8 things we learned from Thursday's TEDx Sioux Falls Talks for 2022

Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Did you miss Thursday night’s TED Talks?

Hundreds of people filed into the Washington Pavilion on Thursday night to hear from eight speakers on a variety of topics — anxiety, generational trauma, imposter syndrome and idiocy, to name a few.

If you missed the city’s third time hosting TEDx Talks, here are the highlights of what we learned.

Stay optimistic despite adversity

When Tim Schut was having trouble getting his words out in June 2020, he and his doctors tried everything: speech language therapy, MRIs, neurology… then, they learned he had primary progressive apraxia of speech.

Schut, who is a real estate broker associate at NAI Sioux Falls, described the issue as a disconnect between his brain and his speech.

Less than one in a million people have this rare disease, he said.

Despite his diagnosis, he followed his doctor’s advice to eat right, exercise, stay social and talk a lot, which he has no trouble doing; he created a support group on Facebook with only nine members who are going through the same disease; and, he started voice banking, so that one day, if he needs to, he will still be able to speak in his own voice through the use of past recordings of his voice.

Through it all, Schut said he’s learned how to handle adversity. His word for 2022 is optimism.

“That’s my new superpower: optimism,” Schut said.

And, he’s optimistic he’ll one day still be able to walk his three daughters down the aisle when they get married.

We are all born empowered

In her TEDx Talk, Manaal Ali dispelled common myths and stereotypes about Islam and explained how the religion recognizes gender equity and emphasizes women’s rights.

As Ali grew up, she noticed every discussion on women’s empowerment was led by a certain group of privileged women who believed women as a whole were weak and inferior, and that the weakest of women were Muslim women.

However, Ali explained, the Prophet Muhammad is the greatest proponent of women’s rights and empowerment, and the Islamic definition of empowerment is that it’s something we’re all born with, and it’s spiritual equality from birth.

Women are all born powerful and capable, Ali explained, and we’re all reliant on our internal empowerment.

In a world pre-Islam, women were oppressed, Ali explained, but with Islam, men and women are equals, and how we treat women equates to spiritual salvation.

Don’t let your anxiety define you

Zach Dresch is many things: a local stand-up comedian, late-night talk show host, actor, drummer, improv comedian and the face of the Department of Health’s “Flu Bug” campaign for influenza vaccinations.

But, like many people, Dresch has anxiety and depression, he said. And all of the different hats he wears have helped him cope with his mental illness, he explained.

He said making people laugh is the best medicine for him.

Anxiety can steal your peace, take your memories and make you dread things, Dresch said, but he uses Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” as a life lesson: when you get knocked down, you get back up again.

Dresch pointed to other comedians who have dealt with anxiety and depression — some more successfully than others — and noted that with Robin Williams’ death in 2014, it was a time where people finally felt they could end the stigma and talk about their mental health.

It’s important to find what makes you feel passionate, Dresch said, and to not become a prisoner of your own expectations. He ended his talk by encouraging the audience to not let their anxiety define them.

Anyone can save a life

Mike Broderick started out his TEDx Talk by playing the audio of the 911 call that saved his life.

When he walked out, he said he was the guy turning purple and gasping for air on the floor.

On May 18, 2017, Broderick suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at work and said he died then.

What saved him was hearing a voice — either Jesus or a guardian angel — telling him to stand up. It was Broderick’s crash to the floor that alerted co-workers at Results Radio station that he needed assistance. Otherwise, they may not have noticed he needed help.

Broderick spoke about the importance of becoming CPR certified and having an AED at one’s workplace and home in case of emergencies.

He also described the difference between heart attacks and cardiac arrests: the former is a plumbing problem, and the latter is an electrical problem.

He encouraged the audience to ask their employers for CPR training classes and AED training, because cardiac arrests can happen to anyone, he said, regardless of their age, gender, race or health level.

Don’t be an idiot

Paul Anders, associate professor of philosophy at Mount Marty University, gave a TEDx Talk on “A Philosopher’s Approach to Not Being an Idiot.”

Anders spoke on three different theories or schools of thought: perspectival realism, communal rationality and analytic creativity.

Being an idiot is quite natural, Anders said of perspectival realism.

Communal rationality explains how community can create idiots, or drive out idiocy, Anders said.

And, analytic creativity explains how being an idiot stifles creativity.

Heal your intergenerational trauma

Serene Thin Elk, chief behavioral health officer at South Dakota Urban Indian Health, told a story of a dream she had in her 20s which showed all the trauma Native American people carry symbolized as a massive tsunami wave.

Thin Elk said grief, shame, addiction, death and centuries of genocide, for example, all contribute to the intergenerational trauma that Indigenous people carry.

She spoke about the boarding school era, the idea of “kill the Indian, save the man” and the sexual, physical and spiritual abuse that Indigenous children went through in that time, and described how through epigenetics and soul wounds, Indigenous people today still carry that trauma.

The trauma can also lead to internalized oppression, or lateral oppression, meaning to harm other Indigenous people.

Thin Elk said now is the time to heal things in our genetic makeup, and that what was once a burden is now a responsibility.

We can honor our ancestors by creating a change in our lives today, she said. If you look deep inside yourself, the resources and energy needed for healing are all there.

Remember the humanity in each of us

Angela Schoffelman, a practice management support partner at Avera Health, volunteers some of her time at the state prison with the Toastmasters club there.

Incarcerated people there learn public speaking for a variety of reasons, she said.

Some just like to get out of their cells on Saturday nights. Some need to plead their case to the parole board. But one father in particular just wanted to be able to better communicate with his children when they visit.

Schoffelman spoke of her experiences with the inmates at the state prison in Sioux Falls and asked the audience to remember we are all more alike than we are different.

“I would walk through pepper spray a thousand times” if it meant someone would know they’re seen, heard and that they matter, Schoffelman said in closing.

How to tell your imposter syndrome to take a seat

Kristina Schaefer, general counsel and chief risk officer at First Bank & Trust, said 70% of people will at one point feel like an imposter.

Imposter syndrome, she said, means that despite one’s success or opportunities, they may feel like an imposter or not feel like they can raise their hand in meetings or don’t feel like they belong where they are, for example.

She told the audience to strive for excellence, not perfection, and prompted them to ask themselves questions the next time they feel anxious, like, “Did I prepare for this? Do I deserve this? What could go wrong?” for example.

Setting tangible goals and doing visual exercises picturing your success can also help, she said.

Schaefer also spoke of a powerful tool she adopted from her 15-year-old daughter, who has named the voice of anxiety in her head after Gordon Ramsay, an easily-flamed celebrity chef.

When she starts getting anxious, she tells the voice: “Sit down, Gordon. I am enough.”

8 things we learned from Thursday’s TEDx Sioux Falls Talks for 2022

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