Interview with Kath Walters by Carolyn Tate
The inaugural Is there a TED talk in you? course was held in late 2014 in Melbourne with 18 participants. The course culminated in a graduation night where each of the participants gave their five-minute talk to an audience of 120 people. This series of interviews with participants, shows just how powerful the experience was for each of them and how they’re using their talk to further their cause and grow their business in 2015. For more info on the Feb 2015 program Click Here
Kath Walters is an ex-journalist who runs a content marketing practice helping business owners produce online content that sticks and makes an impact. Alongside this business she’s creating a new enterprise that’s dedicated to providing organisations with the knowledge they need to build healthy, connected and sustainable cities. In this interview, she shares her insights into how she’s untapped her newfound purpose through her participation in the Is there a TED talk in you? program. Check out Kath’s talk below.
Carolyn: What is your business all about?
Kath: My content marketing practice is my bread and butter at the moment but I’m also building a business that’s about giving companies that are responsible for the development of our cities (architects, urban planners, engineers, local councils and place makers) the communication and conversation tools they need to promote the advancement of healthy, connected, humane and sustainable cities and spaces. Essentially I’m diverting my journalism and content marketing skills into a field that I’m really passionate about.
Carolyn: What led you to this point? What is your story?
Kath: In my early days I spent ten years as an artist in a screen-printing community before retraining as a writer and editor. I worked for most of the major media such as the AFR, BRW and Smart Company before starting my own business. Personally, I’ve become increasingly aware of how we’ve all gone so horribly wrong in the building of our cities and suburbs. We build them like we hate each other. Our houses are like fortresses. We separate ourselves from our neighbours with fences. We’re intolerant of noise and we drive alone in cars. We’re not honouring how much we need community and connection. We’ve lost the art of living together. I want to change that. Finally I can see how my skills and talents can be used to affect change in the world.
Carolyn: What was your talk about?
Kath: My theme was about intimacy and community and how we all need it. I shared my personal story on how I’d become disconnected and how I learnt to live again with others. I had to personally grow up, be less selfish, more open and willing and present in order to embrace others and establish community. I shared how I have consciously gone about connecting my own small community of people in the block of flats where I live.
Carolyn: Why did you do the Is there a TED talk in you? course?
Kath: With the assistance of the facilitators, I thought I’d be able to uncover my purpose through refining my message. I’d been experiencing some resistance to pursuing this passion full on and was using my business as an excuse and telling myself it couldn’t make me a living. Doing this talk changed everything. I gained a lot of clarity around my purpose and was able to share my core idea of how we can build healthy, sustainable communities and cities. I can now see ways to make a living from it through amplifying my message and teaching others about it, particularly the organisations responsible for building cities.
Carolyn: So what were the challenges with doing the talk?
Kath: It was most challenging to get absolutely clear on the most significant and simple message I wanted to share. The simplicity of the idea was almost embarrassing to me. I felt quite vulnerable. Refining and cutting it down to less than five minutes was challenging too. It probably only really came together for me in the last week. As a writer, I’m not so used to this form of communication. Being live there were no second chances, so I was very nervous. On the day I went to my personal coach who helped me visualise myself doing it successfully. And it worked!
Carolyn: What was the most rewarding and enjoyable part of it all?
Kath: Working with my peers was fabulous. The quality of their talks and their dedication to their cause was really inspiring. I found each of their individual approaches fascinating and I learnt a lot from just observing and listening. I loved the instant feedback process that was used by the facilitators and others. It was just enough and not too much. I loved Guru Dudu on graduation night. He really kept the whole evening alive and electric. I loved that my family and friends could come along and share in the moment with me.
Carolyn: What skills did you learn from it?
Kath: How to give and receive valuable and thoughtful feedback. How to prepare most effectively for public speaking and being live on stage in front of an audience. How to tell a story that has high impact and leave out the superfluous words. Doing this talk enabled me to articulate my purpose – that was very special to me.
Carolyn: What will you do with the talk now that it’s public and online?
Kath: I have some work to really leverage it now. We received a great list of things we can do to promote our talk. So I’m going through that now while I also develop the workshops I’m going to market.
Carolyn: What advice would you give to participants in the next program?
Kath: Have an open mind and a willingness to commit to it. Trust that the process will get you there. It’s one of the best investments you could make in yourself and your business. I wholeheartedly recommend it!
For more information on the Is there a TED talk in you? February course click here or contact Carolyn to find out more on Carolyn@carolyntate.co or phone 0412 806 950.
