It's Time for Infectious Generosity. Here's How | Chris Anderson | TED

Summary

The speaker shares inspiring stories of generosity and its transformative power in society. They recount how TED Talks went viral by giving away content for free, leading to a global volunteer movement. A social experiment by Elizabeth Dunn showed that people are naturally inclined to be generous, often giving away unexpected windfalls. The talk emphasizes the importance of a generosity mindset, which can be amplified through authentic human emotions, creativity, and courage. The speaker highlights various initiatives that have gone viral, such as Suspended Coffees and signs combating suicide, and encourages everyone to embrace generosity, no matter how small the act. They conclude with a personal tribute to their mother, who taught them the profound happiness and meaning that comes from a life of generosity.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Generosity can be a powerful force for change, even when it starts small, much like the impact of a virus on the world economy.
• 📈 The act of giving away valuable content, like TED Talks, led to a viral spread and global participation, demonstrating the potential of generosity in the digital age.
• 🌐 In the connected era, the rules for what we hold onto and what we give away have changed, with the potential for limitless scale and reputation as a key currency.
• 📚 A study by Elizabeth Dunn showed that people are naturally inclined to respond to generosity with generosity, often giving away unexpected windfalls to others.
• 💡 Small acts of kindness and generosity can inspire others and create a ripple effect that spreads positivity and compassion.
• 🎨 Creativity can play a significant role in making generosity infectious, as seen in unique initiatives that capture the public's imagination.
• 🤝 Courage is a key component in acts of generosity, especially when it involves bridging divides or addressing difficult issues.
• 💌 Unlocking authentic human emotion can amplify the impact of generosity, as emotional stories are more likely to be shared and remembered.
• 🌱 The combination of emotion, creativity, and courage can lead to initiatives that not only go viral but also inspire real-world change.
• 🚫 It's important to focus on the positive aspects of generosity rather than nitpicking or looking for flaws in the intentions of others.
• 💭 The journey of generosity comes with two incredible companions: meaning and happiness, which can greatly enrich one's life.

Q & A

What is the main idea the speaker wants to convey about generosity?

The speaker wants to convey that generosity, even on a small scale, can be a powerful force for change and can be made infectious, leading to a global impact.

How does the speaker illustrate the concept of 'small but powerful'?

The speaker uses the example of a virus, which is small and invisible, yet has the power to shut down the world economy, to illustrate that size does not determine power.

What was the significant change made by the speaker when he took over TED?

The significant change was to give away all TED content online, which led to TED Talks going viral and the expansion of TED through volunteer-led TEDx events.

How did the TEDx program impact the TED brand?

The TEDx program allowed volunteers worldwide to run TED events under the TEDx label, leading to an explosion of diverse and impactful events and further establishing the TED brand globally.

What is the 'new mantra' for the connected age proposed by the speaker?

The new mantra proposed by the speaker is 'Be brave. Give what you can, and then be absolutely amazed at what happens next.'

What is the significance of the social experiment involving Lydia Tarigan?

The social experiment showed that people are naturally inclined to be generous, as Lydia, upon receiving a gift of $10,000, gave away most of it to various causes and individuals.

How does the speaker describe the role of social media in spreading generosity?

The speaker describes social media as a platform that can amplify acts of generosity, making them viral and inspiring others to engage in similar acts, thus spreading kindness and generosity.

What are the three key drivers the speaker identifies for making generosity infectious?

The three key drivers identified are unlocking authentic human emotion, creativity, and courage.

How did John Sweeney's act of generosity inspire others?

John Sweeney's act of buying a hot drink and meal for a woman in need, and his subsequent viral Facebook post about the experience, inspired countless acts of generosity across Ireland.

What is the importance of making eye contact with someone who feels invisible, as suggested by the speaker?

Making eye contact and acknowledging someone who feels invisible is a simple act of human kindness that can have a profound impact, demonstrating the power of small gestures in spreading generosity.

What is the speaker's final wish for the audience?

