Think of the best gift you could ever receive. For some people it would be material items, and for others it could be love or kindness given to them. The answer to this question for most people was something that would change people’s lives for the better; items or emotions that most people view positively. However, most people don’t ever consider that terrifying events that your experience could end up being the best gift you ever receive. For Stacey Kramer, the best gift she has ever received was a brain tumor. Sounds ridiculous right? Once she had been cured of her illness, she looked back on that time and realized that in fact a brain tumor was the single best present she could have ever obtained. Due to her tumor, she was able to reconnect with her family and friends, re-evaluate her faith and beliefs, recalibrate what matters to her in life, and experience many more things. All of these amazing experiences resulted from a life threatening medical issue. For many of us, we would never imagine that a brain tumor would be the ultimate gift. This does not mean that everyone in the world needs to have a brain tumor to understand this concept. Instead people should take the unwanted and unfortunate events in their life and look for the positive results that could emanate from them.
Stacey Kramer’s remarkable story is an effective technique in and of itself. However, she does not just use her amazing story as her only technique. When she begins her TED talk, she asks the audience to imagine the ultimate gift. Then she describes what the ultimate gift to her is. Kramer makes this gift sound amazing and life changing. She makes it sound so fantastic she could probably sell it to every person in the world before even telling them what it is. Then about a minute before the end of her speech, she explains to them what the present is. She leaves her audience astonished that something as awful as a brain tumor could have ended up bringing such joy to her life. This is her most effective technique. The ability to surprise and wow her listeners leaves a lasting impression on all of them.
Kramer’s presentation is under six minutes and therefore her presentation style is very basic. She uses a power point with about ten slides showing pictures of what she is talking about. After she shows the slide, she then elaborates on them. She connects with her audience through personal stories and also uses a little bit of light hearted humor. Her presentation style is not the most important aspect of her presentation because of the intensity of her message. However, she still does an excellent job presenting in a calm and friendly manner which helps prove her points.
I think that what matters in this TED talk goes back to a question about your perspective on life. The question is: Do you see the glass half empty or half full? Now in both situations, the issue is still the same. The glass is only half way full or empty whichever you prefer. But the importance of this is to see how you view difficult times in your life. Just because an event seems negative at first glance, does not mean that it does not have positive aspects just beneath the surface. Take education for example. If a student receives an F on their first project, they are very discouraged. Most kids will not take that opportunity to see what they can learn from it and improve on the next time. If the world could learn to see things in a more positive light, then everyone would benefit. Sometimes bad events need to happen in order for you to appreciate the great things in life. The most important lessons in this TED talk are as follows, appreciate the small things in life, take a minute to look at the other side of every situation, and never let the negative shadow of night keep you from seeing the beauty that is seen during the day. Next time you face a rough time in your life, I challenge you to look at the glass half full before you look at it half empty.
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