FHC Inspires Q&As 2022: Lily Ohlman
Name: Lily Ohlman
Position: Speaker
TED Talk Title: Changing Your Mindset
Why did you apply to be a speaker?
“I applied to be a speaker for two reasons. Primarily, I believe my topic is one that can greatly benefit a wide range of people. In my Ted Talk, I speak about the power of the mind and self-love. Many of us tend to neglect self-love and fail to recognize how our mindset truly controls our lives. In my experience, a change in mindset turned my life around. I would love an opportunity to share how I did it with even more people, hoping that someone doing badly can also become the best version of themselves. During the course of the past two weeks, I also discovered something about myself. My debilitating fear of public speaking has disappeared. That’s something I never thought I’d say, but this Ted Talk experience has allowed me to release my limiting beliefs regarding public speaking. I now find myself leaning towards it, and actually wanting a chance to speak about my topic again. ”
How are you feeling about speaking at FHC Inspires?
“I’m feeling a mix of excitement and unease. I’m very enthused that I get a chance to spread my message and hopefully change some lives. However, I am nervous that this time around won’t go as well as last time. But I do know that is an irrational feeling and all I need to do is practice a lot and it’ll go fine.”
What was the process of picking the perfect TedTalk topic?
“From the second Mr. George introduced Ted Talks, I knew what I wanted to talk about. My topic, How a Change in Mindset Changes Everything, is very personal to me. Earlier this year I had been going through it, and changing my mindset is what turned everything around. I know others must be feeling the same way, and I knew I had to talk about how I did it.”
What does your message mean to you?
“As I said, my message is extremely important to me. It’s something that relates to me and my own life heavily. During one of my practices, a couple of weeks ago my voice literally cracked with emotion when speaking. I think being so passionate about my message allowed me to succeed the first time around and actually enjoy what I’m doing here.”
Who is your target audience?
“My target audience is anyone doing badly in life, anyone who hasn’t indulged in a little self-love, or anyone that has a bad mindset. I know that most people fall under one of those categories, and I know I can help uplift a lot of people with my message. Hopefully! My goal is for everyone to come away from my talk feeling a little better about themselves.”
Did you ever see yourself speaking at FHC Inspires?
“Honestly, I never saw myself speaking at FHC Inspires, or even being okay with public speaking at all. I first heard about FHC Inspires last year, and my initial thought was that I’d never do it. I admired people with the strength to speak in front of hundreds for almost 4 straight minutes. But this journey of creating my talk and having the chance to spread what I’ve learned this year has completely changed my mindset on public speaking. I came away from doing it the first time around giddy and like I had accomplished something great. Now, I look forward to May 31st.”
What are you doing to prepare for the big night?
“What allowed me to succeed the first time was a lot of preparation, a lot. I came in before school and during the first hour to prepare and even more, rehearsals were done at home. For FHC Inspires, however, I’m taking the time to do even more prep. Run-throughs, edits of my talk, I’m missing practices to rehearse, it’s a lot. Planning what to wear is fun too. It makes me happy knowing I’m putting in the work because the more of that I do the better showtime will go.”
How does your Google Slide presentation reflect your topic?
“My slide presentation is quite simple and classy, I think. I don’t have very many colors or words, and that was what I envisioned for my slide going into this. I feel like the simplicity of it allows me to emphasize my message more? And for listeners to focus on what I’m saying better.”
What’s a mobile game you’re currently hooked on?
“I’m currently hooked on this game called Tap Tap Fish. It’s like this aquarium thing and you take care of your rock, fish, and coral. Very fun. I spend about half an hour on it a day, it’s kind of addicting.”