Our Story
Conversations matter. Connections matter. We are always learning. Tiny Talks, formerly TEDxYBC, is an organization dedicated to promoting thought-provoking conversations that matter. We have organized 10 community-building events serving over 2,500 people. Our events connect people across economic, ideological, ethnic, and generational boundaries. Some examples of events include:
Working with local designers and builders to create a mobile chalk wall; an interactive experience based on Candy Chang’s Before I Die Project. This adjunct project traveled across the county to different locales to engage the community at large.
Unveiled OC, in which we designed stage and interactive events to challenge strangers to step out of their echo chambers and walk a mile in the shoes of their friends, neighbors, and strangers. Jeffersonian Dinners in which equal numbers of teens and adults joined together to dine, share stories, and practice the art of sharing stories and listening deeply.
Art and Comedy Mashups- Immersive experiential pop-ups in which we designed games and exhibits to spark intergenerational conversations about the importance of the role of the Humanities in modern society
TEDSocial, in which TED asked our team to model a formal dinner party series where intergenerational participants were invited to connect over shared stories of personal loss and grief.
Tiny Talks is an evolution of these ideas, blended with one deceptively simple and radical notion: to learn how to speak with candor and how to listen deeply. We believe that society’s biggest threat to peace and stability is the phenomenon of echo chambers which have grown exponentially in recent years. To combat this, we endeavor to model practicing (1) bravely sharing our personal stories with friends, family, neighbors, and strangers ; (2) expressing our needs clearly to the other; (3) listening with curiosity and without judgment.
