In this solo YouTube episode, Sally Z (host of Be Moved) addresses creators during the early COVID‑19 pandemic, reflecting on the strange sense of time—days feeling endless yet freeing up unexpected hours. She observes that many people are experiencing both a surplus of time and a lingering urgency, and she frames this moment as a rare opportunity to finally prioritize a signature or TED‑style talk. Sally shares an anecdote about an entrepreneur who, after business slow‑downs, decided to invest in speaking, illustrating the shift from “always on the list, never on top” to taking action now. She explains why a well‑crafted core talk is a versatile asset that can be repurposed for conferences, podcasts, workshops, and video content, and how it positions the speaker as a thought leader. To help listeners act, Sally introduces the free “TED Talk Jumpstart Kit,” which includes a short training video, a PDF with writing prompts and exercises, and access to a limited‑time pop‑up group in Movers U focused on developing signature talks. She emphasizes that the kit is designed to clarify a speaker’s core message, generate story ideas, and provide community support. Throughout, she encourages the audience to use the newly available time to create or refresh their signature talk, promising that when live events return, demand for speakers will surge. The episode ends with a call to action to sign up at bmoove.com/tedtalk, share current projects in the comments, and engage with the community.
Chapters
Hey movers, it's Sally Z with Be Moved. Let's go create some talks that will move this world. We're going to talk with amazing speakers, share tips, tricks, resources, and we are going to be moved so that our audience can be moved. This moved me. What is moving Hello, my movers! Oh my gosh, how are you? I hope everybody's hanging in there okay. This past week has honestly felt like a month, and I keep laughing when I see those memes out there, but also, I mean, of course I'm laughing because it feels really true. Like, at one point it was the afternoon and and I was like, man, I wish I would have worked out today. And then I realized that I did work out that morning, but it felt like it was the day before because the day felt so unbelievably long. So I don't know if you are feeling that same thing where you like lose track of where you are in your day. I have had times where I've— this is a little off topic, but I've had times where I've woken up and in the morning and there's a moment where you're like, what month is it? Like, where are we in the cycle of the year? That's sort of how disorienting this time is. So, oh my gosh, time, time, time, time. And that's what I want to talk about today, because what I'm curious about is what your relationship to time is right now. I mean, do you have an abundance of time right now? Or are you feeling rushed and this kind of quiet, constant sense of urgency or panic? Because I'm hearing people on all sides of that spectrum. For some people, time has freed up some opportunities for them, and, and time has opened up in incredible ways. And if that's the case, it really opens up some incredible possibilities for us, possibilities for life and doing life a little bit differently than we have been. I was on a Zoom call this morning, which I said that the last episode, and the same thing is true. And this amazing entrepreneur I was talking to told me that speaking was, quote, always on the list but never at the top of it until now. And that really struck me. For her, her business has slowed a little bit. She does live events and that has changed, and now she has some time and she has decided to do something with that time. She has decided to take that time and invest in her speaking skills, among lots of other things, of course. And I am so delighted at that. I mean, that was like, oh my gosh, good for you. Instead of looking at this time as like, oh my gosh, speaking is, is off the map right now, which I don't think is true. We're showing up differently right now. But if you are thinking to yourself, well, there's no live events for the next few months, that is true. But they are coming back, and when they do, I want to make sure that you're ready. I mean, possibilities, possibilities are totally my jam, and I'm loving watching people who are seeing this time as full of possibilities. I mean, think of all the things that are happening right now that have nothing to do with speaking. That are happening because we have time that we didn't have before. Time together as a family, sitting around the dinner table. We have eaten together every night. That's amazing. Some people are taking their time and they're organizing that overstuffed closet. I'm in awe of you. Way to go. Some people are mastering a new skill, baking things that they've always wanted to bake. They're taking more walks. I mean, I look out my window and I just see family after family after family walking together, and I think it's so amazing. And of course, I believe that this is the perfect time to dive into your talks, to uplevel your video skills, and to generally invest in yourself as a leader and thought leader. Now, we don't know exactly when live events are going to be coming back online, No pun intended there, because it's not gonna be coming back online. No, we don't know when live events are gonna be coming back, but when they do, it's