TED Talk (Part 2): J.J. Abrams

In 2007, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Super 8) gave a TED Talk. I’m sure many of you have seen it. However, like many great presentations, much of what could be valuable as a writer drifts away into the ether. So for the next two weeks, I will be posting the entire transcript of Abrams’ ‘mystery box’ TED Talk.

Part 2

My grandfather was the guy who got me into this sort of thing. He would also supply me with tools. He was this major encourager to make stuff and he got me a Super 8 camera when I was 10 years-old. And in 1976, that was sort of an anomaly to be a 10 year-old kid with access to a camera.

He was so generous, I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t do it entirely without some manipulation. I’d call him and I’d be like, “Listen, Grandpa, I really need this camera. You don’t understand. I want to make movies, I’ll get invited to TED one day.” And my grandmother was the greatest. She’d get on the phone and go, “Harry, it’s better than the drugs.”

So I found myself getting the stuff, thanks to her assist, and suddenly I had a synthesizer when I was 14 years old and this type of stuff. And it let me make things, which to me was the dream. He humored my obsession with other things like magic.

We’d go to this magic store in New York City called Lou Tannen’s Magic. It was this crappy little building in midtown, but you’d be in the elevator, the doors would open, and you would be inside this little small magic store. It was a magical place. I got all sorts of magic tricks there. Oh, here, I’ll show you.

[Does magic trick]

Which is good, but now I can’t move. The rest of the thing is like this. I have to go, “Oh, wow, look at my computer over there.”

[Gets rid of the magic trick device]

So one of the things I bought at the magic store was this: Tannens’ Mystery Magic Box. The premise behind the Mystery Magic Box was the following. Fifteen dollars buys you fifty dollars worth of magic… which is a savings.

I bought this decades ago, and as you’ll see, it’s never been opened. But I’ve had this forever. I was looking at this in my office, as it always is, thinking, “Why have I not opened this? And why have I kept it?” I’m not a pack rat, I don’t keep everything. For some reason, I haven’t opened this box.

What takeaways can we get from this:

• Likeable Protagonist: In this case, that would Abrams himself. He uses anecdotes, self-deprecating humor, even magic tricks to win us over.
• Visual storytelling: The best storytelling conjures up or uses visual aids. Already within 5 minutes, Abrams has projected the physical structure of polypeptide onto the monitor, produced a Kleenex box he has torn apart, performed a magic trick, and produced the Mystery Magic Box.
• Where is he going with this: His grandfather gives him stuff, his grandfather takes him to a magic shop, a young Abrams buys a Mystery Magic Box. He has us hooked on the yarn he is spinning.
• He poses questions: Good drama often relies on setting a question into the mind of the reader or audience. Here Abrams poses two: “Why have I not opened this? Why have I kept it?”
• Cliffhanger: That’s my doing, stopping Abrams’ story before he answers the questions. That will give you something about which to think and sustain your interest until next time, underscoring the importance and value of cliffhangers.

All of these are valuable tips for storytelling.

For Part 1 of Abrams’ TED Talk, go here.

To watch the entire video, go here.