The Audacious Project is a collaborative experiment to put bold ideas for social change into action.

"I think of legacy as the weaving together of our stories passed on as a whole," says Haida storyteller Cohen Bradley. Highlighting the significance of potlatch ceremonies (or gift-giving feasts) and other Indigenous traditions of the Haida Nation, Bradley shares why we all should prioritize our collective legacies -- and how they live on throug...

What if, this holiday season, instead of saying "thank you" to your aunt for her gift of a knitted sweater, the polite response expected from you was to show up at her house in a week with a better gift? Or to vote for her in the town election? Or let her adopt your firstborn child? Alex Gendler explains how all of these things might not sound s...

Architect Takaharu Tezuka creates imaginative and versatile personal spaces.

Stacey Kramer offers a moving, personal, 3-minute parable that shows how an unwanted experience -- frightening, traumatic, costly -- can turn out to be a priceless gift.

Kara Logan Berlin helps people and organizations accelerate fundraising, getting essential resources into the hands of visionaries on the front lines of real change.

Apollo Robbins will take the phone from your pocket and the ring off your finger, then hand them back to you and (maybe) show you how he did it.

Melinda French Gates is cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she puts into practice the idea that every life has equal value.

The winter holidays are a time of giving, but too often that means nonstop spending, shopping and stress. Read how one family boldly reimagined their annual gift swap. Giving presents is a fun way to show people we care about them. But as many of us know, giving presents during the December holiday season can cost a lot of money and cause a lot...

In October 2017, astrobiologist Karen J. Meech got the call every astronomer waits for: NASA had spotted the very first visitor from another star system. The interstellar comet -- a half-mile-long object eventually named `Oumuamua, from the Hawaiian for "scout" or "messenger" -- raised intriguing questions: Was it a chunk of rocky debris from a ...

Networking doesn’t always have to feel like a self-serving transaction, says executive coach Daniel Hallak. Highlighting the importance of focusing on giving rather than taking when it comes to making connections, he outlines a mindset shift to help you build better relationships — in a way that doesn't feel gross.

"We underestimate the power of our own generous actions," says Asha Curran, CEO of the global generosity movement GivingTuesday. Sharing stories of people making a difference through simple acts of kindness, she shows how generosity, even in its simplest forms, can be a transformative force — and explains why we all benefit from a world grounded...

Neuroscientist and pediatrician Kimberly Noble is leading the Baby's First Years study: the first-ever randomized study of how family income changes children's cognitive, emotional and brain development. She and a team of economists and policy experts are working together to find out: Can we help kids in poverty simply by giving families more mo...

In the 1970s (and decades following), TV producer Norman Lear touched the lives of millions with culture-altering sitcoms like All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Good Times, pushing the boundaries of the era and giving a primetime voice to underrepresented Americans. In an intimate, smart conversation with Eric Hirshberg, he shares with humil...

Buying gifts? It is HARD. Especially when so many gift guides offer up ideas for what to get your dad, co-worker or sister without taking into account what actually interests those specific people in your life. A better way to locate the perfect gift? Think about what captures a person’s curiosity, and then seek ideas from people in that field. ...

What would happen to humanity if generosity went viral? Sharing transformative stories from around the world, head of TED Chris Anderson outlines why the time has come for the internet to realize its power to supercharge small acts of kindness, changing lives at a scale never experienced before. Learn how to cultivate a generous mindset — with o...

Sara Lewis (TED Talk: The loves and lies of fireflies) has spent the past 20 years studying fireflies. While her interest was sparked (sorry) by curiosity about just how the beetles conjured light, seemingly from nothing, her exploration soon took on more fundamental questions. Like, how do fireflies mate -- and what happens when they do...

When you're in the giving mood, there are four different ways you can share TED: a membership to view two full TED Conferences with TED Live, a personally curated DVD of your favorite TED Talks, or simply a TED Talk that inspired you. With all of these options, you can definitely find at least one way to share a great idea with someone as yo...

Fixable How to stop your company's size from slowing you down March 11, 2024 [00:00:00] Anne Morriss: Good morning, Frances. [00:00:06] Frances Frei: Good morning, my love. Let me just begin with, I apologize. [00:00:09] Anne Morriss: Yeah. You know that's a much better way to start. [00:00:11] Frances Frei: I had this cold first. [0...

In her talk from TED2013, Nilofer Merchant inspired many to try walking meetings rather than spend hour-upon-hour in a chair. Now, this business innovator has another idea that you might want to adopt: giving the gift of TED to people on your holiday shopping list. In a blog post, Merchant put together a wish list of things she'd like to receive...

When we come thisclose to triumph, we gain potent energy that we can use to fuel later success, says business school professor Monica Wadhwa. This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from someone in the TED community. To see all the posts, go here. When we daydream abou...

Anybody with a smartphone can now be a part of the StoryCorps movement. As TED Prize Winner Dave Isay reveals in today's talk, you no longer have to travel to a StoryCorps mobile booth to capture an interview with a friend, family member or stranger -- because StoryCorps has created a free app. Now, if you can find a quiet place and 45 minut...

The next time you're preparing to speak to a group, remember to keep your audience at the center of your communication, says Briar Goldberg, the director of speaker coaching at TED. One way to do this is to ask yourself: "What gift are you giving to your audience?" TED recently partnered with Marriott Hotels to offer a special day-long seminar ...

ReThinking The art of rough drafts with George Saunders October 31, 2023 [00:00:00] Adam Grant: Hey everyone, it's Adam Grant. Welcome back to ReThinking, my podcast on the science of what makes us tick. I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking...

How to Be a Better Human How to make generosity contagious (w/ Chris Anderson) January 31, 2024 [00:00:00] Chris Duffy: You are listening to How to Be a Better Human. I'm your host, Chris Duffy. What's the best gift that you've ever been given? For a long time my answer to that question would've been a Christmas sometime in late elementary scho...

About this event: The pursuit of improving the contemporary realities we find ourselves in lies in the acknowledgment of the illusion that we are comfortable, that the world we live in is survivable, and that 'we've come so far'. In talking about crises and immersing ourselves in the routines that define our day, we often forget the potential we have to sit, thin...

Above: Reggie Watts demonstrates the littleBits SynthKit For the last week, the internet has been grooving to the video above of Reggie Watts making some funky noise with the newly launched SynthKit -- the latest offering from TED Fellow Ayah Bdeir’s littleBits electronic building block company, and the product of a three-way partnership b...

Art historian Sarah Lewis's first job was at the Museum of Modern Art. While there, she was entranced by an exhibit of works by the artist Elizabeth Murray. So Lewis was intrigued to hear from the painter that she felt several pieces hanging on the walls fell short. For one piece, Murray confessed that she'd found it so detestable that she t...

TEDGlobal 2013, themed "Think Again," begins today -- June 10 -- in Edinburgh, Scotland. After an impressive buildout over the weekend, attendees have started streaming in. The first session of talks, "Moments of Truth,"  will begin on Tuesday morning at 11 am BST. We'll be tweeting in detail from @TEDGlobal and more sparingly from @TEDNe...

The TED Interview Exercising your generosity like a muscle with John M. Sweeney May 9, 2024 [00:00:00] Chris Anderson: Hello everyone. As I think you know by now, this series is trying to find great examples of how infectious generosity can work, how it can spark ripple effects, and how it can begin with anyone. I've come to believe that this is...

According to Colin Powell, the retired four-star general and former United States Secretary of State, learning to give a salute can be life changing. At TED, many have shared what they believe to be missing from our current education system -- Ken Robinson says its space for kids to flex their creative muscles while Geoff Mulgan argues it’s a...