Revelations from the Red Circle: A Fresh Perspective on the TEDx Stage
Join Kassi Kincaid in a compelling conversation with Frankie Russo, top growth keynote speaker, serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, inventor, and TEDx speaker. Journey through Frankie’s speaking career and gain an insightful perspective on the TEDx red circle!
Links from Episode:
Frankie Russo’s Website
Transcript:
Kassi Kincaid (00:00):
Welcome to The Edge of Creativity podcast. I'm your host, Kassi Kincaid, and joined with me today is Frankie Russo, top growth keynote speaker, serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, inventor, and TEDx speaker. Frankie, thank you so much for being here today.
Frankie Russo (00:19):
Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be on today. I'm super excited about our conversation.
Kassi Kincaid (00:26):
I am so excited to share with our listeners a little bit of everything you do, but today, specifically honing in on your TEDx journey. So hopping straight into it, can you share with our listeners where your speaking journey began and how it led to doing a TED Talk?
Frankie Russo (00:44):
Yeah, so it's an interesting story because as I said before, I always felt like the TED Talk at this point was a little bit, maybe I had missed the window in the past. I started speaking in 2010, so obviously that's 14 years, not to age me too much and no, I wasn't 13 years old. So yeah, in 2010 I started speaking and it was mostly for business because I owned several different businesses and I was, one of the first gigs I got ironically was for Apple Inc. And so that was kind of cool. It was in New York and that was really the first time I realized, okay, this is something that I need to take more seriously. I actually did that first time I spoke for Apple was not the best talk. I had note cards. I mean, so everybody has that embarrassing first talk. It probably shouldn't be for Apple Inc, but what are you going to do? I've always been the dive into the deep end and like that because I think by nature I'm a procrastinator, but whenever I have a deadline, all of a sudden I snap into gear. I've had things on my list to work on for the last three months on my website and some different things for virtual talks, and then I have three virtual talks in seven days and all of a sudden I'm an A plus student.
Kassi Kincaid (02:05):
Some people are just like that.
Frankie Russo (02:06):
Oh look, I don't even know how else to be wired. So anyway, so I was always looking for ways to challenge myself, put myself out there, started doing speaking. Then speaking, didn't get really serious until about 2014 when I started writing my first book. So I had an interesting history with drug addiction and alcohol, and in 2008 I got sober from that. And so it's been 16 years now. But through that journey I started to work with humans and in addition to all the teams I had with my companies and things like that, I was having a lot of deep meaningful connections and interactions, helping people transform out of addiction, off the streets, and into a regular life. And so I learned a lot from that and I wanted to be able to translate that to everyday people. And that's where the first book, The Art of Why came from very difficult process.
(03:01):
I started writing it too young, to be honest. I started it when I was 33 and everybody says, wait till you're 40 to write a book. Of course I didn't listen to that. So The Art of Why came out in 2016 and that was my first time of realizing, okay, you don't sell a million books every time you write a book. And I figured out fairly early on that the speaking, I'm sorry, the thought leader industry, especially if you're an author, is kind of like the music industry. So I was in the music business a long time in college and in high school and tried to make it big and got tired of starving to death. So I got out. But essentially the correlation is that if I had made two albums right back then, and the fact is that you don't make millions and millions of dollars on albums, and unless it's a special scenario, Taylor Swift, whatever, you make the money either licensing.
(03:54):
So if you somehow get your song on Grey's Anatomy, that's one way. But for most people, the way is to go on tour. What I realized was that that's how authors are as well. You're going to sell some books, but the real way to make money as an author is to go on tour. And that is the keynote speaking. That's where my head's been. And again, I continued to have the businesses going at the same time up until 2021, I didn't go full-time as a keynote speaker. I was still part-time up until 2021, but I've been speaking and getting paid to speak for about 10 years. So 2014 was when I actually started getting paid to speak. The other ones were more invite. It was good for branding, it was good for my positioning, and quite frankly, I didn't even really know how to get paid to speak for a long time or what that looked like, how it works.
