it
word for word or did you have like bullet points
that made you tell the you know, say the speech
based on the way you knew it.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, no, I practiced it and learned it word by word.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
That is impressive in a week and a half. Holy crap.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Well, I tell you what even happened, because you know,
I practiced it at first, I memorized it, and then
I practiced at home, always having the timer with me,
you know, making sure I was in the fifteen minute limit.
And I always stopped at around fourteen minutes something like that,
(05:55):
and I was like, and a couple of times even
at thirteen minutes and a few seconds, and I thought, okay,
you know, that gives me at least a minute or
two minutes for the buffer, so that I'm not going
way over. And the day before the event, we had
the the rehearsal at the theater and.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I lost my I lost you know, I lost it
in the way of that.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
I was standing there and I was like, okay, I
can't remember what comes next, you know, And it it
felt like hours, but it was only a few seconds,
I assume, I don't know. So I caught up, you know,
with my train of thought, finished it and went to
(06:44):
the guy in the back who was setting up the
audio on the video, and I said, how long did
it take?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Me, and he said twenty minutes. And I'm like, you're
going to be kidding me.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I mean, that's crazy.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
I thought, it didn't take me five minutes just to
pick up my train of thought. So that evening we
still have, you know, and I was like, I have
to cut back more. I have to cut back more.
So we had that that on that evening, we still
had that that what do you call it?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
The reception?
Speaker 4 (07:20):
And that is where I met and where you and
I talked.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And then I came home that night.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
And I looked at my speech again and I cut
out piece and I said, okay, this can go, and
this can go, and I can cut this one out.
And then I thought, oh boy, but what happens if
this happens to me tomorrow again? And in that moment,
I really just decided. I said, you know what, if
I'm going to lose my train of thought during the speech,
then this was not the message for the audience. Then
(07:49):
all I have to do is just surrender and whatever
comes through me in that moment, allow that come to
come through me, and trust that this is the message
that audience needs to hear. And when once I see
the sign in the back that says time is up.
Just find a way to wrap it up. And that
(08:10):
is how I got into it, went into that into
that performance that morning.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
But when you got on stage and gave your talk,
it was the scripted talk. You didn't have to let
some message flow through you because you did. You actually
remove those parts too when you.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
I did, Wow, that is tech.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Like I've talked to a bunch of I think this
is episode You're probably gonna be episode fifteen or sixteen.
I've done a few solo episodes too, but I've at
least interviewed twelve folks. I don't think anyone has a
story where it was that close to the actual event
that they found out that their talk was approved, but
(08:52):
also that they made edits the night before.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So that's that's fascinating. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
I would say this about the the rehearsal, the on
stage rehearsal for my rehearsal, and I and I was,
I was practicing word for word, iris.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I felt really good about it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
And you know, because of my location, I'm super close
to Gas South Arena, So I would go to the
venue and stand outside of the venue and rehearse my
talks on camera just so I could get the vibe,
so I felt really good about it. Then I got
to Gas South for the for the rehearsal, and this
(09:31):
man came on the on the stage with like a
television set, like he was rolling a television set on.
So I'm giving my talk and then this thing comes
up and I'm like, oh, like what, I'm like.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
This threw me.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Off and I ended up putting my talk out of order.
So no one knew, but I knew. And after that
that night, Iris, I just ran that thing over and over,
I drilled it by for that was the only part
of the talk that I practiced to night night before,
so I can relate.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
So now you're on stage, you give the talk. I
know you were.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
You were probably like nervous because of all of these changes.
Talk to me about walking off stage. What was that like?
Was there like a sense of relief? Talk to me
about your feelings after getting off the stage.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Yeah, of course, I mean it was a sense of relief,
And I was initially I was glad that I was
also the first speaker right after Daryl. Right, So Darrow
gave his the introduction, and I believe you know, he
gave his speech and then after that it was me,
but I was the official first speaker, invited speaker, and
(10:44):
I was glad at the time that I was the
first because I thought, all right, in that way, I
can go out do my thing, and then I can
relax and enjoy the rest of the speakers. And that
was really the nice part about it. Yes, of course,
I was really relieved. I was relieved that it went well.
