SIM PING YI

• Executive summary:

As part of the month-long Wonder.Observe.Weave! (WOW)! programme for the IP5s of TJC, 6 other students and I were very fortunate to be assigned to the company TEDxSingapore as part of the TEDx book team or curation team, with Mr Dave Lim and Ms VIvian Lim as our external mentors for the duration of this attachment. Myself, along with Vanessa and Zirong were part of the book team. There we were assigned various tasks on a weekly basis which included proofreading the TEDxSingapore book Human of Singapore, individually writing forewords or introduction, back cover texts and front flap texts, conducting an individual book cover investigation and a group marketing plans research, and designing a book cover - front cover, back cover and spine.

We were tasked to present our findings and completed work on a weekly basis to our external mentors.

Below will be some background information of the organisation, a detailed overview of our assignments and finally, my takeaways from this unique opportunity.

• Background information of the organisation:

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDxSingapore organises idea events that bring people together to share a TED-style experience and spark deep discussion and connection among people and ‘curious souls’, who love and value ideas.

TED’s short, carefully-prepared talks on a wide range of subjects to foster learning, inspiration and wonder — and to provoke conversations that matter. For passion, For people, For purpose. We connect curious souls and people who love and value ideas. We reach out to inspire people to learn, share and engage close conversations about ideas that have the potential and power to make a difference in our lives, in our world and in Singapore. We share ideas worth spreading from Singapore with the world through the global TED community, and serve as a focal point for the TED community and TEDsters who live in and visit Singapore.

All TEDxSingapore idea events are non-commercial. We strive to make all our events accessible to all people in Singapore, and as a principle, we do not charge for participation unless there are direct costs involved.

TEDxSingapore launched in April 2009 and over 400 people joined within 14 days. Today, there are over 200 thousand people in the TED Community in Singapore.

All TEDxs are licenced from TED as not-for-profit movement and events.

Singapore was a pioneer global TEDx organiser in 2009 and has 100% community-created 50 TEDxSingapore national events, and platforming ~200 TEDx speakers, performers and talents.

• Background information of the projects / tasks which I was involved in:

The main project I was involved in was the launch of TEDxSingapore book Humans of Singapore, showcasing the unique stories and experiences of both foreign and local TED and TEDx speakers who have special ties to Singapore. The speakers, also known in this book as Pioneers, Provocateurs and Possibilists , are connected through the platform of TEDxSingapore.

Humans of Singapore aims to convey ideas worth spreading to a larger community, not just to TED or TEDxSingapore fans, but also to the Singapore community and foreigners browsing through bookstores in the airport. Dave Lim, one of the founding curators of TEDxSingapore has meticulously compiled the TED talks, stories and experiences of 26 exceptional TEDxSingapore speakers, all of multidisciplinary backgrounds. Through this project, TEDxSingapore seeks to bring attention to subject matters that are not talked about enough, spark discussions and bring light to such issues within the Singapore community.

At the point my team and I joined this project, the book was largely completed and at the final rounds of editing and proofreading. The tasks that my team engaged in were to proofread the entire master copy of Humans of Singapore, with all of us having gone through the book by the end of the assignment, to individually write an introduction of the book in Mr Dave Lim’s perspective, a back cover text or synopsis and a front flap text, a marketing plan and also to design a book cover for the book, consisting of the front cover, back cover along with a spine. The way this was done was firstly through understanding and familiarising ourselves with the proofreading guide sent to us by Mr Dave Lim and secondly, through conducting several rounds of research online and field research in libraries and bookstores.

Finally, both my team which is the TEDx book team along with the curation team were required to help out at the TEDxSingapore salon held at the National Gallery on 18 January 2020.

• Elaboration / record of activities done:

For all of the tasks assigned, there was a particular sequence in which we had to complete them by. The following would be the sequence and also the rationale behind it.

1. Proofreading Humans of Singapore:

Firstly, we had to thoroughly familiarise ourselves with the proofreading guide that Mr Lim had sent us prior to the first meeting, which explains the common errors made and how to edit them. The guide also included details about the standardisation of spelling, numbers and other technical elements.