(04:46):
And it's kind of an interesting walled garden of an industry. And I've spent a lot of time coaching other speakers and working with people like yourself that are trying to figure out, I want to make more impact in this world and how do I do that? And there's different ways I've done that. I'm a partner in something called Impact 11, and that's something that is a powerful, powerful resource for speakers. And there's other ones out there. But for me, I got to a point, I put out my second book in 2022 and really started to see my keynote speaking take off, especially as I got more and more focused on the problem that I wanted to solve, and more importantly, the problem that I can solve, meaning I have a credibility and I'm a person uniquely qualified to solve that problem and transformation that has got proof in the pudding, if you will.
(05:40):
And so that's been my journey. And in 2016, I actually applied for a TED Talk and my talk got rejected. And part of that reason I think it did is because I was not really clear on this amazing idea I wanted to give to the world. And I think a lot of people make that mistake. And so the journey of being a professional speaker and a keynote speaker actually can work against you in the TEDx process. So I think we might want to kind of drop into that a bit. So first thing you, okay, great. So first thing you need to know is that one, my drive and ambition to be a TEDx speaker was a little bit different than I think maybe some people, people, it's like I want to just have my first talk or I want to get video, or I think it's going to help me with my speaking career.
(06:29):
And quite frankly, for me at the stage I'm at now, most of my friends who were at the same stage said, you really don't need it. It's not necessary. And I get it. But it was one of those things that I've always loved the TED brand, and it was more of like, I don't know if I'd call it a bucket list item, but it was an experience that I wanted to have and to be honest, I wanted to see the methodology around the way that they do memorization and just having something that curated. I'm the type of speaker that does a lot of customization, so it's rare that I have four months with a speaking coach and all that to prepare for a talk. So that was kind of cool. But yeah, so I think it's important to note that part of it. The other thing I would note as it relates to this is that if someone's an author or if someone's a speaker, that does not mean they're going to get chosen.
(07:22):
In fact, I got rejected from one of them because I was almost too much of a keynote speaker. And one thing that TED doesn't want, and this is why it worked out for me, is because my mission was aligned with what TED's mission is. And this is not a self-promotion moment. The thing about TED is that the people organizing it are so passionate about TED. It's like TED is life, the rest is just details. So you have to honor that. You have to honor that. If TED says no religion, if TED says no politics, if TED says no self-help, if TED says whatever TED says, you should honor that with reverence almost because they'll recognize that. This is about the world, this is about the audience, and this is about giving it a gift to society in essence. Absolutely. And so as I tweaked a little bit of my application process and curated it a bit, not a lot, I already knew that going into it.
(08:34):
And the thing about it's the first two that I got rejected from, it was one of those things where one of 'em I never got a response from. So I don't know what's happened there. The other one was one that was just very, very focused. Number one on, they wanted everyone to be from that town. Okay? So that's the first thing. You can't necessarily change that. And then the second part was that they felt like it was to self-help, which I thought was interesting. And I know it's because the person researched me and they saw the work that I'm doing. And so just because you're an author or a thought leader speaker, it doesn't mean that that's a shoe in. In fact, it can work against you. And all the more reason you have to come with an idea that is clearly one, a fresh talk that you've not given before that's important.
(09:23):
And then also come with something that is not promotional at all. It is just not promotional. It aligns with my body of work, but there's no angle to it. This is purely like, alright, there's a problem right now in the world and for me that was the AI disruption in AI revolution that's happening. So that's the problem and the speed at which that's happening is the problem that I wanted to talk about. And so that's a universal problem that we're all going through. And my solution wasn't a solution that required money or status or things that are not accessible to all humans. And so those are some of the things that I looked at when I was trying to curate all this.
Kassi Kincaid (10:16):
That is so interesting. I thought it was just you had such a cool story in the fact that you did your TED Talk basically after your career, not only launch, but is just mean at a peak and rising. You have just practically every credential out there. You have worked for some of the biggest names out there, awards like crazy, and that you wanted to do a TED Talk and essentially give, give back to the world. And it is really interesting, the TEDx process and going through it myself, there's a lot of things that really resonate with you on that and it's just a hit or miss. And for anybody that wants to do a TED Talk, those are just some really great pointers. So I'd love to focus our attention specifically on the creativity of your speaking career and how that translated into your TEDx experience.