I was relieved that I trusted myself and yeah, I
(11:11):
mean that really as you know, you know, that is
a good feeling.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yes, So I want to unpack the going first piece
because when we were in the process of like finding
out our order, I emailed the organizers and I was like, hey,
if possible, I'd like to go as early as possible,
if I can go first. And for that reason, Iris,
(11:36):
I didn't want to be pacing back and forth for
five hours. And also I didn't want to like come
to the venue later. I wanted to enjoy the entire event.
So talk to me about that. Do you think that
first time ted X speakers should request to go first
if they can.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Well, it all depends on how people, you know, what
works better for them. You know, for some people they
may need to hear things. They may need some time
to settle first, and you know they may be also
more what do you call it, There may not be
morning people, right because I mean we had to be
(12:20):
there at eight in the morning. It started I believe
at nine or nine fifteen. The disadvantage that I had
at the time was is Number one is it was
the first time Alexander Park had their first event, and
there were not as many people invited. And not only
that early in the morning, people were still trickling in
(12:42):
for the first speech, so there were not that many
people in the audience. So you know that I would say,
what's the disadvantage versus in the afternoon the room filled up, there.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Were more people. The energy was completely different at that time.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
So again I would say it's important for the speaker
to assess for themselves what works best for them so
that they really optimized their performance.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Very nice, very nice.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So after ted X, what has life been like for
you after ted X? Has it impacted your career any
opportunities that are presented themselves or even on a personal level,
have there have you experienced any changes or transformations?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
So you know, number one is obviously it was a
nice accomplishment for myself to be on the stage, to
do well, and also to have my speech be published
because I even learned that not all speeches are getting
published on the techex channel, So that by itself is
(13:55):
an accomplishment.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Has it. I use my teed x talk to build credibility.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
So when I talk with event planners or with leaders
in companies and they want to bring a training into
their organization around leadership development, then I always use my
talk and the YouTube video as a way to build
(14:24):
credibility and for them also to see what my message
is about. The organizer gave us a lot of good
tips on how to maximize and the PR on on
our TEDx talk, and I followed his advice and I
(14:46):
also hired a PR person, But that was the wrong
move for me. This person was not very active and
I should have known it right from the beginning in
the way of that she was very slow to respond
and and really, you know, I could have saved myself
that money.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Nothing came out of that.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
So again I believe if or if or when I
do it again, I would definitely focus more on the
post event production and PR and communication to really spread
the message further and really create the impact that my
(15:32):
message really deserves.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Very good, Very good.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So now for you mentioned that the next talk you do,
is that something you're actively pursuing.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Are you applying and if so, what tips.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Would you provide to folks who are also trying to
apply for TED talks right now?
Speaker 4 (15:54):
So, no, I'm not currently applying or even have a
topic in mind. If I will or when I ever
will do it again, it will definitely be a topic
around dogs, that's for sure, and dogs and leadership. And
you know, what I have learned from my friend Michael,
(16:16):
who shared with me what he learned from his coaching,
was really that, you know, if you want to apply
for this, have a system in place, make it a strategy,
apply on a regular basis, you know, and make it
a habit of sending out your applications.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
To several.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Event planners. Be patient, And I think he said it
takes about fifty or how many applications sometimes for somebody
to get approved. So it's not just apply once and
you immediately get accepted. That is really more the exception.
But really be patient, have a system in place to
(16:57):
make it easy for yourself that you can almost like
automate it in a way of you know, what he
taught me is put all of your application answers into
one document, into one word document, and as you're going
through the Google forms and fill out the applications, you
know they are all very similar, so that you can
(17:19):
just cut and paste.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Another thing he said is just go on the website
and look at all of the events that are in
your area and make a spreadsheet around this so that
you really look at all of the stages that you
want to apply.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Now.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
For me, it was easier because I also knew some
people in here in Atlanta who organized ted ex events before.
