CAREER

the journey

As Game of Thrones was winding down, Maisie began her transformation from actress to entrepreneur. Together with a co-founder, she created Daisie, a digital platform for creators to network and collaborate with each other. Maisie believes that it’s important to speak up on issues that she feels strongly about, so she took her story to the TED stage. There was only hurdle to overcome. Despite 22 award nominations for Game of Thrones, Maisie acknowledged that she felt “totally inadequate” as a public speaker.

After Maisie read Carmine Gallo’s book, Talk Like TED, she was ready become the speaker she needed to be to make a difference.

the transformation

Maisie began her TED Talk:

“Upon finding out the news that I would be giving a TEDx Talk, I did what I think most people do and watched about fifty TED talks back-to-back and read Talk like TED by Carmine Gallo for some inspiration.”

As an actress, Maisie has developed a keen sense of good storytelling, a theme that comes across in Carmine’s books. A great speech or presentation is like a great movie—the first scene should draw you into the narrative. Inspiring entrepreneurs don’t start with the product; they start with the story behind the product.

And that’s exactly how Maisie approached her TED Talk. She began with her origin story.

I’m the youngest of four siblings. My parents divorced when I was four months old. I really was the icing on the cake of a terrible marriage.

Maisie told the audience that she grew up in a three-bedroom council house outside of Bristol (a form of public housing in Britain).

I went to a very ordinary school. I got very ordinary grades. I wasn’t quite good enough to get a gold star, and I also wasn’t quite bad enough to be kept after school. Everything about me was pretty damn ordinary, except for how I felt on the inside. I had big dreams.

The story continues and, like any good story, has peaks and valleys—moments of joy mixed with unexpected roadblocks for the hero to overcome.

Although Maisie says she hasn’t set foot in a classroom in years, she’s made it her mission to continue learning. One of those skills is to sharpen her ability to weave a story to move people to action.

Ideas that catch on are wrapped in story. We all have the capacity to move people, to inspire them and to capture their imagination. The secret is to find your authentic connection to the topic and to share that passion with others.

The story continues and, like any good story, has peaks and valleys—moments of joy mixed with unexpected roadblocks for the hero to overcome.

Although Maisie says she hasn’t set foot in a classroom in years, she’s made it her mission to continue learning. One of those skills is to sharpen her ability to weave a story to move people to action.

Ideas that catch on are wrapped in story. We all have the capacity to move people, to inspire them and to capture their imagination. The secret is to find your authentic connection to the topic and to share that passion with others.