The speaker's final wish is that the audience, having been inspired by the stories of generosity, never recover from the infectiousness of generosity and continue to spread kindness and positivity.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 The Power of Generosity and TED's Viral Impact

The speaker begins by expressing a desire to share ten remarkable stories that embody a world-changing idea of generosity. They argue that generosity, like a virus, doesn't need to be big to be powerful—it just needs to be infectious. The speaker reflects on their own journey with generosity, influenced by their mother, and a pivotal moment in 2006 when they decided to give away TED Talks online. This decision led to TED's global reach, volunteer translations, and the birth of TEDx, which allowed anyone to organize TED-like events. The speaker concludes that in the connected age, generosity can scale limitlessly and carries reputation, the most valuable currency of the era.

05:01

💰 The Unexpected Generosity of Recipients

The speaker introduces Lydia Tarigan, who was given $10,000 by anonymous donors as part of a social experiment. Contrary to economic predictions, Lydia spent most of the money generously on others. This experiment, conducted by Elizabeth Dunn, showed that people tend to respond to generosity with generosity. The speaker emphasizes the importance of a generosity mindset and shares the story of John Sweeney, who started the Suspended Coffees initiative after a small act of kindness went viral. The speaker also discusses the math behind what makes a story go viral and highlights the role of unlocking authentic human emotions in spreading positivity.

10:03

🎨 Creativity and Courage in Acts of Generosity

The speaker discusses the importance of creativity and courage in acts of generosity. They share examples such as a group of friends in Japan who popularized litter cleanup in a samurai-themed video, and Daryl Davis, who, through courage and dialogue, persuaded over 200 KKK members to leave the organization. The speaker also mentions Amy Wolf's initiative to post signs in her hometown to combat suicide, Dylan Marron's podcast inviting critics for conversation, and Joshua Coombes' 'Do Something for Nothing' movement. The speaker encourages focusing on the good in people and not nitpicking the motives behind acts of generosity.

15:04

🌐 The Global Reach of Infectious Generosity

The speaker talks about the global impact of generosity, citing the example of Josh Talks in India, inspired by TED Talks. They express optimism that the world is becoming more generous and highlight the influence of positive social media figures like MrBeast and Milad Mirg, who turned a negative trend into a positive action by making sandwiches out of food waste. The speaker also mentions the Giving Tuesday movement and encourages everyone to engage in acts of generosity, no matter how small. They conclude with a tribute to their mother, who passed away, and emphasize that generosity brings meaning and happiness to life's journey.

Keywords

💡Generosity

Generosity is the quality of being kind and giving, often without expecting anything in return. In the video, it is the central theme, with the speaker advocating for a new way of thinking about generosity that can lead to world-changing ideas. The speaker's mother is described as an embodiment of generosity, and the TED organization's decision to give away their content online is cited as an example of generous behavior that had a significant impact.

💡Infectious

In the context of the video, 'infectious' is used metaphorically to describe an idea or behavior that spreads quickly and widely among people, much like a virus. The speaker poses the question of how to make generosity infectious, suggesting that if we can inspire a chain reaction of kindness, it could have a profound effect on the world.

💡TED Talks

TED Talks are influential presentations that cover a wide range of topics, often focusing on sharing ideas worth spreading. In the script, the speaker mentions taking over leadership of TED and the decision to post these talks online for free, which led to a viral spread of their ideas and the expansion of TED's impact globally.

💡Volunteers

Volunteers are individuals who offer their time and effort for a cause without financial compensation. The video highlights the role of volunteers in translating TED Talks into multiple languages and running TEDx events around the world, which demonstrates the power of generosity and collaboration in amplifying the reach of ideas.

💡Reputation

Reputation refers to the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. In the context of the video, the speaker suggests that in the connected age, giving away valuable things can enhance one's reputation, which is considered a significant currency in contemporary society.

💡Social Experiment

A social experiment is a study that involves manipulating and observing social situations or individual behavior in a controlled setting. In the script, Lydia Tarigan's story is mentioned, where she was part of a social experiment where she received $10,000 from anonymous donors. Her decision to give most of the money away exemplifies the unexpected outcomes that can arise from such experiments.

💡Human Kindness

Human kindness refers to the benevolent traits of human nature, such as compassion, empathy, and goodwill. The video emphasizes the importance of human kindness through various examples, like John Sweeney's act of buying a meal for a woman in need, which then inspired others to perform similar acts of generosity.