And I don't know whether my name was shared in
that way or not, but I also believe and that
(17:58):
at least was my experience. The reasons why I was
selected to was because I have given a lot to
the community in the past. I have been an active volunteer.
I have been when people needed help. I'm always the
one who raised my hand and said, yeah, I can
(18:20):
help you, especially around dogs, right, And I was active
in a have been active in the dog and rescue
community for a long time. And I believe, you know,
that was probably also the reason why it was easy
for me to get on the stage here in the
town or in the area where I live because of
(18:43):
what I have given in the past.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Amazing, amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Well, Iris, we're grateful for your work that you're doing
in this community. I'm here in the area, so I'm
grateful for you, and also I'm grateful for you taking
a little bit of time out of your day to
share some you'r light with us. I want to save
some time to give you the floor. If there are
any causes or any projects that you're working on that
(19:08):
you want to direct people to the floor as yours,
we'd love to hear about it.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Yeah, so obviously, you know, my focus always is on
the dog rescue world, and you know, yeah, right now
that industry is going through a crisis again. There are
many animals and dogs and cats that are in shelters
that will never find there for ever home because you know,
(19:37):
many people are not adopting dogs from shelters right now,
or many people are currently having dogs so that they
don't need to adopt another one. So you know, that
is really a crisis that we are having in this country.
And so with that, of course, there's a lot of
burnout in rescue groups, the volunteer engagement is low, so
(20:00):
that is one of the areas where I focus on
is helping rescue groups with their volunteer engagement, providing workshops,
teaching them leadership principles so that so that they are
staying calm, collected, and at peace while they are going
through this crisis. So again, my wish for the community
(20:24):
really is is you know, if you have room and
the time for an animal, please go to an animal
shelter or a rescue group adopt a pet from there.
And because these dogs and cats they need somebody who
will save them.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Amazing Iris.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Thank you so much, and this is our first season
for the show, so we hope to have you on
in the future.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Okay, thank you, Rovin, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Thank you
Yeah, it feels like you've been here before. And also
I know we've been trying to plan this for a while.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yes, it's been a while, so but we've finally made
it happen.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And in all my times connecting with you, I don't
think I really heard your ENTIREX story. So that's why
I'm really pumped about this interview because we have some history.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
So let's just start from the beginning.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
When did you decide that, you know what, I want
to get on that teedex stage.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
When did you decide that? And what caused you to
want to do that?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So I decided it a few years ago.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
However I never took it seriously because back then I thought,
you KNOWX is only a few people, a few selected
people who can actually get on THEX stage. However, it
was in spring of twenty twenty two when I met
somebody on LinkedIn who is German but he is up
(01:01):
in Tennessee, and he was telling me that one of
his goals for the year was to get on the
Tetech stage. And I said to him, that's interesting, tell
me more about it. And so he told me about
his approach. He told me that he signed up with
a company that coached him, and and then you know
(01:24):
when when he stopped talking about it, he said to me,
you know what, you should do it too. With everything
that you know about dogs, and you're passionate about dogs,
why don't you also apply for it? And I said
to him, you know what, I never even thought about it,
and he said, I'll be happy to share anything with
you what I know. And that is really how it started,
(01:47):
hearing him and about his strategy of applying for a
TTEX talk and he actually was approved to speak on
two the HEADEC stages that year. He was inspiration that
I applied for it.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, sometimes when you see see someone do something, you
can't unsee it, especially if it's something that maybe you
aspire to or want to do. And that was a
lot of my journey was being there watching you on
your talk, because at that time I hadn't been on
a teTeX stage and I was just watching and like
(02:23):
soaking in all of this energy from all of these
amazing people, and you were one of them. So I'm
grateful for you sharing your life that day because it
also inspired me. I did want to ask you though,
iris you're welcome. I did want to ask you, you know,
because I know you have a very unique topic, right,
So like lots of people get on teed X stages
and sometimes they remix existing topics, yours is very specific,
(02:48):
very unique. Talk to me about the energy and bandwidth
that it took to create a talk around your topic
and maybe just talk a little bit about your topic.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
So it was really interesting and really really good that
I had only about six weeks to get ready for
this talk, because I did not get the approval that
I was selected as a speaker until the end of January,
so I'm sorry it was two months, so maybe eight
(03:21):
weeks until again end of December, and the speech was
on February the twenty fifth of twenty twenty three, so
it was about just two months. And in the first
couple of weeks, as you may remember, we were asked
to write a draft and send it to the organizer,
(03:43):
and then I got feedback, and then I was as
signed a coach, and then we set up a call
that wasn't until I think it was the first talk
we had. Meeting we had was on the twenty first
of January, and when he looked at my speech, he
said to me, you know, this is way too broad.