Secondly, during the second day, we split the editing process into 3 rounds and divided the book into three segments since there were three people in the team, such that each person gets a different 33% of the book during each round. By the end of the proofreading task, the three of us would have had proofread the entire book.

Rationale:

We needed to familiarise ourselves with the proofreading guide so that we did not have to constantly refer back to it which might have disrupted our train of thought when editing. This allowed for a more efficient completion fo the task assigned.

When reading long paragraphs for extended periods of time, our eyes tend to get tired and are unable to catch errors easily. In the event that one of the team members was unable to catch a mistake, the other team members would be able to spot and correct it.

It was best that we took turns working on separate segments of the book because if three people were to work on the same paragraph at the same time, it might have gotten rather unorganised and miscommunication could have easily occurred especially when multiple people are trying to edit the same mistakes out.2. Forewords

Firstly, we were asked by Mr Lim to research online to find out what a foreword is. This allowed us to understand the basics - who writes forewords, what should be included, what the purpose of a foreword is.

However, we were still unsure of how to get started on writing a foreword because while the internet provides instruction on how to write forewords, we had to see some real life examples for ourselves to really know how to write one. After all, one cannot learn how to ride a bicycle by reading a book about how to ride one. Thus, we obtained permission from our mentors to head out of school and conduct investigations within libraries and various bookstores.

We read up on the forewords from books of a similar genre, took note of details such as the employment of various literary techniques and also the tone used and the perspective in which the texts were written in. Having this knowledge allowed us to have a sensing of how to get started on writing a foreword and to progress smoothly with the assigned task.

This was the first draft of my foreword:

“What is an idea worth spreading?” I am sure that most of you who have picked up this book have seen or heard of this phrase, the iconic TED slogan. Yet what does it truly mean? I tell people this, “topics and issues that are not usually talked about within the community, but ones that people are interested to know more about.” In other words, ideas not talked about enough. We’d like for people to share something different, something unique, ideally something unheard of within the community.

For people who are unheard of, doing things that are unheard of, deciding what they should speak about is straightforward. But what about well-known experts? What should they talk about? Why should we invite a marine biologist to share about marine animals or a musician to share about music? Why ask someone to give a speech about something when that person has already talked about it on other platforms for a gazillion times? No, we invite them to talk about something else. We provide these people with a platform to explore something outside of their expertise; on topics and ideas that they have never spoken about, from there, bringing forth novel ideas into the community. This is what makes TED truly unique.

This is a collation of such “ideas worth spreading”, the talks of 26 TEDx Singapore speakers. While they may have different backgrounds and work in different fields, they each have an important story to tell and their stories all encompass the same essential core meaning. They are truly the most outstanding people I know of. This book is able to portray the stories in such an authentic way, nearly akin to listening live at the speakers’ TED talks. A reason that this is so is that the stories are told in the voice of the speakers themselves, an aspect of this book that I appreciate and am grateful for. The texts preserve the authenticity of the speakers’ own words. In a sense, while reading, I could almost hear the speakers talking to me, telling me their stories in the back of my head.

Though unconventional English can be seen throughout the book, like with the familiar sing-song tone of Singlish in Gwee Li Swee’s chapter, this makes this book uniquely Singaporean and seem all the more genuine in delivering the speakers’ ideas to the Singapore community. After all, we are not just any TEDx, we are TEDx Singapore.

Reading about each of the speakers journeys in becoming who they are right now was truly inspirational. Some of them have pursued unconventional careers, others have undergone drastic shifts in their careers or career plans, while others have created something out of nearly nothing, in Singapore, where many people merely strive to fit in. Many of us have had childhood dreams, yet how many of us actually pursued them? Some of the things the speakers are doing or have done are unheard of or frowned upon but it is this exact quality that allows these stories to be so impactful. We can all learn from this and I am sure that some of them will strike a chord within you.

This book is for someone who is open-minded as I am sure all TED fans are. You may have wondered why we have bothered to write a book about TED talks when thousands are accessible with a few clicks of the mice. Well to put it simply, we felt that reading was a much more intimate experience - like watching a live TED talk, as opposed to simply watching one online. Secondly, we understand that in today’s society, for hours and hours on end, we stare at computer and phone screens, for work and for leisure. We as adults are spending too much time with our eyes glued to these blue-light transmitting screens and I am sure that the parents among you will agree as well. We hope to make TED talks available to a wider range of audience, including younger ones, which means we will have to gain their parents’ approval for this! We thought that this would also benefit the older TEDx fans who may like the idea of a book more. Thirdly, we felt that a book would be more convenient for TEDx fans to look back at a particular idea which they might have been interested in. These are just some of the reasons why we decided to write this book!