💡Viral

To go 'viral' means for content to be rapidly and widely shared on the internet or through other media. The speaker discusses how certain stories or ideas can become viral if they are shared by a sufficient number of people, leading to a significant increase in their impact.

💡Authentic Human Emotion

Authentic human emotion refers to genuine feelings that arise from within an individual. In the video, the speaker points out that unlocking and expressing these emotions can make acts of generosity more compelling and more likely to spread, as seen in Catherine Barrett's story of The Kindness Pandemic.

💡Creativity

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something. The video emphasizes the role of creativity in making acts of generosity more engaging and memorable, such as the example of friends in Japan who cleaned up litter in a samurai-themed manner, which attracted widespread attention.

💡Courage

Courage is the ability to face difficulty, danger, or opposition with bravery. The speaker highlights the importance of courage in acts of generosity, as demonstrated by Daryl Davis's efforts to engage with members of the Ku Klux Klan and persuade them to leave the organization.

Highlights

The speaker aims to share 10 remarkable stories that embody a world-changing idea of a new way to think about generosity.

Generosity can be a powerful force, as illustrated by the impact of a tiny virus on the world economy.

The question posed is how to make generosity infectious and spark global kindness.

The speaker's mother was a profound influence on their understanding and practice of generosity.

The decision to give away all TED content online led to the platform going viral and reaching millions.

Volunteer translators helped translate TED Talks into 100 languages, demonstrating the power of generosity.

TED's generosity extended to giving away their brand, leading to TEDx events in diverse venues worldwide.

The new mantra for the connected age is to be brave, give what you can, and be amazed at the results.

A social experiment showed that people are wired to respond to generosity with generosity, as evidenced by recipients giving away most of their gifted money.

Generosity is not just about money; it also involves giving time, attention, hospitality, and acts of kindness.

John Sweeney's act of kindness for a woman in need inspired countless others in Ireland and led to the founding of Suspended Coffees.

The difference between a non-infectious and infectious story is small but can lead to a significant difference in impact.

Unlocking authentic human emotion is a key factor in making generosity go viral.

Creativity, especially when it's wild, can make generosity initiatives stand out and spread.

Courage is a critical component in acts of generosity that can inspire and influence others.

Combining emotion, creativity, and courage can lead to initiatives that have a significant and far-reaching impact.

The speaker encourages the audience to commit to a journey of generosity, which will be joined by meaning and happiness.

The speaker celebrates the unsung heroes in the audience, whose actions are shaping the course of history.

The message concludes with a wish that the audience remains 'infected' with the powerful idea of generosity.

Transcripts

So tonight I want to share with you 10 remarkable stories

and introduce you to the people behind them,

because I think collectively they have created a playbook

for a truly world-changing idea.

It's a new way to think about generosity.

Generosity? Come on.

I mean, surely that's way too tiny a force

to pit against the ugly world we're facing.

Not necessarily.

You remember this guy?

This is so small, it's invisible.

But somehow it still found a way to shut down the world economy.

Here's the thing.

You don't need to be big to be powerful.

You just need to be infectious.

(Laughter)

So that's the question we're going to ask this evening.

What would it take to make generosity infectious?

Can we actually picture a world

where instead of infecting each other with anger and upset and fear,

we're sparking waves of kindness across the planet?

So I feel like I've been wrestling with this question,

in one form or another, pretty much my whole life.

How can you be generous?

I think my mother is to blame, I'm going to say, for this.

Here we go, that's ... littlun's me.

Every day my mother showed us

what it was like to be just deeply generous.

She's an extraordinary woman.

And also a really hard act to follow,

because my whole life,

I've been wrestling with this need to want to be generous,

but feeling often like this onerous burden.

In 2006, something remarkable happened.

I'd recently taken over leadership of this weird

but wonderful conference called TED,

and suddenly we were in a position where we could, if we wanted to,

give away all our content online

because of this new technology, online video.

But should we do that?

We were worried that it would kill the conference

that we depended on.

So I think it was my mother's voice in my head,

combined with a very brave group of people around me

that gave clarity on this.

We decided to start posting TED Talks

and were kind of stunned at what happened.

TED went viral.