You have to be more specific, you you know, scratch
(04:05):
it and start all over again. And so I did that,
and then we met again two weeks or three weeks
after that, and he looked at it and he said
it's better, you know, but still not good enough. I mean,
you can go even tighter and more specific. And then
I made the last changes on it without getting any
(04:27):
approval from the coach or any input from the coach,
I just said, all right, I got enough.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And you know, the good thing was I had.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
About a week and a half to practice to get
it all in. But that was the good piece about
it now thinking back about it, because if I had
had let's say six months for all of that, it
would have stressed me.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Out for six months. I had it only for two months.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And again the last week and a half I had
a bunch of pressure to really get it in my head.
But it was not month agonizing about it, because, as
you know, sometimes we can be our worst critic.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And when you practiced this speech, did you memorize it
word for word or did you have like bullet points
that made you tell the you know, say the speech
based on the way you knew it.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, no, I practiced it and learned it word by word.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
That is impressive in a week and a half. Holy crap.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Well, I tell you what even happened, because you know,
I practiced it at first, I memorized it, and then
I practiced at home, always having the timer with me,
you know, making sure I was in the fifteen minute limit.
And I always stopped at around fourteen minutes something like that,
(05:55):
and I was like, and a couple of times even
at thirteen minutes and a few seconds, and I thought, okay,
you know, that gives me at least a minute or
two minutes for the buffer, so that I'm not going
way over. And the day before the event, we had
the the rehearsal at the theater and.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I lost my I lost you know, I lost it
in the way of that.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
I was standing there and I was like, okay, I
can't remember what comes next, you know, And it it
felt like hours, but it was only a few seconds,
I assume, I don't know. So I caught up, you know,
with my train of thought, finished it and went to
(06:44):
the guy in the back who was setting up the
audio on the video, and I said, how long did
it take?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Me, and he said twenty minutes. And I'm like, you're
going to be kidding me.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I mean, that's crazy.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
I thought, it didn't take me five minutes just to
pick up my train of thought. So that evening we
still have, you know, and I was like, I have
to cut back more. I have to cut back more.
So we had that that on that evening, we still
had that that what do you call it?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
The reception?
Speaker 4 (07:20):
And that is where I met and where you and
I talked.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And then I came home that night.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
And I looked at my speech again and I cut
out piece and I said, okay, this can go, and
this can go, and I can cut this one out.
And then I thought, oh boy, but what happens if
this happens to me tomorrow again? And in that moment,
I really just decided. I said, you know what, if
I'm going to lose my train of thought during the speech,
then this was not the message for the audience. Then
(07:49):
all I have to do is just surrender and whatever
comes through me in that moment, allow that come to
come through me, and trust that this is the message
that audience needs to hear. And when once I see
the sign in the back that says time is up.