Frankie Russo (11:15):
Totally. Yeah. I don't know if you realize this when you reached out to me, but imagination and creativity are actually some of the main pillars, if not the main pillar of the work I do and helping people unlock that. So maybe you did know that. I don't know. But it's a huge thing for me. And I had a creative company for years that video production and all that fun stuff, and we were doing this type of work and creating a brand for companies. I've been doing that for two decades, and so now I just do it for myself. But essentially the creative process is very important because you have to be able to continually translate what it is that you believe in a way that is simple and practical and unique to you. So that's not an easy job. So to stand out in the crowd, be simple to understand, have a burning problem that's universal enough and be unique and you have three seconds on the internet to do it, that is an ongoing challenge.
(12:24):
And so the first thing I'll say as far as creativity, the thing about creativity is that if there's people out there that are considered creative, maybe they use their right brain or whatever, and those are people that are more divergent thinking, their thinking is more lateral instead of just this mathematical vertical. And what I've found is that you have some people that are radically creative, and then you have some people that are radically more likely engineer type or the math type. Both of them use their imagination, and both of them use innovation to unlock growth. And so what I've tried to do is help both parties come to the middle. So whether it's somebody who is very rigid or very, this is the way it is, it's black and white and whatnot, helping them kind of come into the middle and see where they are already using creativity and imagination.
(13:14):
They just need it reframed for them so that they can lean a little more into it. Same thing with the creatives where they're afraid to be too businessy or too organized, kill their creative beauty or whatever. And so finding that balance between those two worlds, to me, that's the key. And my brain's always worked like that. And so I don't know if we've mentioned this, but I have this term that I made up called Imaginuity. And Imaginuity is this process that we're talking about where imagination and ingenuity come together. Because if you can't make it into the reality and you aren't going to be able to take your art, your creativity, the gift you have for the world, and translate that to the audience, which is all that we're doing here. So if everything makes sense to me and I can't communicate that to you in a clear concise way, I failed.
(14:07):
And I think that's the important thing. As you approach a TED Talk, that's what you have to be thinking about. So I always like to break things down, and I borrowed this from some of my friends like Josh Linkner in the early days where we look at everything from problem, credibility, transformation. Okay, what is the burning problem we solve? What is the credibility that I'm uniquely qualified to solve this and what is the transformation that I'm offering in the talk? So you can think of a TED Talk the same way I talked with the executive director after our TED TEDx, right? So this TEDx that we just did was at the University of Florida, which just got awarded the top TEDx in the south, which I didn't realize that that was even the case. I was just looking for a TEDx and I found one of the best, which was an incredible experience because unlike some of these TEDxs out there, they had a 50 plus person team, all the different volunteers.
(15:06):
It was incredible. And I had a speaker coach that was dedicated just to me. I had a designer dedicated just to me, and it was an experience that was really first class. And when we were celebrating after the talk last week, the thing that she said she looks for, and this is not necessarily universal, but what she looks for is that one line, they ask for one sentence, that explains your idea. And that more than anything else she said is how she picked the 25 people out of the 350 to interview. And then from there, I got on the phone with her and I just kept her on the phone for an hour and a half and talked about crawfish and all kinds of stuff, and just figured out how to find an angle and make her love me, because she told me too, by the way, that part of her ending up choosing me to be one of the six speakers, there were only six out of these 350 applicants.
(16:07):
So it is pretty brutal. A lot of it went down to that call, but I only got that call because of that one-liner. In the speaking business I tell people this all the time. You're essentially selling the phone call. You're not selling the keynote or the speech. You've got to get on the phone so that you can have a human interaction and an emotional connection with the person making this decision because there's still a lot of stuff that has to happen after that. That conversation was in September, we kicked off in November, the talk was in April. So you're not always going to have that length, but on the top tier TEDx events, that's what it's going to look like. So it's an investment. I mean, it cost me money to do a TEDx because I had to fly to get University of Florida three times.
(16:57):
I'm in a different state, but it was worth it because I knew upfront why I was doing it. Right. And so if you do any research on me that I've been pretty big in the why two of my books are about it. I've now moved over more to the weird, and we don't have time today to get into that, but maybe we'll do a comeback story. But the why is important. What is the calling driving you? What is the mission? What is the purpose of doing this? And from day one, I knew what that was, and that was so important as I continued to go through this process and I was like, oh my gosh. I mean, it's a big investment of time and energy. It's grueling. There's a lot of back and forth, and you're having to cut it down to very tight, 10 to 15 minutes, and it's a heck of a process.