gonna be just like a flood of opportunities. And you don't— if in September all of a sudden these events come back, they're gonna start looking for people earlier in than that. So now is the time. This is an amazing opportunity to do the thing that is on your list but never at the top of it. Let's bump that up to the top of your list so that you can say yes to that speaking opportunity, but also so you can say yes to the podcast requests without worry. You can say yes to that conference workshop. You can say, um, yes to the video somebody wants you to make. You can Say yes to these opportunities to help build your brand and grow your audience and become a true thought leader in your space, because that is what a signature talk can do. Now, investing time in a core talk like this, um, that you can use in hundreds of ways is powerful, not just, um, for your eventual TED Talk, which I know that you want to do. Like, we all have that on our list, right? It's powerful not just for for that, but it's powerful for all kinds of other reasons too. For many people, this talk is their, this is what I want to be known for talk. It's not the new talk I'm creating every week talk. This is the, this is it for a little bit talk. So it is worth your investment of time and energy. And it's no longer an excuse of, I don't have the time, because most of us have freed up some time in our lives to do this exact kind of thing. You're gonna create it, and then you're gonna use it for a while. And we'll talk about exactly how we can take this signature talk and make it not just scalable, but repeatable in a way that really pays homage to each audience that you're in front of. So I just want to share with you and remind you of this awesome resource and opportunity that I'm putting out there right now. I'm calling it the TED Talk Jumpstart Kit. I'm super jazzed about this, and this is going to help jumpstart you to be ready to dive in to create your talk, because before you can do that, you have to know what your topic is. You have to know what it is that you want to stand up and say, this is what I want to be known for. Now, most of us probably have a ballpark that we're in, and that's a good start, but these exercises are gonna help you so much so that when you get to content creation time, you are ready. So in this kit are 3 things. Number 1, a really short video training from me with The number one thing that you have got to believe and know before you can start working on your signature talk. The second thing in this kit is this fabulous PDF that has some writing prompts. It's got some exercises in there that will help call out of you those key ideas and stories that will be the building blocks of your signature talk. And then the third piece of this kit, which I'm super excited about, is I'm creating a pop-up group in Movers U that is just a limited time, just for about a month here, a pop-up group solely focused on this exact idea: how to develop your TED Talk or your signature talk idea. So it's free. This is all free, and these resources are, I think, awesome and, and will help you in your process of developing your signature talk content. Now, if you have a signature talk right now, every few years you have got to shift and update it because most of us, what we are known for, as we live this idea and breathe this idea and continue to bring it out into the world, it evolves and changes. And so this is a great opportunity to refresh your signature talk and to breathe new life into it and, um, and make this something that you are excited about giving again. Okay. For those of you who already have one, but for most of you, my guess is you don't yet have the talk that you want to be known for. And instead of, uh, you responding to requests, you, it's going to go the other way. We are going to develop your idea. You're going to build you as a thought leader, and then the talks will start coming and you start slotting it out there. I think that makes sense. Okay. So time right now, we have it. We don't always have it. It is one of the rare finite resources in this life. And so now is the time. To invest in yourself, to invest in your business, in your idea, in your movement. You and your idea and your voice. It's hard to quantify how important this is and how game-changing it can be for you and your business. So I'd love for you to join me. If you want in on the TED Talk Jumpstart Kit, you go to bmoove.com/tedtalk and you can sign up there. And get access to all these amazing goodies. Okay, so here's my question for you. What are you working on right now in your time? What is the thing that you are bringing to life? How are you taking advantage of this time and space? Maybe you're not ready to work on your signature talk. My hope is though that whatever it is that you're doing, it is about bringing your voice out into the world in a way that makes an impact. Because that is ultimately what we are doing here, to create some talks that will move this world. And I would love to walk with you on your journey. Thanks to those of you who already— if you're here, I'm so grateful that you, uh, have brought me in and allow me into your experience in this small way to walk with you on your journey as you are developing your talk. All right, my movers, this moved me. What is moving you right now? I'd love to hear. Put them down in the comments. See you there.