Just find a way to wrap it up. And that
(08:10):
is how I got into it, went into that into
that performance that morning.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
But when you got on stage and gave your talk,
it was the scripted talk. You didn't have to let
some message flow through you because you did. You actually
remove those parts too when you.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
I did, Wow, that is tech.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Like I've talked to a bunch of I think this
is episode You're probably gonna be episode fifteen or sixteen.
I've done a few solo episodes too, but I've at
least interviewed twelve folks. I don't think anyone has a
story where it was that close to the actual event
that they found out that their talk was approved, but
(08:52):
also that they made edits the night before.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
So that's that's fascinating. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
I would say this about the the rehearsal, the on
stage rehearsal for my rehearsal, and I and I was,
I was practicing word for word, iris.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I felt really good about it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
And you know, because of my location, I'm super close
to Gas South Arena, So I would go to the
venue and stand outside of the venue and rehearse my
talks on camera just so I could get the vibe,
so I felt really good about it. Then I got
to Gas South for the for the rehearsal, and this
(09:31):
man came on the on the stage with like a
television set, like he was rolling a television set on.
So I'm giving my talk and then this thing comes
up and I'm like, oh, like what, I'm like.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
This threw me.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Off and I ended up putting my talk out of order.
So no one knew, but I knew. And after that
that night, Iris, I just ran that thing over and over,
I drilled it by for that was the only part
of the talk that I practiced to night night before,
so I can relate.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
So now you're on stage, you give the talk. I
know you were.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
You were probably like nervous because of all of these changes.
Talk to me about walking off stage. What was that like?
Was there like a sense of relief? Talk to me
about your feelings after getting off the stage.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Yeah, of course, I mean it was a sense of relief,
And I was initially I was glad that I was
also the first speaker right after Daryl. Right, So Darrow
gave his the introduction, and I believe you know, he
gave his speech and then after that it was me,
but I was the official first speaker, invited speaker, and
(10:44):
I was glad at the time that I was the
first because I thought, all right, in that way, I
can go out do my thing, and then I can
relax and enjoy the rest of the speakers. And that
was really the nice part about it. Yes, of course,
I was really relieved. I was relieved that it went well.
I was relieved that I trusted myself and yeah, I
(11:11):
mean that really as you know, you know, that is
a good feeling.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yes, So I want to unpack the going first piece
because when we were in the process of like finding
out our order, I emailed the organizers and I was like, hey,
if possible, I'd like to go as early as possible,
if I can go first. And for that reason, Iris,
(11:36):
I didn't want to be pacing back and forth for
five hours. And also I didn't want to like come
to the venue later. I wanted to enjoy the entire event.
So talk to me about that. Do you think that
first time ted X speakers should request to go first
if they can.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Well, it all depends on how people, you know, what
works better for them. You know, for some people they
may need to hear things. They may need some time
to settle first, and you know they may be also
more what do you call it, There may not be
morning people, right because I mean we had to be
(12:20):
there at eight in the morning. It started I believe
at nine or nine fifteen. The disadvantage that I had
at the time was is Number one is it was
the first time Alexander Park had their first event, and
there were not as many people invited. And not only
that early in the morning, people were still trickling in
(12:42):
for the first speech, so there were not that many
people in the audience. So you know that I would say,
what's the disadvantage versus in the afternoon the room filled up, there.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Were more people. The energy was completely different at that time.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
So again I would say it's important for the speaker
to assess for themselves what works best for them so
that they really optimized their performance.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Very nice, very nice.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So after ted X, what has life been like for
you after ted X? Has it impacted your career any
opportunities that are presented themselves or even on a personal level,
have there have you experienced any changes or transformations?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
So you know, number one is obviously it was a
nice accomplishment for myself to be on the stage, to
do well, and also to have my speech be published
because I even learned that not all speeches are getting
published on the techex channel, So that by itself is
(13:55):
an accomplishment.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Has it. I use my teed x talk to build credibility.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
So when I talk with event planners or with leaders
in companies and they want to bring a training into
their organization around leadership development, then I always use my
talk and the YouTube video as a way to build
(14:24):
credibility and for them also to see what my message
is about. The organizer gave us a lot of good
tips on how to maximize and the PR on on
our TEDx talk, and I followed his advice and I
(14:46):
also hired a PR person, But that was the wrong
move for me. This person was not very active and
I should have known it right from the beginning in
the way of that she was very slow to respond
and and really, you know, I could have saved myself
that money.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Nothing came out of that.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
So again I believe if or if or when I
do it again, I would definitely focus more on the
post event production and PR and communication to really spread
the message further and really create the impact that my
(15:32):
message really deserves.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Very good, Very good.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So now for you mentioned that the next talk you do,
is that something you're actively pursuing.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Are you applying and if so, what tips.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Would you provide to folks who are also trying to
apply for TED talks right now?