(17:46):
But it's so worth it because it forced me to really take the time in my case and look at the relationship of my belief system, my core values of authenticity, imagination, and generosity, and this idea of loving your weird and marry that with what does that mean for the current state of where humans are at, especially as it relates to generative AI and the way that that's going to impact our livelihood and work. And so it was kind of a bold move. I of course got nervous at different times because right now everything is so unknown finding a way because what they said, they said, listen, make sure that your idea is something that is still relevant in 50 years. So in the first interview, that's what she asked me. So if you're listening to this, be thinking, what's an idea that you have for the world that in 50 years will still be relevant? And I can tell you if I could in probably one day rewrite my TED Talk for the discovery of fire or the first industrial revolution or the automobile or the plane or the iPhone, it is the same talk. The only thing that's happening is that it continues to get faster, right?
(19:06):
And the solution would be for every disruption in human history, my solution would be the same. You can't ignore it. You can't act like it's not going to happen. You have to assume it's going to win and you have to use it, but you use it for making you be more human as opposed to less. Use it as a catalyst for more authenticity, more imagination, and more generosity at scale. Use the machine as a co-pilot to help you do that. And that was essentially my TED Talk.
Kassi Kincaid (19:33):
I love that. And that is so true of things that are out of our control, progress, innovation, and we either have to learn how to use them best for our lives and the output, how is that going to be best and not necessarily fight it. So I just have to ask you, you kind of went a little bit through exactly the TEDx process, the stresses and everything. What was that like for you? The moment that you are backstage miked up, they called your name. What was it like entering the TEDx Circle on the day and then leaving TEDx Circle? What was that like?
Frankie Russo (20:13):
Okay, so for me, it was a little bit different experience than the other speakers that day. So one of my favorite things to do is help build conviction and confidence in other speakers. It's absolutely one of my favorite things to do. It brings me so much joy and I see immediate results from it. I mean, I have people still messaging me from a week or two ago thanking me, some of the other speakers at what I said to them backstage before they went on. And so for me, what it felt like was fun. And that's not what most people, I think, feel like going out onto it. They're not thinking fun. But if you've done 150, 200 talks already, it definitely helps. And so it was different for me the most, but for me it was, it was fun, it was exciting, and I was super clear on one thing.
(21:09):
I stopped even thinking about the content at least 24 to four, eight hours before. And so most of my feedback to these people backstage were the ones that were walking around. I could hear them whispering them and throughout history, and then I'm like, Hey. And I just kind of grab 'em and be like, Hey, you got to stop that. Listen, we're done with that. We're done with that. You have one goal now. Forget that we are done with that. You have one goal that that goal is to connect. And I would have 'em put their hand on their heart. I'd be like, you have one job. And that is to emotionally connect with these people out there. That is it. Whatever words that are coming out or already coming out. So just get grounded and focus on what really matters is that is my intention, is that what I'm about to say would help someone transformationally in the audience.
(21:56):
And that was my mantra all day. And then showing them like dude or whoever I was talking to, there was multiple, you have this, you did the work. Just get in the zone. Just get in the zone because whatever's about to come out of your mouth is already coming out. So get as much into the zone. I know that that's what they're going to want to tell themselves after. I know that's what they would want to tell themselves after. So anyway, after I got off the red carpet, I felt really good about it. Again, I'm not the memorization type, so to do 17 minutes memorized, I adlibbed a tiny bit, which was kind of funny. I was talking with the executive director after she was saying, if you had ad libbed anymore, I would've took you off the stage. I'm like, no, you wouldn't have.
(22:46):
And I knew she wouldn't have. But there were a couple of ideas that just kind of in the last several hours, I was like, man, I got to say this. And so I don't recommend trying that at home. Again, I've got some experience on the stage, so I wasn't as worried about that. But yeah, I mean, it felt great. I'm actually glad I did it. Heck, I might do it again. I don't know. It depends. But I was really glad I did it. It's a fun thing. And yeah, you did what you came there to do, and I did what I came there to do, which was to send a warning signal to the world about the speed, not so much that it's happening. I think most people are starting to accept that, not everybody, send a warning signal and then give them a compass.
