Interrupt the Violence (ITV) TED Talk

A New Story About Public Safety & Violence Prevention on the Big Stage in the Red Dot

For 15 years, Cobe Williams, Founder/ Executive Director of Interrupt the Violence was in the streets de-escalating violence, resolving conflicts, and changing mindsets. 

Williams worked with gang-involved youth helping them to see other options. He was often called upon to walk into the crossfire and convince both sides of a conflict not to pull the trigger.  He provided the voice of reason, at a moment when their every instinct—wired by fear and rage, identity, and grief—was shouting otherwise.

This was the tough work of changing mindsets.

It was more than a job—it was a calling!—representing a new way to address community violence and provide public safety in some of the hardest-hit communities in a way that did not rely on law enforcement.

Then, TED called.

It was a big moment.

For Williams, ITV, and the movement, this could be a turning point in a national conversation.

Williams is a natural storyteller with a great sense of humor and an easy smile that can make people comfortable, even in the most tense situations. In a few minutes of conversation, it is easy to see how he is so effective at what he does, and it is no surprise that he has been in the spotlight before.

Publications as diverse as People Magazine and Vice did profiles. He appeared in segments on every network and high-profile news programs. He was interviewed for books and film, even starring in an award-winning documentary—but he had never taken the stage to share his own story before.

This felt different.

How to make the most of the opportunity? How to take advantage of the moment? How to make sure that the stories Williams shared came across as the real people they represented—not media stereotypes.  How to translate that goofy humor to the stage? What data to use? What events to share? In short, how could he own and express his story in his way, amplifying the impact of the change he dedicated himself to daily?

Strategy

We scripted page to stage for the big moment and sat in the audience for the main event nearly 2,000 miles from home.

Williams’s own story is compelling and profound. He is one of the best examples of his philosophy that shifting mindset is possible.  Through his decade and a half of mediation work, he has also collected hundreds, if not thousands, of incredible stories of pain, struggle, and transformation. He has helped countless people to make some of the most difficult choices in their lives, under the most difficult of circumstances.

We started with a strategy.

What did we want this story to achieve? What was the vision for this TED Talk? How did we want to express our idea worth spreading?

Once we locked in our objectives, we moved on to voice.

We captured Williams own story the way he tells it, while also curating the impact experiences of his work in a series of dynamic interviews. These were not one-to-one talking head and tape recorder kind of conversations. We were on our feet, speaking and pacing, rehearsing delivery before we even had the outline finished. We wanted the delivery—Williams easy way of expressing himself and cracking jokes as if he were just chatting casually in the corner booth of his favorite restaurant—to come across in the talk.

We recorded half a dozen stories.

We crafted multiple versions of the speech.

We ran it through hundreds of times.

And, we threw a performance party gathering an eclectic audience of financiers and rappers, sports figures, and TED reps for a dress rehearsal to determine the final version. We wanted to workshop with entertainers and experts to get informed feedback before we set foot on the red dot.

From there, we finalized the script. We blocked the presentation. And, we ran it through a few hundred more times before traveling by plane, bus, and boat to a theater in Seattle’s San Juan Islands for the main event.

Results

In the history of TED, there have not been many standing ovations, but after Williams finished speaking in the theater that day, everyone was on their feet with cheering and applause. It was a success.

The video has made the rounds online and since had thousands of views.

It also opened doors, created funding opportunities, and resulted in other invitations to speak. Today, Williams is a noted public speaker and gives talks on mindset throughout the country.