Suddenly our little website was being hit by millions of people.

And thousands of volunteer translators took TED into 100 languages.

This was really beyond exciting,

and it inspired us to double down on generosity

and to start giving away our brand.

Well, we thought we could let volunteers anywhere in the world run TED events,

but just using the label TEDx.

Seemed a little risky,

it actually was.

But it led to an explosion of incredible events,

things like giant theaters, far-flung cities,

venues that we never could have imagined actually ourselves doing.

We went to churches,

mountains,

prisons several times,

a refugee camp

and then football stadiums.

This was mind-blowing to us.

And if you think about it,

we just gave away our brand.

And tens of thousands of volunteers around the world gave their time,

their energy, their talent, their financial risk to do this.

It was mind-blowing.

It led to 200,000 TEDx videos being produced,

a billion views annually.

So it got me thinking that ...

in this connected era, the rules around what we hold on to

and what we give away had fundamentally changed.

I mean, think about it.

It's much easier now to give away things that really matter to people

at basically limitless scale,

and those gifts carry with them

the most important currency of our age, reputation.

So this made me think that maybe the new mantra

for the connected age should be something like this:

"Be brave.

Give what you can,

and then be absolutely amazed at what happens next."

I don't think this is just a mantra for TED.

I think this is a mantra for every organization

and actually for every individual.

Well how so, how so?

Well, the first piece of good news is an underreported human trait.

Kind of a weird thing when you step back and think about it.

Now, I want to introduce you to Lydia Tarigan,

who's with us here from Indonesia.

Lydia, so good to see you.

Two years ago, something weird happened to her.

She was gifted 10,000 dollars

by an anonymous donor couple on the internet

as part of a weird social experiment.

An economist might predict that she would spend it on herself.

That's what rational agents do.

It is not what happened.

Instead, she stunned three of her co-workers with huge gifts.

She gave to flood victims in Indonesia,

to a pet rescue charity, to the World Wildlife Fund.

She paid for expensive medical checks for her family.

She basically spent very little of that money on herself.

Lydia, thank you, you're extraordinary.

And also, you are not alone.

This experiment that Lydia was part of

was conducted by social psychology professor Elizabeth Dunn, who's with us.

It was done in partnership with TED.

And it started with this crazy tweet.

What happened is that 200 people,

who did not know what they were signing up for,

received what was kind of the ultimate scam email.

"Congratulations!

We would like to wire 10,000 dollars into your PayPal account,

no questions asked. OK?"

So eventually they took the money,

and what happened next was amazing.

On average, across those people, across countries,

more than two thirds of that money was given away generously

to family, to friends, to strangers, to a huge variety of causes.

Two-thirds.

Liz and her team recently published a paper about this,

and it led to headlines like this.

So it turns out that we are wired,

we human beings are wired to respond to generosity with generosity.

Now, in the connected age, that's pretty promising right?

Now there are many ways, of course, to give, rather than just money.

Many of the most beautiful gifts are gifts of time and attention

and hospitality and access

and just simple acts of human kindness.

But all of them start right here with a generosity mindset,

a willingness to pay attention to something

that you wouldn't ordinarily pay attention to.

So you're walking down the street,

you notice out of the corner of your eye someone in need,

do you turn and look at them?

It's actually surprisingly uncomfortable to do that.

We usually don't.

John Sweeney was in this situation.

John's with us from Ireland, hello, John.

A few years ago, he was walking down the street,

and he noticed a woman in need.

He brought his generosity mindset to this.

He turned, he looked at her,

he got in a conversation.

He ended up buying her a hot drink, a hot meal.

She said to him,

"It meant the world to me that you stopped and talked to me."

And it turned out, it meant the world to him as well.

He posted about this on Facebook.

That post went viral.

It sparked countless acts of generosity right across Ireland

from adults and children alike.

John's whole life is anchored in generosity.

He's the founder of Suspended Coffees.

It makes it really easy for cafes anywhere to allow their customers

to buy an extra cup of coffee for a stranger.

There's a whole world out there of caffeinated kindness.

(Laughter)

Now, what is it that makes something go viral?

The first thing to say is that the difference between

non-infectious and infectious is less than you think.