Speaker 4 (15:54):
So, no, I'm not currently applying or even have a
topic in mind. If I will or when I ever
will do it again, it will definitely be a topic
around dogs, that's for sure, and dogs and leadership. And
you know, what I have learned from my friend Michael,
(16:16):
who shared with me what he learned from his coaching,
was really that, you know, if you want to apply
for this, have a system in place, make it a strategy,
apply on a regular basis, you know, and make it
a habit of sending out your applications.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
To several.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Event planners. Be patient, And I think he said it
takes about fifty or how many applications sometimes for somebody
to get approved. So it's not just apply once and
you immediately get accepted. That is really more the exception.
But really be patient, have a system in place to
(16:57):
make it easy for yourself that you can almost like
automate it in a way of you know, what he
taught me is put all of your application answers into
one document, into one word document, and as you're going
through the Google forms and fill out the applications, you
know they are all very similar, so that you can
(17:19):
just cut and paste.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Another thing he said is just go on the website
and look at all of the events that are in
your area and make a spreadsheet around this so that
you really look at all of the stages that you
want to apply.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Now.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
For me, it was easier because I also knew some
people in here in Atlanta who organized ted ex events before.
And I don't know whether my name was shared in
that way or not, but I also believe and that
(17:58):
at least was my experience. The reasons why I was
selected to was because I have given a lot to
the community in the past. I have been an active volunteer.
I have been when people needed help. I'm always the
one who raised my hand and said, yeah, I can
(18:20):
help you, especially around dogs, right, And I was active
in a have been active in the dog and rescue
community for a long time. And I believe, you know,
that was probably also the reason why it was easy
for me to get on the stage here in the
town or in the area where I live because of
(18:43):
what I have given in the past.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Amazing, amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Well, Iris, we're grateful for your work that you're doing
in this community. I'm here in the area, so I'm
grateful for you, and also I'm grateful for you taking
a little bit of time out of your day to
share some you'r light with us. I want to save
some time to give you the floor. If there are
any causes or any projects that you're working on that
(19:08):
you want to direct people to the floor as yours,
we'd love to hear about it.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Yeah, so obviously, you know, my focus always is on
the dog rescue world, and you know, yeah, right now
that industry is going through a crisis again. There are
many animals and dogs and cats that are in shelters
that will never find there for ever home because you know,
(19:37):
many people are not adopting dogs from shelters right now,
or many people are currently having dogs so that they
don't need to adopt another one. So you know, that
is really a crisis that we are having in this country.
And so with that, of course, there's a lot of
burnout in rescue groups, the volunteer engagement is low, so
(20:00):
that is one of the areas where I focus on
is helping rescue groups with their volunteer engagement, providing workshops,
teaching them leadership principles so that so that they are
staying calm, collected, and at peace while they are going
through this crisis. So again, my wish for the community
(20:24):
really is is you know, if you have room and
the time for an animal, please go to an animal
shelter or a rescue group adopt a pet from there.
And because these dogs and cats they need somebody who
will save them.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Amazing Iris.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Thank you so much, and this is our first season
for the show, so we hope to have you on
in the future.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Okay, thank you, Rovin, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Thank you
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