Monday, December 16, 2013

My Video Rant

Last August I was a part of Ignite Lincoln and had 5 minutes to spout off on my hope to re-prairie the city. Watch me go in front of 600 folks -- and say with me that "milkweed is not a weed!" I have to admit, it was hard to say everything I wanted to in five minutes, and the breathless pace kept me on my toes. And oh, the bright spotlight.

If anyone out there is looking for a speaker I'm wanting to do more. I've already got three dates lined up for next year, working on two more. Also working on a book that informs everything I talk about. So if you're a garden club, conference, botanic garden, nursing home, garden nursery, I can tailor my message and vibe to any audience.


6 comments:

allanbecker-gardenguru said...

That was great Benjamin. It seems to me that your words soar more when they are spoken than when they are read. I suppose that's because, at heart, you are a poet.

And that from a city boy who is unable to relate to a prairie!

Were you permitted to speak for more than 6 minutes? I am wondering if your message would have been even more powerful if it were delivered at a slower pace.

Benjamin Vogt said...

Allan -- We were limited to 5 minutes. It was very hard to say what I wanted in that amount of time, but it was a good pressure. I had 20 slides and 5 minutes, that's it! :) Thanks for watching.

Anonymous said...

This is spot-on, and maybe it can be tailored for less points in less time, or more detail/slower in more time? I attended a conference in Tucson which was 10-15 minute presentations all morning, as per some scientific proceedings conferences, and it was effective just like yours.

The fast pace actually was informative and energizing / motivating.

It's time that the blah lawn deserts you show and speak of (and gravel or other manmade deserts where I live) be relegated to fenced-in zoos to gawk at, and all the LA"s and designers who keep doing them are sentenced to them as their zookeepers.

And the majority of our towns be mostly reflective of their own ecoregions :-)

Anonymous said...

That was wonderful, Benjamin. I am looking forward to showing your talk to my therapeutic gardening group this week! It is a moral issue...I really love the way you boldly say that! Cheers from San Antone!

Benjamin Vogt said...

David and Heather -- Hey, if yer in eastern PA in early June I'm giving a 45-60 min talk expanding on this. It'll have way more research (hope to have a book manuscript by then).

People get upset when I call it a moral issue, which must mean I'm on the right track, cutting close to the bone. :)

Les said...

Will you please run for president?