Name: "Stumbling towards intimacy": An improvised TED Talk
Uploaded: 2019-09-04T19:52:41Z
Duration: 11 min 1 s
Description: In a hilarious, completely improvised talk, improv master Anthony Veneziale takes to the TED stage for a truly one-of-a-kind performance. Armed with an audience-suggested topic ("stumbling towards intimacy") and a deck of slides he's never seen before, Veneziale crafts a meditation on the intersection of love, language and ... avocados?

Anthony Veneziale: "Stumbling towards intimacy": An improvised TED Talk

"Stumbling towards intimacy": An improvised TED Talk

In a hilarious, completely improvised talk, improv master Anthony Veneziale takes to the TED stage for a truly one-of-a-kind performance. Armed with an audience-suggested topic ("stumbling towards intimacy") and a deck of slides he's never seen before, Veneziale crafts a meditation on the intersection of love, language and ... avocados?

Human connection often stumbles over our fear responses, which are deeply tied to visual perception and rooted in the amygdala. One-sixth of a second is all it takes for a delay to create distance between people. By removing visual cues—literally placing backs together—people can bypass fear and access more honest, vulnerable communication. Practicing insight, compassion, and empathy opens new, molecular-level possibilities for intimacy that far surpass superficial connection.