(23:38):
And maybe my compass isn't the best compass. I don't know. We'll find out. But I feel pretty confident about what I said to them is universally a solution for how to approach it. It's not a roadmap. Nobody has that. And so those were the types of things that I was really focused on. I did what I came here to do. I had a ton of people coming up after the talk to me, which was usually a good litmus test, especially in comparison to some of the other speakers. Even that night, we were out downtown in Gainesville, and I had multiple people walking up on the street that had been to the talk. So I felt great about it. Yeah, people messaging me after on social media, that's the stuff that I look for, is that they're like, oh, that's exactly, I even had one of the other speakers had a 14-year-old daughter there, which was so sweet. And she waited around for thirty minutes just to be able to meet me. And she was like, everything you said is what I've been thinking. And it was so awesome to see so important in the words. So it was wild. The different age ranges, and that was sweet. Of course, I have a 14-year-old daughter as well, so that was really cool to know that that landed, because did I tell you I have six kids? I don't I did.
Kassi Kincaid (24:44):
I saw that on your website.
Frankie Russo (24:45):
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. So what's interesting is I talk about this love your weird thing, and it essentially is not the weird that most people think you got to look weird and all that. It's more about that weird kid that we all were at five years old, and I have six young children in the house, and so I always laugh. People think my credibility is all these awards and all this stuff I've done in business over the last however many years. And it's not, it's having six kids in the house. I'm a living, walking beta experiment of what could happen if we don't lose our weird, so we don't have to refine it in middle age. And we're still in the testing beta phases, but a lot of case studies over here.
Kassi Kincaid (25:24):
I love that. That's amazing. So wrapping up today, Frankie, what advice would you give people wanting to do a TED Talk and why should they do one? I feel like you already covered that a little bit, but maybe sum it up.
Frankie Russo (25:37):
Yeah. Just real quick. Yeah, sum it up. Yeah. So my advice is don't rush into a TED Talk, and unless you like a lot of rejections early on, don't rush into a TED Talk. So if you're like that salesperson that's like, I install, I'm going to do a hundred applications and it's not going to affect me at all or my self-esteem. Then you know what? Just go knock that out. Alright? But if you do have a self-esteem in your body, which most people that do TEDx and speak and care this much do, wait until you feel really good about it. But don't wait forever. Because the thing about thought leadership, writing books, and speeches, you just have to start somewhere. So don't wait forever, but take the words we said today seriously, and really challenge yourself to say, what is my idea that I believe is important for the world based on what I've experienced?
(26:31):
And I think that's where you want to start. And then how does that relate to what's happening in the zeitgeist, if at all? Because the more you can relate your experience to the zeitgeist as opposed to just being your story, that's the key. I think. So that's my advice. If you're thinking about doing a TED Talk, make it count. Why you should do a TED Talk is only if you have a calling in your heart to help people at scale. If you're not looking to help people scale or use a stage as a platform, I wouldn't do it. This is something that, and this is how you get chosen, by the way, because it shows if you have a great idea that is unique and interesting for the world that applies, and you have a calling to want to help people at scale from a generosity standpoint, that's why you should do a TED Talk.
Kassi Kincaid (27:28):
So good. Wow. Frankie, thank you so much for all of this, just TEDx wisdom, this speaking wisdom. This has been incredible getting to hear your story and your TEDx experience in such a unique way. I don't think I know anybody else quite like you that did TEDx after the fact, right?
Frankie Russo (27:48):
Yeah. Right.
Kassi Kincaid (27:49):
So thank you so much for your time today. This has just been so awesome getting to connect with you and to hearing about all your experiences and all the impact that you're making in the world. Now. Share with us before we end today, what your TED Talk is so that we can be looking for it.
Frankie Russo (28:05):
Good. Okay. Yeah. So my TED Talk, when it comes out, it will be called Love Your Weird, A Compass for Navigating Change in the AI Revolution.
Kassi Kincaid (28:15):
So there you have it, folks. Love your weird Frankie Russo TEDx. Be on the look after for that in the coming months. Frankie, thank you so much for your time today. This has been wonderful.
Frankie Russo (28:26):
Awesome. Thank you so much. It's been an honor.
Kassi Kincaid (28:29):
Thanks so much for joining us on this episode of the Edge of Creativity podcast. Be sure to follow so you don't miss any of our upcoming conversations. See you next time.