Thank you for taking the time to read this foreword and I hope this book has been able to inspire you as it did me.

What’s your idea worth spreading?

Dave Lim, founding curator of TEDx Singapore

After having looked at our initial foreword drafts, Mr Lim realised that all of us were mentioning the TED brand too much. He explained that this would narrow the target audience down to only TED fans as non-TED fans will get turned off by all the TED branding after reading the foreword. We risk them feeling left out and distant from the stories and experiences in the book, hence opting out of buying it. Mr Lim also patiently explained to us the concept of the converted versus the unconverted in marketing. In our case, the converted would be the TEDx community in Singapore and foreign TED fans, while the latter would refer to people who do not know the concept of TED well. Mentioning that TEDxSingapore would be launching a book would be enough to get TED fans (the converted) to want to buy it. It was with the unconverted that we had to focus our attention on. We needed something that appealed to the unconverted as well. Hence, he told us to complete another draft of the foreword to exclude any mentions of TED or TEDx.

Final product for foreword:

“Ideas worth spreading” I am sure that some of you who have picked up this book have seen or heard of this phrase. Yet what does it truly mean? I tell people this, “topics and issues that are not usually talked about within the community, but ones that people are interested to know more about.” In other words, ideas not talked about enough. We’d like for people to share something different, something unique, ideally something unheard of within the community.

For those undiscovered people, doing things that are unheard of, deciding what they should share about is straightforward. But what about well-known experts? What should they share? Why should we invite a particular marine biologist to share about marine animals or a musician to share about music? Why go to such great lengths to capture something when that person has already spoken about it on other platforms for a gazillion times? No, the reason we do this is to provide these people with a platform to explore outside of their expertise; on topics and ideas that they have never spoken about, from there, bringing forth novel ideas into the community. This is the basis to which Humans of Singapore lay upon.

This is a collation of such “ideas worth spreading”, the stories and experience of 26 extraordinary people with their own ties to Singapore. While they may have different

backgrounds and work in different fields, they each have an important story to tell and their stories all encompass the same essential core meaning. They are truly the most outstanding people I know of. This book is able to portray the stories in such a genuine and pure way, and a reason that this is so is that the stories are told in the voice of these “Humans of Singapore” themselves, an aspect of this book that I appreciate and am grateful for. The texts preserve the authenticity of the people’s

own words. In a sense, while reading, I could almost hear them talking to me, telling me their stories at the back of my head.

Unconventional English can be seen throughout the book, like with the familiar sing- song tone of Singlish in Gwee Li Swee’s chapter, and this makes this book uniquely Singaporean and seem all the more genuine in delivering the speakers’ ideas to the Singapore community. After all, this is the story of a few people of Singapore.

Reading about each of the speakers journeys in becoming who they are right now was truly inspirational. Some of them have pursued unconventional goals, others have undergone drastic shifts in their careers or career plans, while others have created something out of nearly nothing in a country like Singapore, where many people merely strive to fit in and look down upon risk taking. Be it childhood or even adult dreams, how many of us have actually pursued them? This is the exact quality that allows these stories to be so impactful. We can all learn from this and I am sure that some of them will strike a chord within you.

If you are a person who is willing to accept the unconventional, to learn and to take risks, then this book is for you. Why have we chosen to express these ideas in the form of a book you may ask and this is my answer: We strive to bring these stories to a wider range of audiences. Furthermore having an actual physical book in this day and age is especially beneficial as we understand that in today’s society, all of us: adults, teenagers and children are spending too much time with our eyes glued to those blue-light transmitting screens. Therefore, I urge you, the reader, to put down your phones, tablets and close your laptops. Allow the stories in this singaporean book to inspire you as it did me.

What’s your idea worth spreading?

