Think Global, Act Local
Think Global, Act Local
Take something enormous, and make it real
One Small Thing
Too easy? Ban the obvious answer and force a surprising one.
Useful phrases & idioms
- off the top of my head — without stopping to think carefully
- a quick fix — a fast, simple solution (not always a lasting one)
- to nip it in the bud — to deal with a problem early, before it grows
- baby steps — small, gradual actions toward a bigger goal
- easier said than done — simple to suggest, harder to actually do
The Method
Your job is not to persuade or inform. It is to empower: take a topic big enough to make people shrug, and hand them back the feeling that they can act.
Discuss the problem
Open with the big, global scale of it. Make us feel how enormous it is.
Bring it down to earth
Now find where it actually lives, in one real, specific, personal moment.
Empower with a call to action
End with one small thing your listener could do. Not an order to obey. A small action that feels worth doing. Leave us feeling we have some power, not guilt.
1. "Every year the world throws away about a third of all the food it produces. Enough to feed billions. It's one of the biggest drivers of climate change..."
2. "But here's where it actually lives. It lives in the bag of spinach you bought with good intentions on Sunday and scraped into the bin."
3. "Tonight, before you go to bed, open your fridge and look at what's about to go off."
Useful phrases & idioms
- here's where it actually lives — a strong way to move from abstract to concrete
- to go off — (of food) to become bad, to spoil
- with good intentions — meaning to do the right thing (even if it doesn't work out)
- every little helps — small actions add up and matter
- to make a difference — to have a real, positive effect
The Topic Bank
Pick one, or spin for a random challenge. Then take it through all three steps. You have a minute or two.
Useful phrases & idioms
- to shrug something off — to treat it as unimportant, to ignore it
- a call to action — a clear invitation to do something specific
- to take its toll — to cause gradual harm or damage over time
- the tip of the iceberg — a small visible part of a much bigger problem
- to nip it in the bud — to stop a problem early, before it grows
Delivery Rubric
Hook
Did the opening make me feel the scale?
States the problem, but it stays flat or abstract. I don't feel how big it is.
Gives a sense of scale, maybe a number or comparison. Clear, if not gripping.
Opens with something that lands. A vivid figure or image that makes me sit up.
Landing
Did it come down to one real, specific moment?
Stays global throughout, or the example is still general ("people should recycle").
Names a concrete example and moves from big to small, but it's a bit generic.
Zooms right in to one specific, sensory moment I can picture.
Action
Did I leave feeling I could do something, not guilty?
No clear ask, or ends on blame ("we're all destroying the planet").
Ends with an action, but it's vague or too big to feel doable tonight.
One small, specific thing I could do today. I leave feeling capable, not scolded.