the common extraordinary

Our first Salon event took place on July 28 at the office of Phoenix Design in Munich. About 140 attendees enjoyed an exciting evening program of 4 speakers and a musical  performance.

About the Theme: the common extraordinary

The greatest disappointment of all is the ordinary. As we spend most of our days chasing small concerns, we miss out on the exceptional – on all that we can discover, create, and improve upon. In order not to get lost in an unexciting, repetitive daily routine, we must stay curious and give rein to our creativity. There is no harm in being just a little brave and reckless; by taking a step into the unknown, we can shape the mundane into something remarkable.

At TEDxTUMSalon, we invite you to transform the common to the extraordinary and see the everyday in a new light.

Watch the talks

Visit our video library to watch the TEDxTUM talks performed on stage

Event Experience

We always say only 50% of the value of a TEDx event comes from the talks. The other 50% come from the experiences and new friends you make. With this smaller event format and space, the interaction time between talks was shorter than during our main events, but our team nonetheless pulled off some fun break activities. The smaller audience size made for even more intense discussions, which helped us to connect on a deeper level with our attendees.

Expression Wall

With our theme, “The Common Extraordinary,” we explored how we can revive the magic in the things and situations that we take most for granted. Attendees answered the question “What is that little extra something in your life?” The answers were all over the map, ranging from learning to humor or inspiration.

The Gift of Positivity

Take a block and don’t worry: they are all positive! Our team prepared this small giveaway of Jenga blocks with uplifting emotions like “Happiness” and “Courage” written on along the sides. Attendees took them home as souvenirs so that this positivity could make even their most ordinary day extraordinary.

Speakers

Jörg Drewes

Jörg Drewes

Professor of Urban Water Systems Engineering

Sarah Fleischer

Sarah Fleischer

WARR Hyperloop Team

Nikolaj Hviid

Nikolaj Hviid

Entrepreneur and Visionary

Guy Yachdav

Guy Yachdav

Data Scientist and Entrepreneur

TED Talks shown at the event

At this TEDxTUMSalon, our team selected TED talks complementing our theme and lineup and shared them with our audience.

In the first half of the evening, we plunged into our theme “The Common Extraordinary” and watched comedian Jill Shargaa‘s talk titled “Please, please, people. Let’s put the ‘awe’ back in ‘awesome.’”

The second video shown tied into Nikolay Hviid’s live talk on wearable technology for the future: Lucy McRae presented her take on “How can technology transform the human body?”.