I recently gave a unique presentation at The Spoke Club here in Toronto at an event called Pecha Kucha Night. More than 220 cities around the world host such events. It revolves around having individuals talk about something they are
passionate about with only 20 images and 20 seconds each. See more info:
click here
These limiting factors are designed to make a presentation flow smoothly and quickly. The theme of this evening was "movies" so I created a new presentation called "15 Movies That Saved My Life This Year". It would mark my first public talk since my financial and life crash earlier this year.
I found it a challenge having only 20 seconds to describe each movie and yet the benefits are that it helped me FOCUS on exactly what I wanted to say. I was able to "trim the fat" and make it a streamlined expression of the most important factors I wanted the audience to receive.
Here are the 15 movies and roughly what I said in 20 seconds for each movie...
1) The Pursuit of Happyness 2006
The Pursuit of Happyness movie is based on a true story where the movie hero inspired me with his
passion and optimism. He was also amazing at building supportive relationships with people. I felt if he could survive being homeless then I could too if it ever happened.
2) Cinderella Man 2005
Also based on a true story, the movie hero in Cinderella Man inspired me with his
passion and his adaptability to find work during the great depression. He also maintained a positive attitude for many years and it was inspiring to see him get a second chance at his boxing career.
3) Rocky Balboa 2006
Rocky Balboa was the final chapter in the Rocky series and it showed how resilient he was after losing so much over the years including his wife Adrian. This movie really energized my own resilience in my current challenges of having to let go of most of the stuff I owned.
4) Peaceful Warrior 2006
Peaceful Warrior is filled with so many motivational messages that I could watch it over and over again. Being in the moment is one of those messages because even though I may feel pain in a problem I faced there was a lesson to be learned from that pain.
5) Groundhog Day 1993
Groundhog Day is one of my favourite movies and it inspired me to change my mindset about any negative attitudes I had. It's also helped me to see that I can transform my situations by helping others going through similar challenges. And being grateful for what I have was another message I got.
6) The Shawshank Redemption 1994
The Shawshank Redemption is another favourite movie that inspires me with the friendships the movie hero makes while in prison. And though he was actually innocent his perseverance and resourcefulness over the years was uplifting to watch.
7) Temple Grandin 2010
Temple Grandin is a TV movie based on a true story. It inspires me because I'm reminded of how important it is to visualize my goals. It also encourages me with how persistent this woman was despite being autistic. There are lots of other motivational messages in this movie.
8) The Blind Side 2009
The Blind Side is another movie based on a true story. It reminded me to always believe there are people who would help when I needed it most. During the past few months there have been many strangers that came to my aid and it always felt magical in some way.
9) The Invention of Lying 2010
The Invention of Lying is such a unique movie and it reminded me that I could create a more positive reality despite the problems that were right in front of me. It's like telling yourself a positive lie. Life was difficult but all these movies helped me believe that the impossible was possible.
10) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my favourites in the Harry Potter series. The story introduced 2 magic spells that only worked when you focused on positive thoughts and memories. Hearing this spoke directly to my soul about how to deal with my own challenges.
11) Julie and Julia 2009
Julie and Julia is based on 2 true stories on 2 women who followed their
passion for food. What inspired me most was how one of the women wrote a blog that became a successful career. My movie blog is my
passion and I believe I'll have similar success with it as well.
12) Eat Pray Love 2010
Eat Pray Love movie is based on a true story and was a big mirror for what I was going through. I had to let go of almost all my furniture and belongings in order to move into a new, prosperous life. I was freeing myself from my past. This movie is also filled with many other helpful life tips.
13) Inception 2010
Inception was such a powerful movie and it reminded me about how important it was to focus on the reality I wanted. My challenge is that I have a multitude of passions. Focus, Focus, Focus! Focus is so important that I'll keep saying it over again. Focus, Focus, Focus!
14) Kick Ass 2010
The movie Kick Ass inspired me to be more assertive. All the superhero characters were so relentless and assertive that watching the movie was like getting a shot of testosterone! Being assertive gets things done. And I needed that energy when everything was collapsing in my life.
15) Avatar 2009
The final movie is Avatar which was so visually stunning that it instantly energized my imagination and my spirit. Whenever life gets too much to deal with a movie like Avatar took me away to another world and I always came back feeling fantastic. I was always ready to solve my challenges.
Focus Your Message
If you time each movie description you will see they are about 20 seconds or less. I wrote this as a script and rehearsed it out loud several times. Initially my scripts were longer and I had to cut it down because of the timing. It was tough and yet editing is the key to creating a clear message.
This is why Pecha Kucha presentations are a great learning experience for anyone doing public speaking. It will train you to be concise, precise and focused on exactly what you need to communication.
Communicating your wants, needs and opinions successfully to others means that you must be CLEAR with what you want to say. Learn to FOCUS your thoughts. And be conscious of every opportunity to practice articulating whatever you want to say.
TO ATTEND or GIVE A PRESENTATION
AT A PECHA KUCHA NIGHT IN TORONTO
SEE THIS LINK:
click here
Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Motivational Superhero at Your Service!
Motivational Speaker & Movie Blogger
See website:
www.motivatorman.com
© Emmanuel Lopez 2010
So I kept an open mind, as I always do, and gave the movie a chance. I found it very entertaining and filled with many motivational and insightful moments. And yet, to my surprise, the ending threw me off because the scenes during the end credits didn't seem to fit the movie. The bright colours and tones seemed like it was from another film.
with its villain Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). It follows his life after an 8 year prison sentence and his estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) and proposed son-in-law Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf).
Created by the director of 
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 
In real life the main character of the film, co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, is the world's youngest self-made billionaire at age 26. And, of this writing, 
A friend and I chose to see the movie at a theatre outside of Toronto so we left by car 90 minutes before the film start time. Unfortunately it was rush hour with multiple road repairs and a public event causing the traffic we were in.
and featured many scenes that made me crave a taste of ramen soup. Ramen is considered an art form in Japan and by the end of the movie I had to have some!
(1985). This is another food lover's movie and one of its main actors (Tsutomu Yamazaki) has a hilarious cameo as the grand master in 