Dave Lim, founding curator of TEDxSingapore

2. Book cover, synopsis and front flap text

Firstly, we were asked to collate 5 book covers that we thought were visually attractive and to take note of the possible reasons as to why they might be so.

This allowed us to vividly apply the concept of design thinking - to place ourselves in the shoes of actual people looking to purchase a book and to go through the process of purchasing one. We were then took note of what attracted our attention from the second we step into the bookstore, what appealed to us when we took a closer look and so on.

We were also tasked to take note of the synopsis and front flap texts of bestsellers of similar genres to Humans of Singapore such that we had a sensing of what appealed to people at the bookstores and libraries.

Book Cover research:

We started on designing the book cover, writing the synopsis and front flap text only after the investigative work was completed so that we were able to apply our learning and findings into the final products, to create a cover that is both appealing to the eye and attracts attention, to write a synopsis and front flap text that sparks interest and curiosity, even in people who do not know what TED or TEDx is.

Book Cover + Synopsis:

Front Flap Text:

Humans of Singapore is a compilation of the stories of Pioneers, Provocateurs and Possibilists of Singapore. It captures and retells the extraordinary stories of 26 people both local and foreign who, regardless of their diverse backgrounds careers and interests, have special ties to Singapore.

These people, just like the ones around them, started out ordinary. Yet in a society like Singapore where many strive to fit in and frown upon risk taking, their persistence in what they believe in, has allowed them to grow into who they are today. These trailblazers have inspired many on their journeys and as a gift from us to the Singapore community, with care, we have collated their stories and portrayed them in an authentic form. We are certain that these stories will create a spark within you. We urge to read, and to pass on the baton, to spread the ideas that inspire you from this book and also the ideas within you to inspire others and to pass on their ideas too.

What’s an idea worth spreading for you?

The final book cover I designed also had many flaws, like with the ‘Humans’ aspect of the title not having enough emphasis and the synopsis being too long. However, even so, Mr Lim and the surprise guest he invited, Phoon Kok Hwa, were pleasantly surprised by our work.

3. Marketing plans:

We were tasked to come up with and present a few marketing plans for the launch of Humans of Singapore - a few mediums to publicise the book through.

Most of our research took place online because in today’s world, social media is the main medium of publicity and marketing due to it instantaneous and widespread availability.

However, we also did some field work at libraries and bookstores to look into some of the traditional mediums like posters which we thought might still be useful in promoting the book.

Next, I would be going into detail about the concepts and skills which I have learnt and applied most heavily throughout the course of this attachment.

First would be design thinking. We applied it the most, throughout nearly all of our assigned tasks - foreword, book cover and marketing plans. However, I think the main task which I really went in depth into this skill was the designing of a book cover, to ensure that the book cover attracts attention and is also pleasing to the eye. We had to be highly aware of our target audience - the converted and the unconverted, and to put ourselves, such that while the cover appeals to the converted, it must not leave out the unconverted.

The second skill would be presentation skills. While we have had many practices in school, I felt that I really got to hone this skill throughout the course of this month by closely observing how professionals - our mentors and TED speakers present, along with the other IP5s and also presenting and obtaining feedback myself.

The third skill that I have learnt would be to be open to constructive criticism, as our external mentors, the guests they have invited and our peers are there to help us improve. So we should hear them out and also not mope about in places where we have not done so well.

For the final segment of my wiki, I would be going into 2 interesting things which I have learnt from this experience.

The first would be that I presented better without a proper script. For all of my past presentations, I had relied on scripts and no matter how much I tried to memorise them, I was somehow still referring too much to them. However, during the last presentation, I decided to only jot down the main points and to improvise the rest. I felt more normal and much more interactive than with me having a script. The final presentation also flowed much better.

The second would be that people tend to undergo various shifts in career paths throughout their lives, much like both of our external mentors and the many TED speakers featured in Human of Singapore. Change need not be a bad thing and it helps us to live a more fruitful life.

One takeaway for life from this experience would be that if we want to achieve something or if there is something we are passionate about we have to work very hard and be willing to commit fully. This is through reading the stories and experiences of the 26 TED speakers featured in Humans of Singapore, where for many of them, the odds were piled high against them, yet they worked relentlessly to realise their vision, and that was what allowed them to achieve so much.