The math here is really quite extraordinary.

Think of it this way -- if 10 people hear of an inspiring story

and they're inspired to share it, on average, with nine other people,

that story actually will pretty quickly fizzle away.

But if it's just that bit more compelling and they share it with 11 other people

and that pattern continues,

that story goes viral.

So just a small difference in infectiousness

can actually lead to a thousands-fold difference in impact.

Wow.

So what is it that could cause that small increase in infectiousness?

Is it just like, lucky timing?

Well, luck and timing probably play a part,

but I want to share with you three things that I think make a big difference.

Here's the first, unlocking authentic human emotion.

This, of course, is how the dark side of the internet works,

emotions like fear and anger and outrage and so forth spread.

But positive emotion can also spread virally and often in the simplest ways.

Catherine Barrett, who's with us from Australia,

discovered this in the early days of the pandemic.

She posted this picture on Facebook.

It was just of a box of tissues

that a neighbor had left in her building saying,

if anyone needs a cry,

basically, take one.

Box of tissues.

But it moved Catherine, she posted this.

Turns out a lot of other people had amazing stories to share.

500,000 people joined this group.

She called it The Kindness Pandemic.

It's still going to this day.

You cannot go there without wanting to re-evaluate

the role of generosity in your own life.

I think that the world is teeming with stories of kindness like we've heard.

They're often under the radar,

we miss them.

And it's a tragedy that we do, because if you could see them,

I think we would discover that actually is a truer picture of us, of humans,

than the news we often read.

Here's the second driver: creativity.

The wilder the better.

So let's see.

Let's say you want to tidy up your neighborhood,

so you organize some volunteers to go out and do that,

and you capture on video for social media.

Well, a group of friends in Japan did that,

except their video looked like this.

If you pick up litter the samurai way,

it's no surprise that millions of people are going to view this video.

This thing sparked new groups across Japan and beyond.

Creativity.

And there are fantastic examples of creativity

that's gone viral everywhere,

like the French artist Ememem's glorious fixing of potholes

and other examples of urban decay in a way that lights up cities.

Or the Brazilian street artist Mundano,

who repainted the carts of trash pickers,

giving them dignity and pride and visibility.

And it sparked a movement, moved out to several other countries.

Whatever we do,

if we can spark people's imagination as well as their hearts,

it will increase the efforts of our generosity.

Here's the third driver: courage.

Daryl Davis, he's an extraordinary man.

He grew up wondering why it was

that some people in his country, America, hated him

just because of the color of his skin.

He reached out to the local leader of the Ku Klux Klan

and invited him to a meeting.

As you can imagine, quite a tense meeting.

Somehow they continued to meet,

Daryl even attended KKK rallies.

To cut a long story short,

he eventually persuaded more than 200 people to leave the KKK.

Now, can you imagine why it is

that that story received global media coverage?

Because of his astonishing courage.

And his courage meant that millions of people got to discover

this essential act of generosity for the divided times that we're in,

bridging: the willingness to listen with respect to our enemies.

Whatever type of generosity we do, if we can be braver, it will go farther.

What happens if you combine all three of those things:

emotion, creativity, courage?

Well, then all bets are off.

Amy Wolf knows this.

Great to see you, Amy.

So, Amy, read the suicide statistics in her hometown a few years ago

and was horrified by them, decided to do something about it.

She ordered 20 signs like this.

Found the courage to go and knock on doors.

Surprisingly, everyone was willing to put them up in their gardens,

in their yards.

And the pictures of this blew up on social media.

Today, these signs have appeared in every state in America

and in dozens of countries beyond.

They have inspired kindness.

And yes, they've actually saved lives.

Amy has amazing stories.

Or take Dylan Marron, who's here.

Dylan somehow found it in him to reach out

to his most obnoxious critics on social media

and invite them to have a conversation with him.

It led to an incredibly powerful podcast series that's been seen

and has inspired millions of people.

Or take Joshua Coombes.

He is a hairdresser who has been giving free haircuts

to people on the street who needed them,

often making a huge difference to their lives

and sparking a beautiful movement called Do Something for Nothing.

In each case,

authentic human emotion has been amplified

by creativity and courage.

