Give us some background about yourself and your career/initiative?
Thistleton: I am a career marketer, with a university degree in marketing and a graduate degree from Harvard Business School in general management. My first job out of college was in brand marketing, as was every subsequent job, working across five different industries and four different continents. My passion is taking the knowledge that now exists about how the mind processes information and passing it on to marketers and communicators—as we could all be so much more effective if we realised that most of what we think about how the mind works is actually not correct.
Is this your first TEDx presentation and how are you feeling about it?
Thistleton: It is my first, and on one hand I am feeling very excited, but on the other somewhat terrified.
What is your interpretation of the theme Here/Hear to Listen?
Thistleton: That hearing is so much more than simply listening to the words that are being shared.
How will your presentation relate to the theme?
Thistleton: My talk centres around the idea that the speaker has an opportunity to increase the likelihood that they are heard—and remembered—therefore, making it much easier on the listener.
What are you looking forward to the most about TEDxCapeTown this year?
Thistleton: Sharing some very simple factors that can make communicators (all of us) more effective.
TEDxCapeTown 2016: Tech-enabled to go green and enhance audience experience
For the first time since 2011, TEDxCapeTown is committed to a more tech-enabled team and delivery of the event. Audience members can expect to experience a web-enabled application, implemented by Accenture South Africa, allowing them to view the programme of the day, listed speakers and their bios and directly engage via the TEDxCapeTown social channels in-app.
For the second consecutive year, Accenture South Africa has decided to partner with the largest TEDx event on the African continent, to demonstrate and share contributions to innovation. Accenture strongly identifies with the ethos of TEDx which exists to discuss ideas worth spreading.
“Accenture and TEDx believe passionately in the power of innovation to change attitudes, perceptions and behaviours. In South Africa, Accenture remains committed to playing a strategic role in supporting our clients and helping to drive sustainable economic growth,” says Suren Govender, managing director of Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture Digital. “Our focus at TEDx this year really is to listen to the ideas local TEDx folks have and assist by translating these ideas – from strategy to outcome – into meaningful and actionable results that could contribute to job creation and growing the economy.”