No wonder these initiatives have blown up so beautifully.

Now, sometimes when I give these stories, people's reaction is to nitpick a bit.

It's like they go, "Well, you know,

they didn't actually address the underlying problem here."

Or "Maybe their motivation was a little bit mixed."

Or "Philanthropy is just rich people trying to solve their consciences."

Stop it.

Just stop that.

Stop looking for the bad in people.

Let's look for the good in people.

If perfection is your filter,

you'll end up seeing nothing good and doing nothing good.

Now, the thing about infectious generosity is that you never know

how long it will travel and what the results might be.

It was only last year that I met Supriya Paul.

So she told me this amazing story that 10 years earlier,

she was studying to be an accountant

when she and her friend Shobhit

watched this classic video by Sir Ken Robinson.

They were inspired by it and they wondered,

"Could we do something like this in India,"

especially for those in India outside the normal education systems?

So they created kind of, to her father's dismay initially,

Josh Talks.

Josh Talks has been described as India's TED Talks,

and I am absolutely fine with that.

They have taken this thing to incredible scale, incredible scale.

There's like 100 million people viewing these regularly

in the world's most populous country.

If TED had achieved nothing other than prompt Josh Talks,

this whole thing would be worthwhile.

So friends, this is a battle I think we can win.

I really think we can win.

I don't know about you, I am sick of how mean the world is.

I'm sick to my stomach about it.

I think you are as well, I think everyone is.

I think the pendulum needs to swing,

and the pendulum may indeed be swinging.

It may surprise you to know that one of the top influencers on YouTube

is not a peddler of doom and gloom.

He's someone who wants to share the amazingness of life,

and he does so with these kind of, crazily audacious stunts.

I'm talking, of course, about MrBeast and his 200 million subscribers.

Many of his stories are anchored in generosity.

And his style may not be for everyone,

but he is introducing a whole new generation

to the possibility that generosity is actually really cool.

It's a beautiful thing.

The man who runs MrBeast Philanthropy, Darren Margolias,

is with us.

Inspiring man to talk to.

Darren introduced me to Milad Mirg, who was inspired also by MrBeast.

Milad decided to take on this disgusting trend

of food waste being dumped.

He created his own videos that actually said, no,

how about we make that into handmade sandwiches,

like 100 of them, and distribute them on the streets?

This video ended up being seen by far more people

than the trend he was combating,

and I found it so inspiring to talk to Milad, Milad's with us.

I find it inspiring to talk to you,

because you persuaded me that it was possible

for people of good intent to win this battle.

So social media, we rightly blame it for so many things.

But look under the surface and there are amazing people out there like Milad

and like Massimo Orgiazzi, who, despite huge personal health issues,

he spends every day sharing with the world

dozens of examples of the awesomeness of the universe.

I mean, honestly, if he was the only account you followed on X,

you would be happy.

Finally, Giving Tuesday.

How awesome is it that a single hashtag spread around the world

and persuaded millions of people to donate literally billions of dollars

to hundreds of thousands of organizations,

and is now going beyond that to spread a global movement of kindness.

I'm in awe of what they've achieved.

What can we do?

Honestly, do anything.

Do anything.

Look at someone.

Make eye contact with someone who feels invisible.

Or go online and find someone who's doing something that's positive,

amplify them.

Or invite a group of friends to dinner

and dream together about what you might do in your community.

Or listen to Sara Lomelin's TED Talk and join a giving circle.

Or just figure out some way of sharing this idea of infectious generosity

however you might.

And this journey,

this journey doesn't have to be daunting.

I want to leave you with something from my mother.

It's something ...

My mother passed away earlier this month.

And she left -- I feel so much gratitude.

She left me with this incredible gift,

that it's only in the last few years that I've fully understood it

and embraced it, I would say, and I just want to share it with you.

It's this.

If you commit to a journey of generosity, sooner or later,

sooner or later,

two amazing companions will join you on that journey.

Journey mates.

Their names are meaning and happiness.

So look,

I just want to salute the unsung heroes who are with us tonight.

You may not know it, but you are helping shape the course of history.

Tonight, you may well have infected all of us

with something super powerful.

And here's my wish --

that we never recover.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

(Applause)